Program Description | Host Family & Community | Community Service Placement | Travel | Orientations | Eligibility
Program Description
Get ready for an exciting semester learning about life in a developing nation while living and working alongside community members in a community-based service organization. This program will give you a strong understanding of Ghanaian and African culture and history.
You will learn about local culture and Ghanaian languages such as Twi, but you will have no problem communicating as English is also an official language of the country. In addition, AFS Ghana allows participants to travel inside the country to explore and absorb the country’s cultural diversity. You’ll experience the economy, politics, and social life in contemporary Ghana firsthand.
AFS’s Community Service program gives you the opportunity to share in and contribute to the life of a community in Ghana by living and working alongside its members in a community-based service organization.
Accommodations will be either in housing provided by the community-based organization or with a host family.
Language
There are more than 52 native tongues and hundreds of dialects in Ghana, but English is the official language of Ghana, reflecting years of British colonization. The local languages are rich in proverbs, the use of which is taken to be a sign of wisdom. Euphemisms are very common, especially about events connected with death.
Host Family & Community
Most Ghanaians live in small villages where society is focused on family and community. Participants are placed throughout Ghana, many in the cultural and commercial coastal capital of Accra.
Ghanaian host families, like AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers. They open their homes to participants in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.
Ghanaians
The country has been greatly influenced by European civilization, but Ghanaians strive to maintain and promote their uniquely African culture. Shopping is concentrated in markets that offer everything from fruits to clothes to hair braiding. At night, you’ll hear music everywhere in outdoor restaurants and clubs.
Many of the major religions of the world are practiced in this country. Culture comes alive in popular annual religious festivals, and celebrations of rites of passage, hunting, and cleansing.
Family structure varies from one ethnic group to another. Some families are matriarchal, where the chief responsibilities for the family fall to the women and inheritance is passed down on the mother’s side. Other ethnic groups have male-dominated family structures. All Ghanaian families share a deep respect for the elderly members of the family, and grandparents and great-grandparents exercise a great deal of influence on family decisions. Many Ghanaians disregard their own wants for the sake of the family unit.
Meals
Ghanaian families enjoy eating together, so expect to share many meals with your host family.
The diet consists mainly of yams, cassava, maize, plantains and rice. Ghanaian cuisine consists of a lot of meat and fish, so AFS Ghana asks vegetarians to be flexible.
Ghanaians enjoy hot and spicy foods. The mainstays of Ghanaian cuisine are thick sauces, usually eaten with potatoes or rice. If you like chocolate, Ghana is the country for you. Cocoa is one of the country’s largest (and sweetest) exports.
Streets and markets are filled with vendors of fresh food. Tropical fruit and vegetables supplement the diet. A popular dessert is fried plantains seasoned with chili pepper and ginger that goes well with a refreshing drink made of corn called askenkee.
Community Service Placement
AFS’s Community Service program gives you the opportunity to share in and contribute to the life of a community in Ghana by living and working alongside its members in a community-based service organization.
Potential community service placements include studying traditional symbols and artifacts, proverbs, traditional songs and folklore; assisting in orphanages; participating in community projects, gender programs and HIV/AIDS awareness programs. At the organization, you will be asked to pitch in and offer assistance in whatever capacity might be needed and to share the knowledge and experience you have gained from your home culture in the process.
No one expects you to be an expert with all the answers to local problems or the ability to change local conditions. Rather, you are expected to be a willing participant in a process of mutual discovery. This experience will present you with innumerable learning opportunities both personally and professionally.
Accommodations will be either in housing provided by the community-based organization or with a host family.
Travel
You will receive a Travel Notification email about six weeks prior to international departure with your international flight itinerary and detailed instructions for when to arrive at the Gateway Orientation site in New York. At that point, you may arrange your domestic travel. In New York, you will join other AFS-USA participants for an overnight Gateway Orientation before you travel together to Accra.
International airfare is included as part of the tuition, but it is your responsibility to get from your home town to the Gateway Orientation site.
Your Arrival
You and your fellow AFSers all will arrive at Accra International Airport, collect your baggage and pass through customs. You will be met by AFS staff and volunteers and will participate in an Arrival Orientation together. After your two-day Orientation, either your host family will pick you up or AFS volunteers will assist you in traveling by bus to your host community.
Your Return
You will return to Accra by bus one or two days before your international departure for an End-of-Stay Orientation. You will then travel back to New York with your fellow AFSers.
Orientations
In addition to the orientations that you will participate in domestically (the locally held Pre-Departure Orientation, the Culture Trek online orientation, and the national Gateway Orientation), you and your fellow AFSers will have several orientations while abroad.
These required orientations are intended to help you maximize your AFS experience, prevent culture shock and to gain knowledge, skills and a global understanding.
Arrival Orientation
This first orientation will take place upon your arrival in Accra. This will be a two-day orientation that is intended to prepare you for your first weeks abroad. This will be an international orientation and your opportunity to meet participants from around the world.
Your time in Ghana will probably be a very different experience from life in your home country, so AFS staff and volunteers will spend this time with you discussing Ghanaian society, culture, family, religion, festivals, safety and health issues. It is also a time to express your expectations and concerns with your fellow AFSers and experienced volunteers.
You will also receive six hours of language lessons with emphasis on Twi and Dagbani. After the arrival orientation you will travel to your host family.
Mid-Stay Orientations
You may have the opportunity to participate in a mid-stay orientation that will take place in your local chapter. It will give you the opportunity to evaluate your progress, and share experiences with AFS staff, volunteers and fellow AFSers.
End-of-Stay Orientation
Before your international departure, you will meet with other AFSers for one day for your last Orientation. This will be a great opportunity to reflect on your time in Ghana and share your experience with AFS friends.
Optional Activities
AFS Ghana organizes multiple short excursion tours for participants to another part of the country. During the tours, you’ll get to know interesting historical sites and experience different aspects of the culture. Unlike the orientations, the tours are optional and are not included in the tuition.
Eligibility
To participate in this program, you must:
- Be within the age range (located in the ‘read more’ drop-down) upon departure
- Be mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy in accordance with AFS Medical Evaluation Policies
- Have a U.S. passport at the time of application. Passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the program end date
- Have an open mind, willingness to be flexible, and the ability to adapt to new a culture, school, and environment
Participation Notes
Ghanaian cuisine consists of a lot of meat and fish. Vegetarians wishing to visit Ghana are asked to be flexible.
There are no language requirements.
