Eligibility
Program Description
Visa and Travel Documents
Getting There
AFS Orientations and Activities
Eligibility
To be eligible you must:
- Be between 15 years 0 months and 18 years 0 months old at the start of the program
- Have a minimum 2.8 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
- Be in good mental, physical, and emotional health in accordance with the AFS Medical Evaluation Policy
- Have an open mind, willingness to be flexible, and the ability to adapt to new a culture, school, and environment
Program Description
- As with all AFS high school programs, you will be placed with a volunteer host family while attending a local host school. Learn more about life in Ghana.
- Students are placed throughout Ghana.
- Ghanaian cuisine consists of a lot of meat and fish. Vegetarians wishing to visit Ghana are asked to be flexible.
Visa and Travel Documents
In order to participate in this program, you must have a passport that is valid for six months longer than your intended stay.
In addition to your passport, you also need a visa to enter and reside in your host country.
The visa application process for Ghana is detailed, time-consuming, and costly. It involves collecting a number of documents including a certificate of good health and vaccination history, a variety of parental consent forms. Additionally, you will need to get a statement of good health from your physician and an official academic transcript (transcripts must be notarized, officially translated, and legalized with apostilles), among other documents.
You will also need to get an original certificate of Inoculation against yellow fever.
The visa fee is $50 (of course, visa costs are subject to change); there is an additional $60 fee to cover the cost of a visa extension which you will need to bring with you to Ghana.
Getting There
You and your fellow AFSers will travel together from one of the gateway cities in the United States. You all will arrive at Accra International Airport in Ghana’s Capital, collect your baggage and pass through customs. You will be met by AFS staff and volunteers and will participate in a welcome orientation together.
Your time in Ghana can be a very different experience from life in your home country. AFS staff and volunteers will spend three to four days with you at the arrival orientation. Ghanaian society, culture, family, school, religion, festivals, safety and health issues will all be addressed. It is also a time to discuss 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.
AFS Orientations and Activities
AFS will provide you with several orientations throughout your experience. These orientations give you a chance to gather important information about your host country, to meet other AFS teens from around the world, to share experiences and make friends. These group activities give you a chance to understand and process your intercultural learning experience during your time abroad as well as when you are returning home.
These required orientations are intended to help you maximize the AFS experience, prevent culture shock and to gain knowledge, skills and a global understanding.
An interesting activity organized by AFS/IEP Ghana is a study tour for participants to other parts of the country. During this tour, participants get to know other interesting historical sites and to experience different aspects of the culture.
During the program, participants choose a community service project as an after-school activity. Projects include the study of traditional symbols and artifacts, proverbs, traditional songs and folklore, assisting in orphanages, participating in community projects, gender programs and HIV/AIDS awareness programs
