Ghana
The project Education of the Mentally Challenged (EMC) has five partner schools for children and teenagers with mental and physical disabilities all over Ghana. The schools are boarding schools or day schools, which are attended by pupils who come from the immediate vicinity. Several partner schools are inclusive and offer in addition to the regular lessons workshops to advance social and motoric skills. The project aims at integrating the children and teenagers with mental disability into society. Volunteers can be employed in Swedru, Winneba or Kumasi.
Field of work: work with persons with disability, education
Qualification: take delight in dealing with children and teenagers with disability, cooperativeness with the local teachers, disposition to learn the local language Twi/the local common sign language, command of English advantageous
Function of volunteers: support for the teachers and assistants in the class at the respective school, development and improvement of the standard of education in close cooperation with the local staff, individual support for the pupils, implementation of own ideas for projects in consultation with the school administration
Number of volunteers: 1-2 per place of assignment
Accommodation: host family
Departure: between July and October
Stay: 12 months
Remark: the school in Swedru is open for deaf volunteers, resp. for volunteers with hearing impairment
Starting in the summer of 2009, Marlene supported a school for the deaf in Swedru for the duration of 8 months. Marlene herself is deaf and she made a video about her experiences from Ghana. For those who do not know sign language, here an explanation of her gestures.
Information about the country
Name: Republic of Ghana
Climate: tropical muggy
Location: West Africa
Capital: Accra
Local Language: Official language: English; in addition Akan-languages (a.o. Twi, Fanti, Akuapim, Ashanti und Akyem), Ewe, Ga, Haussa and round 40 further languages and dialects
Source: Auswärtiges Amt [Effective: January 2013]