Frequently Asked Questions

No, you are uninsured by LoszuGhana. We are not responsible for organizing your insurance.
Please organize an insurance by yourself and make sure you are covered by insurance the whole stay in Ghana.
It is important that they attend you back to your home country in case of continued sickness.
If you need support, your Mentor helps you to find an abroad insurance.

The medical care in Ghana is good. In the cities like Accra, Kumasi or Tamale are high standard hospitals.
The doctors and nurses are good qualified and well versed in tropical disease.
In case of sickness we normally attend you to "Siloam Hospital Kumasi" where we already know the staff.

If you are sick, the LoszuGhana Team in Ghana will take care of you. We attend you to hospital and support you in everything you need. You can also call your mentor, if you want to.
Please notice that you always have inform the LoszuGhana Staff if you are sick!
Tropical disease can become bad without treatment very fast.

The Volunteer workers teach according to their wishes and personal ability. Depending on the project you will work in, you are teaching the children in english, french, math, sports, arts or ICT. Also you take care of the children and help them in their everyday life like washing, cooking, playing and doing homework.
Please also read FAQ topic "what should I expect" and our project descriptions to get a better insight.

For more information about the project you have chosen, please contact your mentor.

Your assistance becomes everywhere very appreciated, even if it is just a small contribution, which you can make untrained locally. But please do not expect to be able to change the country’s conditions completely. This desire for rapid change based on a western model will not necessarily be desirable.

In most cases, due to the culture of your host country, your project will not provide you with any introductory course or specific work agenda. Instead you are merged into a team of local co-workers.
By working closely with these co-workers and maintaining regular feedback discussions with your project leader(s), you can get a clear idea of how you are doing and the best ways you can help.
Remember to ask when in doubt how you can be more helpful and effective.

Since the project placements and the accommodations often located in particularly poor regions within the respective country, security, and infrastructure conditions are not comparable to those of your home country. Thus adaptability, responsibility, and flexibility are all indispensable for your stay.
 

Beside the volunteer work you will still have sufficient time to explore your host country:

* Trips to markets and cultural places, national parks, beaches or surrounding cities
* Treks in the national parks
* Cosy evenings with other volunteers or backpackers from all around world
* Trips to a neighbouring country

The possibilities are all there, its up to you to make them on your way!

Yes, it is. The network is most of the times working well. You can also call to europe/america in good conditions.

Yes, there are several internet cafes in Kumasi. Most of them have good connections. For one hour you pay around 1cedi (50eurocent).

You can bring your own phone and buy a prepaid card (mtn/zain) for a low-cost in Ghana.

With these cards you can make cheap calls within Ghana and also to Europe/America/...
If you bring your own phone, you are responsible to take care of thieves.

Unter "Apply!" könnt ihr ein Formular zum Kindergeld downloaden.

Tragt euren Namen ein und schickt es zusammen mit dem Vertrag und ausreichend Rückporto an die angegebene Adresse. Das unterschriebene Formular könnt ihr dann bei der Familienkasse einreichen. Loszughana e.V. ist ein eingetragener gemeinnütziger Verein.
Bitte beachte, dass nicht jeder Volunteer automatisch einen Anspruch auf Kindergeld hat!
Bei Fragen zu deinem konkreten Einzelfall wende dich am besten an die Familienkasse in deiner Nähe.
 

In most cases we suggest to take a Malaria prophylaxis. The most popular are Malarone(r) and Lariam(r). Please see a tropical doctor for more information and prescription.

Yes, you do!! Mosquito nets are the most important prevention against Malaria. Make sure that you always sleep under a mosquito net, if possible.

Normally in Europe/America mosquito nets are really expensive.
You can by cheap and good quality nets on Kumasi market on your arriving day in Kumasi.
(around 15cedi / 8euros)

We suggest to buy mosquito spray in your home country.
Only in a few supermarkets in Accra you can get good quality spray.
Most Mosquito sprays you get in Ghana don't have enough "Deet" inside so they won't protect you from tropical mosquitos. The Ministry of foreign affairs of your home country informs about recommend sprays against tropical mosquitos.
Please notice that in most cases the need of mosquito spray is underestimated!

Our Mentors are former volunteers of LoszuGhana NGO.
They are all introduced and qualified with the LoszuGhana Mentoring Guideline and will prepare you for your stay in Ghana. We assign a mentor for you after you have applied on our website.
Fell free to contact your mentor in any question you might have.

Please post your request at "ask a question".
We will clarify the situation up as soon as possible.

Yes, there are people in project and host family who speaks fluent english, but in the community might be just a few.

If there are more volunteers in your project you have likely to share your room with them.

Yes, all projects are close to government hospitals which are good quality.

If you are sick you will be assisted by your host family or project to hospital, in severe cases a member of the LoszuGhana Team in Ghana will be assigned to your assistance to see a doctor.

Once in a while there might be one but it's very scarce to have one, its more easier to get trotro (mini vans).

Yes, there are trotros (mini vans) which run usually from 4am to 10pm each day.

 Yes, there is clean water from well which is clean for drinking and other uses.

You have to organize a flight to Accra, health insurance, Visa application, get all needed vaccinations and buy all the stuff you are going to need in Ghana.
We are going to find a project for you and make sure they’ll receive you.
Also we assign a mentor for you, who prepares you for your stay in Ghana and answer any question you might have. While you are in Ghana the LoszuGhana Team supports you in questions and problems.

We are not responsible for your insurance. Please make sure that you have an insurance for your whole stay in Ghana which also take you back to your home country in case of continued sickness.

Also you need some vaccinations. The most important is yellow fever. Without this vaccination, you are not able to get a Visa. You have to show your Vaccination Card at the Accra International Airport.

Other useful vaccinations are Hepatitis A/B, Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio, Typhus, Rabies. These are regards of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany. Please have a look on the website of your home country Ministry for more information. Also you should talk to a tropical doctor, who is responsible for giving you the vaccination against yellow fever.

Either Traveller-Cheques, Visa-, Master-, or Maestro-Card is fine. The easiest is Visa since availability is the highest and Nationwide is the best value as they don’t charge when you withdraw abroad.

In Ghana it’s warm all year, often hot. Therefore you should mainly bring light summer clothing. You won’t need a jacket, just a light rain jacket maybe. For evenings long sleeves are good protection against mosquitos.
Don’t bring many white clothes as they will be difficult to keep clean with hand-washing.
The most important shoes are flip-flops. In the evenings trainers or something similar.

Below is an example list
- 2 light long trousers
- 7 t-shirts
- 2 proper shirts, long sleeves for girls.
- 2 thin jerseys
- 3 short pants
- 1 swim suit
- 2 towels
- 5 pair of socks
Miscellaneous.
- Mosquito net
- very thin sleeping bag made out of cotton.
- Hat
- First aid kit
- Gifts for host family
- Charcoal Tablets
- Malaria prophylaxis
- Mosquito spray
- Suncream
- Creditcard or similar
- Flashlight
- Pocket knife

It is easy (and cheaper) to buy clothes in Ghana if you want to travel light, but bring enough clothes for the first week. You can buy material on the market and the local tailors will make it for you.

Yes we have a guideline which describes a volunteer service with Loszughana.
Please have a look at our schedule.

You will definitely be picked up from the airport. A member of the LoszuGhana Team will come to Accra, fetch you from the airport and bring you to your project.

After your arriving in Kumasi you’ll get a three-day camp where the LoszuGhana Team will give you an introduction in the ghanaian culture, the local language Twi and some information about your project, hostfamily and travels.

We will not only find a project for you but also take care of you during your entire stay. We will visit you once in a while, meet you in the evenings and if you have any problems we will do our best to help you.

You are free to travel on weekends and during vacations. Also you might plan a travelmonth at the end of your stay where you have time to explore Ghana/West Africa. The only restriction is that we want you to stay in the region of your project in the first month of your stay and not to travel far. The reason is that we think you should first get to know Ghana before you travel on your own.

No, as long as you don’t travel during the night this shouldn’t be a problem.

For travelling its good to have a travel guide. In this way you get a lot of information about the country and the people living there. Also you can find cheap guesthouses, hotels and buses.

For germany there is only one travel guide:

"Ghana - praktisches Reisehandbuch für die Goldküste Westafrikas Jojo Cobbinah" Peter Meyer Verlag  (sehr zu empfehlen wenn man nicht immer alles übersetzen will ;)

But there are more english ones which are also really good and give you a lot of information.