No, you don’t. We accept all volunteers.
Our placements are mostly in the Awutu Senya District (Kasao and Buduburam) in the Central Region of Ghana.
The Awutu Senya District is around a 45 minute drive from Accra.
Yes, you can. Although we do make recommendations, we let volunteers decide on their placement.
Yes, we have numerous partnerships in Ghana. If we don’t run any projects you’re interested in, we can help you make arrangements with other local organizations.
Yes, our projects operate year-round.
Training and a project orientation will be provided by Future Stars. Our training aims to introduce you to the local community and provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to make the largest possible impact.
When traveling to Ghana you will need a few different vaccines and medications:
Yellow Fever (the only required vaccination, offered at the airport in Ghana for around $20)
Hepatitis A and B
Malaria
Typhoid
You should also consider:
Meningitis
Rabies
All visitors coming to Ghana are required to obtain a visa. Visas are generally around $60. We help volunteers with the application process. No Future Stars volunteer has ever been denied a visa.
Although we do not require travel insurance, it is a good investment. Travel insurance can save you money with unexpected expenses such as flight changes, lost baggage, medical emergencies, and emergency evacuations.
The Awutu Senya District has all your modern amenities: post offices, hospitals, taxis, buses, markets, parks, hotels, restaurants, tourist sites, and internet cafes.
A Future Stars representative will meet you at the Accra airport. After meeting the representative you will be taken to your host family where you will began your orientation.
Volunteers will live with a host family where they will have their own bedroom with a lock, and a western bathroom. There is no running water, but there will be clean water for washing and bathing.
Volunteers will be offered all kinds of dishes, including foreign dishes in restaurants and local foods in the market: rice, fish, chicken, ampesi, homemade bread, kenkey, plantains, fufu, banku, gari, and numerous different vegetables and fruits. Volunteers can also shop at the West Hill Mall supermarkets where they can find imported western foods.
The cost of living depends on your lifestyle. We recommend that volunteers budget $30-$60 a week for restaurants, internet access, transportation, snacks, and entertainment.
The best transport option within short distances is the tro-tro, a bus on a set route with low fares of about $0.50-$1 a ride. The other option is taking a taxi which will cost you around $0.25-$1 a mile.
We allow volunteers to stay for any length of time.
Airfare, visas, and vaccinations are all paid for by the volunteer.
Yes, there are numerous internet cafes offering work rooms with Wi-Fi. An hour of access is $0.50 and international sim cards are available for purchase.
The local spoken dialect is Twi. However, English is the official language used in Ghana.
The most important thing to remember is to ask questions. It’s normal to feel intimidated by volunteering abroad and we’re here to help!