Session IV: August 6th – August 22nd
Build Ghana: Community Development and Local Capacity

Dates listed are the dates in which participates should arrive and depart Accra, Ghana if they are traveling with the group. On these arrival and departure dates, there will be GHEI staff to meet or drop off volunteers at the airport.

Project Description Community Development: Volunteers will help build a much needed soccer field. Working with local staff and builders, volunteers will level a soccer field, lay grass and build a fence and goal posts. Volunteers will have the opportunity to play soccer with children and celebrate the presentation of the soccer field to the community.

Capacity building: Volunteers will work to build the capacity of GHEI's local staff by designing and leading one-on-one trainings on areas of needed growth like basic computer skills.

Background This project combines two separate elements of international development, building local nongovernmental organization (NGO) capacity through basic information technology tutoring and stimulating community development through the creation of a soccer field. Program participants will spend mornings and evenings building the soccer field and will spend a few hours mid-day leading basic technology training sessions.

Soccer field Soccer symbolizes pride and community spirit in Ghana, a country that advanced further than any other African country in the 2010 World Cup. In Humjibre, everyone from children to adults loves to play soccer at anytime of day. Yet with no proper field to play on, many become injured playing on rocky dirt patches. Community members play with whatever they can find to use including rolled-up tape balls. Having a proper and safe field encourages teambuilding, leadership, sportsmanship, healthy physical development and prevents injury. It can create a forum for discussions on health and gender, and facilitates a community spirit that enables GHEI's health and education programs to thrive.

There are currently five soccer teams that play on an unleveled, rocky and unsafe soccer field in the center of the village. The village chief of Humjibre has prioritized building a new soccer field and has already donated the land to build a proper field and mobilized community resources in the form of materials and labor.

Capacity building is building the skills and abilities of individuals, communities or organizations so that they can adapt and thrive. A basic knowledge of computers and technology is a critical element in the skill set needed to run a successful nongovernmental organization (NGO) as it allows for access to information and the maintenance of institutional knowledge.

GHEI strives for local staff to manage and lead the direction of our programs. Prior to working with GHEI, most of our staff had never used a computer. Most are currently learning to use Microsoft Word and Excel. Each staff member is at a different level making individualized training necessary.

Qualifications Applicants from all backgrounds and majors are encouraged to apply. No advanced computer skills or soccer experience are necessary.

Time Commitment Volunteers will be expected to dedicate three hours each week for the month preceding departure to gathering resources and organizing activities. There will be two conference calls prior to departure, which all volunteers are required to participate in, to go over both project-specific material and general GHEI Information.

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