Session I: June 13th - 29th
Ghana Read and Play: A Celebration of Childhood Literacy

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 Volunteers will design and run a two-week celebration of literacy using GHEI's yearly Read-A-Thon as a platform. Throughout the Read-A-Thon, volunteers will work one-on-one and with groups of children to teach the proper ways to handle books, and will help to develop the children's love for learning by exploring different themes of literature. It is important for volunteers to be able to share the love of reading with all different levels of readers – from those that just enjoy the pictures to more proficient ones.

The Read-A-Thon will culminate in an awards ceremony to honor the top readers in front of their families and the community. The volunteers play an integral part in planning and executing this special event!

Background Early exposure to rich language experiences and high quality instruction play a fundamental role in ensuring a child's later success. Children who experience early success in school are far more likely to graduate from high school, pursue higher education and attain jobs.
GHEI runs a variety of education programs for the children in Humjibre including a library, early literacy program and youth education program. GHEI's library provides a focal point for the community to learn and explore the world of books. Our early literacy program aims to instill an early love of learning for our kids age 5-12, while our youth education program (YEP) serves to supplement the learning of the top students in Junior High School (JHS).

Beyond events like the Read-A-Thon, GHEI and Humjibre are proud of their free library that is open to all. The first library was opened in 2005, but it moved to its permanent location in 2007 in order to accommodate more books and patrons. In 2009 GHEI greatly expanded its catalogue with a donation of 3,000 new books from Books for Africa. We are proud to feature the Junior African Writers Series and hope to expand our culturally relevant books in the years to come. The library is also a source of textbooks for students to use during their studies, which is very popular among the youth.

In the summer of 2009, many volunteers spent a portion of their time with the early literacy program, and both the children and volunteers found the experience exceedingly fun and rewarding. This led to the first summer Serve and Learn group that focused on literacy in 2010. These volunteers were a part of GHEI's fourth and largest Read-A-Thon with approximately 400 active participants from kindergarden to middle school. In the summer of 2011, we hope to build on this success and further enhance the learning experience for the children.

Qualifications Applicants from all backgrounds and majors are encouraged to apply. Previous experience working with young children is beneficial, but not required.

Time Commitment Volunteers will be expected to dedicate three hours each week for the month preceding departure to gather resources and organize activities. There will also be conference calls prior to departure, which all volunteers are required to participate in.

Continued: Session II: July 1st– July 17th Download Sessions Document