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.

Session IV: August 6th – August 22nd
Girls’ Empowerment
Applicants from all backgrounds and majors are encouraged to apply.

Time Commitment Volunteers will be expected to dedicate approximately three hours each week for the month preceding departure to research the topic and gather resources for an informal presentation of potential activities upon arrival in Humjibre. Ideas will be circulated and discussed prior to departure, but group planning sessions will be the focus of the first few days in Humjibre. There will also be conference calls prior to departure, which all volunteers are required to participate in.

Background Empowering and educating girls are essential elements in the fight against poverty. Educating and empowering one girl has an effect on her family and community; if she is given the opportunity to pursue her education, she is more likely to earn a better income and have fewer, healthier children when she decides the time is right. Without encouragement to pursue higher education and their dreams, young girls are often the first to stay at home and help with the immediate needs of the family versus investing in future opportunities. As girls enter pre-adolescence and adolescence, they develop new relationships with their peers, family members and adults. Strong communication skills and the ability to make good decisions, combined with accurate knowledge, can help ensure that girls have happy and healthy relationships and futures. GHEI has been coordinating female empowerment projects for years and has found that the young girls, in particular, thrive on and benefit from these experiences. Many of the girls have gone on to articulate their goals, apply for scholarships, and find a new sense of pride in themselves and what they can do for their community and immediate family.

Project Description Volunteers will work with local staff to train girls in leadership and life skills and help them to live healthier lives. This intensive 2-week session with local middle-school aged girls will give them the opportunity to think about their futures and themselves in a new and broader context. Volunteers will meet with the girls daily for the majority of their time in Humjibre and be in charge of executing a “girls’ empowerment” camp.

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