Organise your 2 week school trip to Ghana today! Teachers travel free and your 15 days in Ghana will be fully structured, inclusive and led by our experienced team. Your first week will have you arrive in Accra before travelling to Kumasi for your orientation into life in Ghana. You will volunteer in a community setting as you teach English and provide childcare to support vulnerable children as well as rolling up your sleeves on a renovation project. After a few days giving back to the Kumasi community, it will be time to head north to Mole for a couple days adventure including safari, waterfalls and monkeys.
Your second week will see you continue your childcare and renovation volunteering, before finishing with more adventure travel and some R&R in Cape Coast and Busua beach. Cultural activities will be provided throughout including drumming, dancing & an art class. Everything is included in your 2 week Ghana expedition from the airport transfers and meals to accommodation, entrance fees and cultural activities.
GHANA SCHOOL TRIP HIGHLIGHTS WITH PMGY
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A FULLY STRUCTURED, SAFE AND ALL INCLUSIVE EXPERIENCE
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A PERFECT BLEND OF VOLUNTEER, TRAVEL, ADVENTURE & CULTURAL IMMERSION
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TRIP ITINERARY, ACTIVITIES & DURATION EASILY TAILORED TO YOUR NEEDS & WANTS
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THE BEST VALUE & MOST AFFORDABLE TRIP PROVIDER WITH NO SACRIFICIES IN QUALITY
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PMGY WILL ENSURE A TRUE AUTHENTIC AFRICAN EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR GROUP IN GHANA
HOW IT WORKS FOR SCHOOLS
Plan My Gap Year has the expertise, experience and networks to make your Ghana expedition accessible, safe and stress-free. We pride ourselves on safety management and we have risk assessment documentation for all our overseas trips including to Ghana that outline how we ensure participants are kept safe while overseas.
Organising an overseas trip for your school involves lots of preparation. From flights and insurance to pre-trip training and that’s even before you’ve looked at organising the itinerary! So that’s where PMGY come in. We really do specialise in the school's overseas expedition area providing exclusive group trips whilst accommodating large groups of students, on full board options, with great community project work and travel opportunities. We can organise:
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FLIGHTS (PMGY ARE ATOL PROTECTED), TRAVEL INSURANCE & FULL VISA GUIDANCE
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ALL-INCLUSIVE TAILORED VOLUNTEER AND/OR TRAVEL-BASED ITINERARIES
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FULL PRE-DEPARTURE PREPARATION AND 24/7 INTERNATIONAL & IN-COUNTRY SUPPORT
As a social initiative, we are able to guarantee affordable prices without sacrificing the quality of our programs. We frequently have groups joining our programs as they are looking for a more affordable alternative to their existing provider. We can tailor a trip around your requirements and work with you to create your personalised school trip itinerary. So why not follow the PMGY ten-step journey below to making your bespoke school trip to Ghana a reality!
TEN STEP JOURNEY & OUR SUPPORT ROLE
Step 1: Arrange a Call - Should this trip be the one for you, get in touch by email or call and one of our school expedition specialists can discuss and tailor your Ghana school trip. Alternatively, let us know the best way to reach out to you and we will do so at a time convenient to you.
Step 2: Meet & Greet - After initial contact has been made and ideas progressed, our school expedition specialist will travel to meet you and any of your colleagues in person. As a result, a face can then be put to the name, the Ghana trip planning can be evolved and any initial questions can be answered.
Step 3: Information Session - Once the itinerary, duration and dates are in place for your trip to Ghana, our school trip specialist will come and host an information session with all interested students and parents. We will convey all necessary content and information about the trip and hold a Q&A session after the presentation to ensure all attendees are as informed as possible before signing up.
Step 4: Confirm Trip Numbers - Once the internal school deadline for registrations has passed and the trip numbers are known, PMGY will arrange the invoice procedures for the overall group deposit payment to confirm the trip go ahead. For every 10 students, 1 teacher spot will be provided for free! We can also arrange and provide flights and insurance options for all travellers should this be applicable.
Step 5: PMGY Pre-departure Support - Throughout the build-up to your Ghana school trip, we will be on hand to support you whatever way possible. Whether it be through creating your bespoke trip handbook, completing risk assessments, communicating safety management procedures or providing project preparation webinars, we will have all bases covered.
Step 6: Pre-departure Session - Around 2 months before your school trip begins in Ghana, we will come to your school and do a final pre-departure session with staff, students and parents. This will ensure that everything is in place before your school head overseas and the content covered will align with this accordingly. We will also distribute PMGY T-shirts to all travellers at the session!
Step 7: Before You Go - In the days before your arrival into Ghana, we will be in close and regular contact with you to make sure everything is in place for your trip. This will include a range of emails and phone calls ensuring your arrival procedures are all in place, dietary requirements & medical conditions are catered for and that our ground team in Ghana are well prepared for your school's arrival.
Step 8: Enjoy the Trip! - When on the trip, our ground team will become your day to day port of call. We will touch base with them daily to make sure your trip is running smoothly. If required, we will be available 24/7 from afar. We will check in with you across the trip to see how everything is going. We know you will be in safe hands with our trusted, experienced and vetted ground teams!
Step 9: Return Home - By the time our team have dropped you safely back at Accra Airport, the travel blues may already be starting to kick in! We hope all the students and staff have had an unforgettable trip! Each trip participant will receive a certificate of completion. Furthermore, we will check in one final time with you in the days after your trip for feedback on your Ghana experience.
Step 10: Future Planning - After a few weeks away from Ghana and once the travel blues have well and truly settled in, it's now time to be planning your next school trip with PMGY to create more magical memories! Whether it be back to Ghana or to a new destination, PMGY will be on hand every step of the way again to facilitate your new adventure. Back to Step one we go!
SCHOOL CASE STUDY - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, USA
Who - Ohio State University (OSU) from the United States of America. 14 medical students and 2 staff members from OSU travelled to Ghana on a group trip expedition with PMGY.
What - A 15 day medical-based learning volunteer expedition. PMGY arranged hospital placement settings as well as community outreach programs for students to engage in. In addition, adventure travel to Mole National Park and Cape Coast & Busua Beach were arranged as well as cultural evening activities. As a result, Ohio State University received a fully tailored and structured itinerary from PMGY for their Ghana experience that was action-packed, insightful and impact-driven.
Where - OSU moved around quite a bit during their 2 weeks in Ghana with PMGY. They arrived into Accra with flights all arranged via PMGY. The next segment of the trip was the community outreach placement in central Ghana located by Lake Bosomtwe. Afterwards, the group moved onto our main PMGY Ghana location of Kumasi for the hospital setting. Outside of the project locations, OSU students also travelled to Mole in the North of Ghana and Cape Coast & Busua Beach in the South of Ghana.
When - OSU joined PMGY on an overseas group expedition for 2 weeks in May 2019. The group enjoyed the experience so much they have made plans to return with PMGY in the same period for 2020 with a new group of students.
Why - OSU chose PMGY for their Ghana overseas trip as they provided a fantastic inclusive bespoke trip itinerary. Furthermore, because the fees were so affordable, it made the trip accessible to a range of students. The range of community-based settings for volunteering as well as the adventure travel made the trip very desirable and an opportunity many of OSU students did not want to miss. The cultural activities also arranged by PMGY added a further unique experience to the trip. Overall, OSU felt very assured and confident in arranging their Ghana trip with PMGY from the moment the first initial contact was made. These feelings only became stronger as time went on and during the trip taking place.
How - An OSU academic leader reached out to PMGY online enquiring about overseas group trips specific for medical students in late 2018. Communications developed positively with a range of phone calls and emails as our PMGY group trip specialist worked with the academic lead to create a bespoke, structured itinerary that would allow students to get the most from their experience as a whole. PMGY provided a structured pre-departure service throughout to make the process as hassle-free as possible for OSU. Examples include hosting information and pre-departure sessions for students and parents, trip support packs put together, arranging flights and insurance and extensive communications provided in a timely fashion throughout the trip build up. OSU was well prepared for their trip to Ghana and the PMGY ground team in Ghana were well briefed and prepared for OSU's bespoke itinerary. As a result, this transitioned into a smooth and unforgettable experience for OSU trip participants.
Feedback - "From the moment we started researching overseas trips, it became clear that PMGY was the standout option. Their low fees and consequently how affordable they make overseas experiences for groups was something I was yet to come across with other overseas group trip providers. From the moment I started to discuss ideas of a group trip with Philip from the PMGY team, I felt at ease and assured. The trip itinerary they put together for our students was everything we wanted and more. It allowed for an experience like no other and the students learnt so much and gave so much back not only from the volunteering but also from the cultural and travel opportunities. Seth and the rest of the Ghana team were amazing in providing the in-country experience. They could do no wrong and went the extra mile to ensure our students had the best experiences on so many occasions. Our 2 weeks flew by, the accommodation was more comfortable than expected and the Ghanaian food was so much tastier than expected. We had some unbelievable experiences spotting elephants in Mole and learning history at Cape Coast Castle. None of this would have been possible without the support and organisation of the PMGY team. All at OSU look forward to returning to Ghana in 2020!"
SCHOOL VOLUNTEER PROJECT SUMMARIES
The core of the sample overseas school trip with PMGY to Ghana will be centred around the volunteering schedule and making a positive impact in the local community. The core projects within the sample itinerary that students will be completing volunteer work in is childcare and renovation. It is important to note that we also have teaching and medical volunteer opportunities in Ghana. As a result, your volunteer schedule can be tailored to include these aspects. Consequently, the sample itinerary and volunteer options included within can be amended to a bespoke Ghana expedition for your school.
Community Childcare - The community childcare aspect of the programme in Ghana allows participants to further their impact within the volunteer experience as they brighten up the lives of vulnerable young children whilst making a vital and important contribution to their daily lives along the way. The main premise of the community programme is supporting the childcare and disabled children project that we work with.
Located in central Kumasi, Pinnacle Nursery and Kindergarten supports early years education for around 100 children. The children age from 1 to 6 years whereby the goal of the project is to provide tuition-free quality basic education for children.
At the project, there are opportunities for volunteers to support at either the creche, nursery, kindergarten or primary school. All of which are located on the same site. As a volunteer in Ghana, you are encouraged to get involved with as many day-to-day activities as you can. For the reason that supporting a project hosting 100 children on a daily basis is no easy feat. This includes daily care and interaction with the children and spending time in the playground area. Additionally, helping to teach younger children how to read and write.
There is also the opportunity to assist in other activities for the preschool-aged children at Pinnacle Nursery and Kindergarten. For example, drawing and colouring activities, singing songs and dance assemblies and supporting with any chores. The local staff are also very grateful for the additional support that can be offered and the extra care which can be provided for the children. Maintaining a positive and proactive attitude will help you build good relationships with both the children and the local staff.
In short, volunteers are required to support and assist with the daily care, interaction and learning of the children. More specifically, providing such support for disadvantaged children and young adults who need it most. Your level of impact is based on your willingness and pro-activeness to get involved and make the most of your time. Experience of working with children is not necessary but it does help.
Renovation in the Local Community - You can roll up your sleeves and make a positive impact in the local community of Kumasi. This is a great opportunity to help out whilst immersing yourself in the local culture. From local churches, government hospitals and primary schools, we have assisted the local community with renovation in a number of different settings across Kumasi. We support institutions and projects that often struggle to find funding and labour support to undertake important development work.
You do not need to have any previous construction or renovation experience, just bags of energy and the willingness to help. Your renovation volunteer program will mainly be during the morning, however, depending on the circumstances and weather conditions, timings may change around a little. The renovation aspect of the programme in Ghana allows participants to provide a tangible impact within the volunteer experience as they make an important contribution within the local community. With your help, we can further support Kumasi’s community and you can do your bit to leave a lasting impression! You will be placed at local establishments that have expressed a great need for volunteers and request help in renovation or restoration work. This will be a painting & renovation project at either a local village, school or hospital.
The exact project location for this will be decided closer to the time of the program where the need for a local project will be identified. This will ensure the impact we are making on the renovation project will be valuable and needed. A coordinator will be at hand to help you with your tasks. As a renovation volunteer, you will spend your time helping out with the required tasks that the project desires. For example, you may be busy mixing paint, digging holes, painting fences, assisting builders, scrubbing walls, moving blocks, decorating a room, whatever is required for your local community. Your placement is likely to be outside, so make sure to bring plenty of suncream, a water bottle, and old clothes too!
This is a great project that allows you to get hands-on within the community. By the end of your time with us, you’ll be able to see exactly what you’ve contributed towards, whilst still making a difference in the community afternoon projects as well.
