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Volunteering in Ghana
Read this if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer.
We are looking for volunteers who are interested in bicycles and
development. We value the bicycle as a practical, enjoyable,
emission-free mode of transportation, and a serious contender for
moving people and goods in the poorer countries. Experience with
mechanics is a plus, but isn’t absolutely necessary. Experience and
interest in working with community development projects, preferably in
less-developed countries is just as important as knowing how to fix
bicycles, no its even more important.
The general picture in Ghana is that bicycles help people save money on
transport, save time that they would spend walking, help kids reach
school on time so they aren’t punished by their teachers for being
late, farmers can get their produce to markets that are farther away
than if they were walking, people sell their wares off the back of
their bikes, old ladies send their grandchildren on errands for them,
multiple people travel to funerals/weddings/town/market on the same
bike at the same time.
There are new bikes coming from Asia that are simple and many people
know how to work on them. There are also used bikes from Japan. These
are almost all one-speeds. Lately there have been some new mountain
bikes with gears that come from China and they are very low quality.
The derailleurs break really fast and the tires burst, rims bend,
etc... Our bikes are used (often really really used), but people still
prefer them over other bicycles and they have gears, which makes
people's lives easier when they're riding through sand, up and down
hills or carrying loads of produce or people on their bikes. And
they're recycled. We like the idea of people in Ghana using bikes that
people in US/UK/Australia don't want anymore as opposed to manufacturing
junky new bikes to send here while American's bikes are rotting in
landfills or people's garages.
Here are some potential roles for international volunteers:
Follow-up researcher
VBP is trying to learn more about what has happened to our bikes and
program participants of the last 7 years. Essentially this research
amounts to using lists of workshop and/or Earn-a-Bike participants to
find people and their bicycles, conduct interviews and take pictures.
The purpose of this research is to uncover successes, shortcomings and
unintended consequences of our programs. That information can then be
used to revise old programs, design new ones and make VBP more
effective. Furthermore, we need to make sure repairers know how to
work on our bikes and have access to tools and replacement parts. We
are serious about creating self-sustaining networks to disseminate
materials and information and to do so we need to fully understand how
current networks function.
Bicycle Business Research
We see that bicycles are big business in Ghana. Not only do they help
the poor get around, reduce oil imports, and protect the environment,
the bicycle sector employs tens of thousands of people in Ghana alone.
Bike business research would help make the case to other African nations
about the benefits of pro-bike policies.
Earn-a-Bike coordinator
The Earn-a-Bike program is an intensive repair and maintenance course
in which students refurbish a bike and it becomes theirs upon
successfully completing the course. An Earn-a-Bike volunteer would be
responsible for starting new EAB programs in one or several places,
which is a considerable undertaking. It involves locating sites,
developing syllabi, training instructors and supporting instructors
throughout program sessions. An EAB volunteer should be able to commit
at least nine months to the program. Contact us for a copy of the VBP
EAB syllabus or any other information about the EAB program.
Women’s Program Coordinator
The Village Bicycle Project is dedicated to closing the gap between men
and women’s access to technology. Women do a lot of work in Ghana and
we want to make sure that they also have access to technology and
skills that will make them more productive and improve their quality of
life. Furthermore, we believe that improving the quality of life of a
woman affects families and communities in a profound way. Our women’s
programs are varied and flexible, as we identify the needs of women in
different communities. The Women’s Program Coordinator has the
exciting job of recruiting and training interested women to work for
our program as instructors. It also includes conducting follow-up
research focusing on our women’s programs. Ultimately, Ghanaian women
are able to identify the needs of other Ghanaian women better than a
foreign volunteer and so we hope to bring more women into the project
as instructors and researchers.
The time commitment for volunteers varies. My first response to that
question is that a volunteer should stay as long as possible. I think
six months is a good amount of time but a year is even better.
Depending on your level of experience, it will take the first 2-4
months to get oriented and learn how to function in Ghana and
understand the big picture of the project. During this time you can do
things like attend workshops, see containers get unloaded, practice
living in Ghana, cook, make friends and learn some of the language.
Hanging out is really important in Ghana. The more you hang out, chat,
sit quietly with people, join them in whatever they're doing, etc., the
more they will trust you and be frank with you.
If you are interested in volunteering, contact us at vbp@pcei.org.
Tell us about yourself, your skills and experience and why you are
interested in volunteering with VBP.
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