Mental Health, Leprosy and Basic Health Care Program

Most people in Ghana especially in the rural areas believe that mental health is a curse not a disease. A survey conducted shows that mental health disease is perceived to be incurable among the rural folks, and that, any person with mental problem has been cursed by the 'gods'.

Leprosy is also believed to a curse! Leprosy patients are mostly rejected by their family members or communities they live in. In fact, the discriminatory stigma against leprosy patients is very extreme than people living with HIV/AIDS. This is due to the fact that the disease is visible! But a cured leper is sometimes re-united with a family member or placed in a "Cured Lepers Village". The village is solely funded by the Government of Ghana but still lacks some basic needs and staffing. Volunteers are invited into the village to help in their basic daily activities. As part of our support to socio-economic development of the country and the means to educate people, we have initiated this program to engage the services of volunteers to educate and also help improve the health of the people.

Many of these communities we operate lack the very basic health care. There are a huge number people in these areas that have no access to better private/public health sector and therefore must rely on less equipped clinics at their disposal. These clinics are under-funded and lack services and facilities. Through this program, we aim to increase access to basic healthcare for rural people, decrease the prevalence of endemic diseases and improve overall village health by providing public health services in all aspects of clinical nursing.

By taking part in this program, you can offer vital assistance to a doctor or even non-professionals and nurses in these clinics whilst getting an insight into the lives of underprivileged individuals in the villages.

Additional Information:

In addition to each program comes an attractive package which includes the following;

• Flexible and a negotiable program fees
• A compact programs and a low program cost
• A program fee of 300 USD for 2 weeks, 400 USD (4 weeks), 750 USD (8 weeks), and lesser as the month progresses etc.

Typical day:

Daily activities begin after breakfast is offered at 7am. Work starts at 8am and closes at 5pm from Monday to Friday. Extra work can also be done at the health center on Saturdays (optional). Volunteers working in both hospital or clinic and the leprosy village have a slightly varied schedule. Two (2) days are set aside to visit the leprosy village weekly. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days of visitation to the center to help the inmates. This can be done at 10am or after lunch. But It is advisable to be with the lepers at 10am till lunch and beyond. Trips are allowed during the weekends.

Accommodation:

GCS mostly provide both on-site and host family accommodation for volunteers. Accommodation will sometimes be in shared rooms with typically no more than 4 to a room. Volunteers will have access to electricity, bathroom with shower and flushing toilet. Most projects are walking distance from the accommodation which will help minimize transport cost. Volunteers are placed with screened Host Families; this is to make sure the family is healthy and do not have any communicable kind of disease dangerous to volunteers' health. Placements are very flexible with your individuals/groups preferences and requests.

Know before you go:

Visitors to Ghana are expected to acquire a valid Passport and a Visa. All passports must be valid for at least six months on arrival in Ghana. GCS provide support for volunteer visa applications including references being required by Ghana Embassies abroad. Contacts and addresses of Ghana High Commissions will be provided including a Letter of Support. It is recommended and required of a volunteer to visit a health center in their home country for yellow fever and other health related vaccination, and also request malaria prevention drugs.

GCS Staff will guide you through every process in your preparation for the trip in our pre-departure welcome information pack in newsletter formats. The newsletters are contained in ten (10) different formats with varied information.