Cross-Cultural Solutions

My review is specific to CCS Ghana, which I feel is a waste of money and designed for those who just want to have fun in Africa with minimal volunteering while still calling it a "volunteer" trip. I spent a combined 3 weeks in Ghana with CCS and 9 months in Ghana without any organization. I probably spent less money in those 9 months total than I spent on the 3 weeks with CCS, while having a much better trip.

CCS has its good points and could be a good introduction to Africa for those a bit hesitant (like I was) or unwilling to forego certain amenities. You will always have running water, a power generator, huge fans for the heat, westernized meals served to you, and a nice razor wire fence around the compound. All of this sounded great to me at the time, but in retrospect it robbed me of any true insight into the Ghanaian lifestyle.

Volunteer placements are usually nice (the majority being schools and orphanages) and volunteers have a lot of fun with the kids, but beware that you will probably not come away with any deep sense of fulfillment if you are looking to feel like you really made a difference. Volunteers are only at their placement for about 3 hours, while the rest of the day is dedicated to fun (outings, visiting town, hanging out at the homebase). Obviously the fun times are great, just be aware that the actual volunteering will seem like a minimal part of the trip. This trip caters to those who favor saying they have done volunteer work over actually doing the work itself.

CCS prides itself on cultural immersion activities. The activities are great - the highest waterfall in West Africa, a monkey sanctuary, a visit to the market, etc - but these are all easy activities to do without CCS. I visited all of the same places during my own visit to Ghana, and found all of them much more enjoyable to do with my real Ghanaian friends (rather than people I was randomly put into a house with), on my own time and in my own way.

Lastly, I unfortunately have to comment on the staff who will act warm and welcoming, but are in fact very petty towards volunteers and each other. Volunteers will not realize that the staff often talks poorly about them right in front of them in Ewe (the native language), or the amount of drama within the staff behind the scenes (dating each other against their own policy, giving silent treatments, threatening "juju" [witchcraft] against each other, etc).

I had previously heard rumors that the staff at CCS Ghana does not like volunteers to return to Ghana without CCS, and this was sadly proven true to me. Some staff members expressed excitement at my return and then never spoke to me while I was there, despite my attempt, specifically because I did not bring gifts to them (I was told that laptops, cameras, ipods are acceptable gifts, but unfortunately a 9-month leave from work does not afford me this possibility).

Lastly, while on the subject of the staff and homebase, I cannot stress enough that this living situation is structured specifically to those who are of an outgoing talkative personality. If this is you, great - this is not a negative observation, as most volunteers seem to fit this profile and staff prefers volunteers to fit this profile. I, however, am the very quiet type who prefers to take in my cultural surroundings without necessarily commenting out loud on each and every thing and also liked to spend most of my time at the homebase either preparing something for my few hours at my volunteer placement the next day or keeping a journal of my trip. I am a friendly person and always stayed with the group, but the staff made me feel excessively awkward and alienated because of my shyness, and even spoke poorly of me after I left (for example: remarking that I return to my serious face quickly after laughing at something. Excruciatingly petty). This may seem trivial, but it warrants mentioning because it ended up being a negative factor in both my trip and impression of the staff in retrospect. Introverts beware!

In conclusion, CCS Ghana is not an all bad experience, but there are unlimited ways to get a greater (and more realistic) experience of Ghana for a lot less money. Moving there by one's self like I did is not feasible for most people, but there are many many many organizations available. My best suggestion is simply to spend enough time researching to find a more basic volunteer program at a reasonable price (and that offers more time dedicated to the volunteer work if that is one of your primary objectives), and plan cultural excursions according to your own schedule and budget. Ghana promotes tourism so everything you need can be found online. CCS seems like a great package deal at first glance, but I guarantee that your visit to Ghana will be a thousand times more beautiful, realistic, exploratory, and fulfilling without CCS.

Please, I am not requesting or interested in a response from any CCS reps.