PCO Ghana

From the Population Caring Ghana Website:

The Population Caring Organization (PCO) is a humanitarian organization founded in 2003 at the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana. PCO addresses the needs of vulnerable West Africans, especially Liberians and Ghanaians. Our mandate is to improve both day-to-day conditions and long-term prospects for suffering West Africans who have been displaced or affected by poverty and civil war.

Our work includes (1) the provision of free and quality education to refugee children and other underprivileged youth whose parents cannot afford to support their education; (2) providing skills and literacy training to poor, vulnerable mothers with the aim of empowering them to support themselves and their families; and (3) promoting reconciliation and non-violent conflict resolution through the PCO community peace cells. We also work to rebuild trust and cooperation among tribal people through the Tribal Leaders' Reconciliation Forum and peace festivals.

Presently we are in the process of establishing the West Africa Peace Village in the central region of Ghana. With a grant of $7,000 from Nicola Feldeman, a former volunteer, and the GVN Foundation, PCO has began constructing the first school in the peace village. Upon completion the village will serve as the center of our peace and education efforts.

Learn more about PCO, our programs, and how to get involved...

About GVN

From the GVN website:

Our Vision

Our vision is to connect people with communities in need. We do this by supporting the work of local community organizations in countries through the placement of international volunteers.

Our Beginnings

The Global Volunteer Network (GVN) was launched in December 2000 by Colin Salisbury, its Founder and Executive Director, after spending time volunteering in Ghana, West Africa. While he was there he saw the tremendous difference volunteers could make in helping local organizations achieve their goals. Upon returning to New Zealand he spent some time researching the different volunteer organizations around the world and was amazed at how expensive and limiting many programs were in terms of volunteer opportunities.

Our Network

The Global Volunteer Network (GVN) is a private, Non Government Organization (NGO) based in Wellington, New Zealand. Our incorporation number is: WN/1194442.

GVN currently has volunteer positions available through our partner organizations in Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, USA, and Vietnam. The network continues to expand with new programs currently being researched and assessed. Click here for detailed information on our programs.

The number of people volunteering through GVN continues to grow. Since 2002 we have placed over 13,500 volunteers.

We also offer fundraising hikes to allow an active role in raising funds for communities in need. We currently have hikes planned to Mt. Everest Base Camp, Machu Picchu, and Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Our Partners

At GVN we align with the idea of "local solutions to local problems," so we work with local community organizations in each country. We believe that local communities are in the best position to determine their needs, and we provide volunteers to help them achieve their goals.