Programming & Training
History and Background
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. That year, the first volunteers arrived in Ghana and started a legacy of partnership and friendship that has lasted uninterrupted for almost 50 years. Today, Peace Corps volunteers work in a variety of development programs throughout the ten regions of Ghana.
Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs)
PCVs are U.S. Americans, of different ages and from diverse backgrounds, who make a commitment to serve, usually for two years. The aim of a PCV is to build the capacity of others and to share different ways of life. They live and work as members of a community at the same economic level as the people they serve.
Associate Peace Corps Directors (APCDs)
APCDs are Ghanaians who work for Peace Corps to coordinate development programs throughout Ghana. They are responsible for identifying viable projects and placing PCVs in communities whose needs match the volunteer's skills and experience. APCDs liaise between PCVs and project partners to ensure volunteers are supported and productive during their service.
PPCVs support global and national efforts to ensure that all Ghanaians have long and healthy lives. The goals of the Health Project are four fold:
- Improving Maternal and Child Health. Community members will adopt behaviors and practices that contribute to improved maternal, neonatal, and child health outcomes through improved maternal and child nutrition and through prevention of childhood diseases.
- Reducing incidences of Malaria via Prevention Methods. Individuals will adopt behaviors and practices that contribute to reducing incidences of Malaria. Through reducing malaria incidents through prevention methods.
- Improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. Community members will adopt healthy behaviors to reduce water-borne diseases and improve environmental health and sanitation, through improved community water and sanitation systems. And through promotion of WASH sector BCC activities in households and schools.
- Increasing Knowledge about Healthy Sexual Behaviors. Individuals will increase their knowledge about healthy sexual behaviors to prevent the spread and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS through promotion of HIV prevention techniques.
Ghanaian students will have greater opportunities for personal and academic success in school and in their communities thanks to PCV interventions. The goals of the Education project are two-fold: Ghanaian students will have greater opportunities for personal and academic success in school and in their communities thanks to PCV interventions. The goals of the Education project are two-fold:
- Increasing Student Capacity. Ghanaian students in Junior High School, Senior High School and Schools for the Deaf will demonstrate improved capacity in Science, Math or Art.
- Through demonstrating increased content mastery and / or critical thinking.
- Building School Capacity. Ghanaian students will demonstrate improved leadership qualities due to their schools increased capacity to provide a quality educational environment.
- Through expanded use of capital and material educational resources.
- Through improved student confidence, motivation and/or leadership through extracurricular activities.
- Through engagement in communities of practice for professional development.
- Through broadened community support for schools and learning.
Rural Ghanaian farmers and producer organizations will increase incomes and food security thanks to PCV support. The goals of the Agriculture project are three fold:
- Improving Farm Productivity. Rural Ghanaian farmers will improve farm productivity in order to increase availability and access to food. Through improved staple crop cultivation, through small animal husbandry and beekeeping and through improved non-timber forest product cultivation.
- Improving Farm Income. Rural Ghanaian farmers will improve farm income through improved capacity, added value and marketing.
- Improving Organizational Capacity. Ghanaian agricultural producer organizations will strengthen their management capacity in order to improve food security outcomes through strengthened organizational management and improved financial literacy.
PC Ghana offers training opportunities for its PCVs and Ghanaian counterparts throughout the year in order to address development issues with current study and best practices. Training also supports the integration of cross-sector initiatives such as HIV/AIDS prevention, Malaria prevention and Food Security.
Pre Service Training (PST)
PST is an intensive ten-week training program that transfers technical, language, and cross-cultural knowledge and skills to newly arrived PCVs to prepare them for their service in Ghana. Likewise, it also provides the first opportunity at integrating into a Ghanaian household through linking up each Peace Corps Trainee with a Ghanaian host family in the training community.
In Service Training (IST)
ISTs are held periodically throughout the year and address the training needs of PCVs and their Ghanaian partners during the course of a PCV's service. Some ISTs are general in scope and others are specifically linked to a field of study (youth sports, school gardening, malaria prevention, special education, using multimedia methods as a training tool).
Close of Service (COS)
The COS conference helps PCVs transition from life in Ghana to life in the U.S. The COS conference brings together PCVs, staff and RPCVs to share stories about their readjustment to life in the US and provides tips and strategies towards navigating a successful readjustment to life after Peace Corps. Likewise, the COS conference also reminds PCVs that the third goal of Peace Corps service (To help promote a better understanding of Ghanaians on the part of the American people) continues throughout their lives and offers strategies on using Third Goal events as opportunities to continue to stay connected to their Peace Corps service back home.
In Ghana, programming and training are highly integrated. We do both diligently as our mission is peace through mutual development, and we are succeeding." Sean Cantella Director, Programming and Training, Ghana