Welcome! We are thrilled that you are considering travelling to Ghana to experience volunteer
service work with our programs. On your first visit to Ghana you will experience sights,
smells, sounds, and tastes that you have most likely not have experienced before. For that
reason, we have provided an outline of expectations for travel to our programs. Although each
trip will be unique and varied, here is an overview of what you can expect if you plan to travel
to volunteer with Touch A Life.
1. We highly encourage group visits and strongly discourage individual visits except in
cases where the individual will be providing a specialized skill or service requested by
Touch A Life. Travelling alone can be a frightening and disorienting experience, and
there is safety in numbers.
2. Touch A Life programs are not a tourist destination but a place for learning and
serving. All visitors should therefore come with any one or more of the following in
mind:
 learning about missions, social work, or related studies
 serving the children in a specific way
 serving those who serve the children in a specific way
 engaging in a service project
3. Service projects may be in the following areas:
 Child Care
 Healthcare and health clinics
 Education
 Agriculture
 Construction/Maintenance of Facilities
 Art, music, science, and camp activities
4. Visitors will be expected to raise the funds necessary to volunteer for Touch A Life
programs. In addition, visitors are expected to arrive with the funds needed to
accomplish the service project of their choice.
5. Touch A Life must approve visit dates and service projects preferably six (6) months
prior to the visit, and no later than three (3) months prior to the visit.
6. Touch A Life programs may arrange a visit to some tourist attractions/sites but this is
not guaranteed. All expenses related to visits to tourist attractions will be borne by the
visitors.
7. Visitors will be expected to bear the cost of their stay, transportation, etc.
Touch A Life Projects- Guest Policy
1. Scheduling a Trip
All requests should be submitted 3-6 months prior to arrival date.
July 2010 is currently available for service work in one-week increments throughout the
month.
After the receipt of an official confirmation letter from Touch A Life, neither the dates nor the
group sizes may be changed. We have a limited number of visitor spaces; therefore group size
must remain constant once the details of your trip are approved.
2. Group Size:
We can accommodate no more 18 people in a week. You cannot increase the number in your
group after you have submitted your original application. If your group size decreases, please
give us at least three (3) months’ notice.
3. Arrivals and Departures through Accra, Ghana (ACC, or Kotoka International
Airport):
Touch A Life will make all attempts to honor your requested dates of arrival and departure,
subject to already confirmed group schedules. Transportation of incoming and outgoing groups
will be scheduled with our personnel whenever possible, and departure dates most likely will be
assigned to optimize group stay, and to avoid overlap of groups. All group members will be
expected to arrive on the same flight and depart on the same flight. This is to avoid the cost of
travel into and out of Accra when individual schedules are considered. If our personnel cannot
handle your transport, you can choose a taxi to get to your destination.
Travel to Kete Krachi: If you plan to visit the Village of Life, be aware that travel to Kete
Krachi is sometimes treacherous, depending on the season, but is at the minimum an 8 hour
drive, including a ferry crossing. The cost, on average, is $175 per driver and each vehicle can
accommodate no more than 6 passengers. Keep in mind also that bathroom facilities are not
available on the drive.
4. Sightseeing:
Most visits, either to Kakum National Park Rain Forest Canopy Walk or Elmina Slave Castle,
require at least ten (10) hours. You will be required to cover your own entrance fees to either of
these venues and there will also be a transportation fee levied to cover fuel at prevailing cost.
5. Cost per day:
The costs are pre-set per day at the Credit Union near the Village of Life (Kete Krachi) or at
the Crismon Hotel near the Village of Love (Tema), including food and lodging. Lodging at the
Village of Hope must be arranged directly through Village of Hope. If you would like to visit
the Village of Life, you can stay at the Credit Union, a nearby hotel, for the price of fifty-five
dollars per day ($55.00 U.S.), which includes food. If you plan to only visit Tema,
accommodations can be secured through the Crismon, a nearby hotel, which costs one hundred
and twenty-five dollars ($125.00 U.S.) per day, which includes food.
All fee payments for stay in our facilities will need to be received by Touch A Life one month
prior to the arrival date. Guests from the United States will need to send these funds to:
Touch A Life Foundation
619 E. Bethel School Rd
Coppell, Texas 75019
Indicate on the Memo line of the check “Designated-Guest Expenses.” Send your check with an
enclosed letter detailing that the check is for group costs during your stay. It is also imperative
that you email the Director of Project Development at rjohnson@touchalifekids.org the day
you send those funds.
All other guests should be ready to pay for the total cost of their stay on the day of arrival.
5. Service Projects:
Touch A Life will help to maximize this mission experience for you. We have a number of
service projects that groups in the past have successfully engaged in, and we will be glad to
detail those for you upon request. If you have a service project that you desire to perform, that
project, or one that you choose from existing service projects, would be subject to the approval
of the Touch A Life team. We will make a best-effort attempt to assist you in calculating the
cost of these service projects, keeping in mind, once again, inflationary demands within the
country, which may mean a late notice of increase in this cost.
6. Attire for Touch A Life Activities:
For women, lightweight pants, capris, long shorts, and skirts are all appropriate. Skirts are best
for travel days. Cool short sleeved or sleeveless shirts are fine.
For men, lightweight pants and long shorts are appropriate, and tee-shirt or polos are also fine.
7. Activities during Your Stay:
After school and in the evenings, you are encouraged to involve yourself with the children as
much as possible. The children have after-school play activities on some days; and on other
days they may have after-school chores. Be respectful of these chores and chore times and
minimize disruptions. However, when the children are at playtime, you are encouraged to be as
actively involved with them as possible!
8. Meals:
Three (3) meals are provided daily for all guests if you are staying at the Credit Union near the
Village of Life (Kete Krachi), the Crismon Hotel near the Village of Love (Tema), or at Village
of Hope (as a guest of Village of Hope). This is included in your overall per-day costs.
Snacks: It is recommended that you bring snacks such as granola bars or sweets. They are great
for travel days! Keep in mind that although coffee is available, it is instant, so if you have an
instant coffee preference, please bring it.
9. Water:
Assume that all water, unless bottled or bagged, is not safe to drink. Remember to brush your
teeth with bottled water, and do not place your toothbrush under the tap.
Drinking water will be provided for you in bottles when you are on Touch A Life premises.
10. Gifts:
Gifts to children and our Ghanaian ground staff are welcome; yet any and all gifts to a child
must to go directly through any one of the child’s House Parents. The children and staff have
been instructed not to make requests from visitors. If anyone from either of these groups
approaches you to solicit gifts or money, kindly bring this to the attention of the Director of
Project Development.
Children are also not permitted to leave Touch A Life programs without the prior approval of
the Child Care Manager. Notification to the House Parents of the child will be part of that
process as well.
11. Driving:
Driving of any motor vehicle, including Touch A Life vehicles, at any time during your stay, is
strictly PROHIBITED. This is against the law. If you are involved in an accident, things will,
in fact, get complicated; Ghana’s laws regarding motor vehicles are not necessarily the same as
the laws in other countries.
12. Communication:
Internet usage is available at the local Net Café or through an MTN or Vodaphone air card that
you can purchase during your stay. In addition, you can check with your cell phone provider
about international data packages.