List of resources for Ghana

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We offer a list of web sites and books for you to search for additional information about the Peace Corps and Ghana, or connect you to returned Volunteers and other invitees. Please keep in mind that Internet links change. We have tried to make sure that these links are active, but it cannot be guaranteed. A note of caution: As you surf these sites, please also remember that you will find bulletin boards and chat rooms in which people are free to give opinions and advice based on their own experiences. The opinions expressed are not those of the Peace Corps or the United States government. You may also find opinions of people who were unhappy with their choice to serve in the Peace Corps. As you read these comments, we hope you will keep in mind that the Peace Corps is not for everyone, and no two people experience their service in the same way.

[edit] Information About Development

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ghana.html
This is the webpage for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) project in Ghana

http://www.undp-gha.org/
This is the webpage for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project in Ghana

http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/
The mission of the Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) is to mobilize the political will and financial resources needed to slow and ultimately stop the global AIDS crisis, and to reduce its impacts on poor countries hardest hit by the pandemic.

http://www.watradehub.com
The West Africa Trade Hub is a USAID-funded project working under the West Africa Regional Program to make trade happen in 20 countries across the region.

http://www.commissionforafrica.org/english/home/newsstories.html
In early 2004, British Prime Minister Tony Blair established the Commission for Africa. This website is the permanent archive of the work of the commission.

http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/countries/ghana/index.html
This is the webpage for the USAID Mission in Ghana

http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation//e_glance.htm
This United Nations site allows you to search for statistical information for member states of the U.N.

[edit] General Information About Ghana:

http://www.ghanadistricts.com Website for a public-private partnership program between the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and the Environment and Maks Publications and Media Services.

http://www.countrywatch.com
On this site, you can learn anything from what time it is in Accra to information about converting currency. Just click on Ghana and go from there. Please note, you must first login to access this site.

http://www.state.gov
This is the State Department’s Web site, which issues background notes periodically about countries around the world. Find Ghana and learn more about its social and political history.

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gh.html
The world factbook provides up-to-date country information.

http://www.geography.about.com/library/maps/blindex.htm
This online world atlas includes maps and geographical information about countries around the world. Each country page contains links to other sites, such as the Library of Congress, that contain comprehensive historical, social, and political backgrounds.

http://www.worldinformation.com
This site provides an additional source of current and historical information about countries worldwide.

[edit] Connect With Returned Volunteers and Other Invitees at:

http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/peacecorps
This Yahoo site hosts a bulletin board where prospective Volunteers and returned Volunteers can come together.

http://www.rpcv.org
This is the site of the National Peace Corps Association, made up of returned Volunteers. On this site you can find links to all the Web pages of the “friends of” groups for most countries of service, made up of former Volunteers who served in those countries. There are also regional groups who frequently get together for social events and local Volunteer activities.

http://peacecorpsonline.org/
This site is an independent news forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. It includes an RPCV directory organized by country of service.

http://www.peacecorpswriters.org
This site is hosted by a group of returned Volunteer writers. It is a monthly online publication of essays and Volunteer accounts from countries around the world.

http://ghanawiki.info/Main_Page
The Ghana Wiki is a repository of all types of information about Ghana. Anyone may add new articles and edit existing ones.

[edit] Online Articles/Current News Sites About Ghana:

1. http://www.graphicghana.com
2. http://www.ghanaweb.com
3. http://www.ghana.com
4. http://allafrica.com/ghana/
5. http://www.afrol.com/countries/ghana
6. http://www.irinnews.org/
7. http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/gh.htm (maps and facts about Ghana) Twi Language Resources

Language is your key to the culture in Ghana. While many people in the urban areas of the country speak English, communities in the rural areas speak mostly local languages— and so will you! Twi is one of the most widely spoken languages in Ghana, and it will be the first language you will study upon arrival in-country. If you’re interested in getting started on your Twi language skills before departing for Ghana, here are a few resources to try:

1. Dolphyne, Florence Abena. A Comprehensive Course in Twi Asante for the Non-Twi Learner. Ghana Univ. Pr. Book & Audio Cassette edition (1998)
2. Dolphyne, Florence Abena. The Akan (twi-fante) Language: Its Sound Systems and Tonal Structure. Ghana Universities Press (1988)
3. Kotey, Paul F. Let’s Learn Twi: Ma Yensua Twi. Africa World Press (2000)
4. Kotey, Paul A. Twi-English/English-Twi Concise Dictionary (Hippocrene Concise Dictionary) Hippocrene Books (1998)
5. Redden, James E. Twi Basic Course. Audio-Forum (1963)
6. Twi (Audio Cassette) Pimsleur (1997)

[edit] Recommended Books about Development:

1. Burkey, Stan. People First: A Guide to Self-Reliant Participatory Rural Development. London: Zed Books, 1993.
2. Friere, Paolo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed 30th anniversary ed., New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000.

[edit] Recommended Books About Ghana:

1. Aidoo, Ama Ata. No Sweetness Here and Other Stories. New York, NY: The Feminist Press, 1995.
2. Amamoo, J.G. The New Ghana: The Birth of a Nation. Lincoln, NE: Authors Choice Press, 2000.
3. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.
4. Birmingham, David. Kwame Nkrumah: Father Of African Nationalism. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press; Rev edition, 1998.
5. Briggs, Phillip. Ghana: The Bradt Travel Guide, 3rd Edition. Chalfont St. Peter: Bradt Travel Guides, 2004.
6. Cole, Catherine M. Ghana’s Concert Party Theater. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2001.
7. Gaines, James. 12 Days in Ghana: Reunions, Revelations & Reflections. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2002.
8. McCaskie, T. C. Asante Identities: History and Modernity in an African Village, 1850-1950. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2001.
9. McFarland, Daniel Miles. Historical Dictionary of Ghana. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, third edition, 2005.
10. McKissack, Patricia. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa. Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (1995).
11. Mikell, Gwendolin. Cocoa and Chaos in Ghana. Washington, DC: Howard University Press; Reprint edition, 1991.
12. Otoo, David. Authentic African Cuisine from Ghana, 1st Edition. East Orange, NJ: Sankofa Books, 1997.

[edit] Books About the History of the Peace Corps

1. Hoffman, Elizabeth Cobbs. All You Need is Love: The Peace Corps and the Spirit of the 1960s. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000.
2. Rice, Gerald T. The Bold Experiment: JFK’s Peace Corps. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1985.
3. Stossel, Scott. Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2004.

[edit] Books on the Volunteer Experience

1. Banerjee, Dillon. So You Want to Join the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go. Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 2000.
2. Casebolt, Marjorie DeMoss. Margarita: A Guatemalan Peace Corps Experience. Gig Harbor, Wash.: Red Apple Publishing, 2000.
3. Dirlam, Sharon. Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place. Santa Barbara, Calif.: McSeas Books, 2004.
4. Erdman, Sarah. Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village. New York, N.Y.: Picador, 2003.
5. Herrera, Susana. Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be in My Skin. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1999
6. Hessler, Peter. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. New York, N.Y.: Perennial, 2001.
7. Kennedy, Geraldine ed. From the Center of the Earth: Stories out of the Peace Corps. Santa Monica, Calif.: Clover Park Press, 1991.
8. Thompsen, Moritz. Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle. Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, 1997 (reprint).