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Join our Law internship in Ghana to gain invaluable experience in the legal field. You’ll work at a legal aid centre, and gain a deeper insight into a developing country’s judicial system. You’ll learn directly from local lawyers, which will add valuable work experience to your CV and help your future career.
Your work will focus on providing legal support for human rights disputes. This means that you’ll work with organisations that offer legal advice to people who don’t usually have access to lawyers. Many of their clients earn a small income and can’t afford to take matters to court, so you’ll gain work experience and help those in need at the same time.
You will live with a local host family in the bustling city of Accra. Make the most of this time to learn more about the local culture, customs, and eat loads of delicious traditional food.
Startdatum:
Jederzeit wieder
Zu den DatenMinimale Aufenthaltslänge:
Zwei Wochen
Alter:
18 oder älter
Is Law in Ghana the right internship for me?
Would you like to gain legal work experience in a developing country? Are you passionate about helping people in need? Then our Law Internship in Ghana is perfect for you.
You’ll learn from experienced lawyers, and work alongside paralegals and legal clerks. You can use this experience to boost your CV, and it will give you interesting points to talk about in interviews and applications.
You don’t need previous experience to join this project. We’ll assign work to you based on your skill and experience. Large volumes of work and complex cases are only assigned to interns with relevant skills and experience. The work assigned to you is also dependent on which cases we take on while you’re in Ghana.
This programme runs year-round, with a short two week break over Christmas and New Year. You can join at any other time for a minimum of four weeks. We recommend staying longer to learn more and work on a larger number of cases. You’ll also return home with more law work experience from your time in Ghana.
What will I do at my Law placement in Ghana?
As a Law intern in Ghana, you will be working alongside local lawyers, paralegals, and clerks in a professional environment. You can expect to perform some of the following tasks:
- Help local lawyers with important administrative legal tasks, such as drafting documents
- Observe local legal practitioners as they work with clients and in court
- Work directly with clients to help them prepare for their cases
- Assist with cases from our Human Rights Project in Ghana
Your work will focus on these areas:
Administrative tasks
During your Law internship in Ghana, you may encounter any number of administrative legal tasks similar to those found in a law firm in your own country.
These may include:
- Registering new applicants
- Conducting interviews
- Attending court
- Drafting legal documents.
Through this work, you will also get an insight into the legal and human rights challenges people face everyday in Ghana. One day, you may help out with a child maintenance case and the next with a probate landlord.
Observe local legal professionals at work
When you aren’t busy with administrative tasks, you will be able to attend court and observe live cases. This is a great opportunity to see Ghana’s legal system in action. Since you will be accompanying resident lawyers from the organisation you’ll be working at, you may be expected to take notes. These could be used to refer back to at a later stage, so be thorough!
Interact with clients
The local lawyers you work with may ask you to help with various client meetings. This could include preparing them with information for their upcoming case, or interviewing them about their side of the story.
The types of cases dealt with vary depending on your placement, but often include:
- Constitutional matters
- Probate (wills and inheritance)
- Landlord/tenant
- Family, custody, child maintenance, and matrimonial disputes
- Criminal
- Property
- Contracts
- Employment
- Personal injury/negligence
Assisting with the Human Rights Project
In addition to your full time law placement in Ghana, you could assist our interns in the Human Rights Project. Your legal knowledge and experience will no doubt enhance these projects.
This can include conducting in-house seminars, assisting with office research, or attending one of our advocacy and outreach sessions. You may also assist in training and mediation in more community-based dispute resolution settings.
The availability of this work will depend on our current Human Rights Project, as well as your experience, interests, and personal schedule.
Where you will be working as a Law intern in Ghana
Accra
You will be based in the city of Accra. Here, you will work at a legal aid centre.
With a population of 2.7 million people, Accra is the largest city in Ghana and also the country’s capital. There is plenty to see and do in your free time and over weekends. We encourage you to make the most of your time in Ghana and explore with other Projects Abroad interns and volunteers.
A typical day as a Law intern in Ghana
As a Law intern in Ghana, your typical working hours will be 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
You will normally start your mornings in the office at your placement. The first hour or two of the day will be dedicated to helping with legal administration. This may include drafting legal documents and affidavits, and conducting legal research.
By late morning, you may either accompany one of the local lawyers to court or interact with clients. The latter may include registering new cases, conducting interviews, or preparing clients for their cases.
You will get an hour and a half break over lunch time. If your host family lives close by, you could head home to eat and have a short rest. Alternatively, you will be able to enjoy a packed lunch.
Afternoons are normally divided between going to court and continuing with administrative tasks. If you had been to court earlier, you may be expected to prepare some notes for a discussion. If you’ve been working with clients, you would be able to complete filing their most recent case information.
Evenings and weekends are your free time to explore, rest, and relax. Accra has a lively atmosphere and some fabulous restaurants. You can use weekends to adventure slightly further afield. Head out on a hiking trail in the mountains, take a trip to the beach, or visit a nature reserve.
What are the aims and impacts of the Law Internship in Ghana?
The aim of this project is to expand your knowledge about law and give you insight into the judicial system of a developing country.
You will work alongside local lawyers, paralegals and clerks in a professional environment, and learn from them. This will add valuable practical experience to your CV, which will help you with your career or postgraduate studies.
This project also has an altruistic goal. In Ghana, getting legal help can be a lengthy and expensive process. This makes it difficult for disadvantaged people to settle disputes and fight for their rights in courts. As a legal intern working at a placement like the Ghana Legal Aid Scheme, you can help these people take their cases further.
You can also support the work we do at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office in Accra. Here, we deal with a range of issues, from domestic violence to child labour.
Join us as a Law intern in Ghana and kickstart your legal career in a different country.
Freiwilligenarbeit für berufserfahrene
Dieses Projekt eignet sich auch perfekt für ausgebildete Fachleute. Mithilfe deiner Fähigkeiten können wir in unseren fortlaufenden Projekten eine noch größere Wirkung erzielen. Wir organisieren deinen Einsatz in einem Projekt, in dem deine Fähigkeiten am meisten gebraucht werden.
Du kannst deine Bildung und dein Wissen mit anderen teilen. Du kannst direkt mit unseren Partnerorganisationen und den lokalen Gemeinden zusammenarbeiten, um nachhaltige Entwicklung zu fördern.
Falls du relevante Fähigkeiten oder Qualifikationen mitbringst, dann informiere dich genauer dazu, wie du diese mit Projects Abroad einsetzen kannst.
Das Ausmaß unserer Wirkung
In unseren Projekte arbeiten wir auf klare, langfristige Ziele hin, und verfolgen spezifische, jährliche Ziele. Jede/r Freiwillige/r und jede/r Praktikant/in, die wir in diese Projekte entsenden, tragen zu der Verfolgung dieser Ziele bei, unabhängig davon wieviel Zeit sie in den Projekten verbringen.
Jedes Jahr betrachten wir mit etwas Abstand die Fortschritte, die wir zum Erreichen dieser Ziele gemacht haben. Wir stellen einen Global Impact Report zusammen, in dem unsere Errungenschaften dokumentiert werden. Erfahre mehr über die Wirkung, die unsere globale Gemeinschaft von Freiwilligen, Praktikant/innen und Mitarbeiter/innen erzielen, und lies dir den neuesten Report durch.
Verpflegung und unterkunft
Du wohnst bei einer Gastfamilie in Accra, Akuapem Hills, Cape Coast oder Dodowa. Sie heißen dich in ihrem Zuhause willkommen und freuen sich darauf, ihre Gebräuche mit dir zu teilen und mehr über deine Kultur zu erfahren. Wir sind davon überzeugt, dass das Leben in einer Gastfamilie der beste Weg ist, um in die Kultur Ghanas einzutauchen und eine wirklich einzigartige Erfahrung zu machen.
Wir bemühen uns immer es zu arrangieren, dass du mit zumindest einem/einer weiteren Projects Abroad Freiwilligen oder Praktikant/in in der gleichen Gastfamilie wohnst. Dein Zimmer ist einfach ausgestattet, aber gemütlich, sauber und sicher.
Drei Mahlzeiten pro Tag sind in deinen Programmkosten inbegriffen.
Freizeit und freizeitaktivitäten
Ein Freiwilligeneinsatz in Ghana ist die ideale Art dieses bunte, westafrikanische Land zu erkunden. Während du vor Ort bist, kannst du an vielerlei, verschiedenen Aktivitäten teilnehmen, und deine Freizeit mit vielen aufregenden Dingen verbringen.
Musik ist ein wesentlicher Teil der ghanaischen Kultur. In den größeren Städten, vor Allem in Accra, kannst du tolle Live Bands erleben und unvergessliche Abende verbringen. Abends kannst du in den geschäftigen Restaurants auch die köstliche, lokale Küche kennenlernen.
Um einen Einblick in die Geschichte Ghanas zu erhalten, kannst du die Sklavenfestungen von Cape Coast und Museen besuchen. Naturliebhaber/innen werden Wanderungen durch den Regenwald im Nationalpark Kakum oder im Nationalpark Mole gefallen.
Wir arbeiten in vielen Projekten in Ghana, und während deiner Reise werden sicher auch noch andere Freiwillige vor Ort sein. Daher kannst du das Land entweder alleine erkunden oder dich mit anderen Freiwilligen zusammen tun und als Gruppe reisen.
Sicherheit und unterstützung durch unsere mitarbeiter/innen
Deine Sicherheit ist unser wichtigstes Anliegen. Wir wenden viele Vorgehensweisen und Systeme an, um sicherzustellen, dass du die nötige Unterstützung bekommst und deine Reise unbesorgt genießen kannst. Unsere Projects Abroad Mitarbeiter/innen stehen dir rund um die Uhr zur Verfügung, und sorgen dafür, dass du dich in deiner Unterkunft und in deinem Projekt gut einlebst. Falls du irgendwelche Probleme haben solltest, helfen sie dir jederzeit.
Meet the team in Ghana
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