Driving Skills | Health | Education | English Language Skills | Sub-Interviewers Child Care| Au Pairs in General | Religion | Telephone | Diet | Miscellaneous

For basic information, a statistical overview of United Nations member countries and links to local newspapers, visit:http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/infonation/index.asp

To review the on-line version of the World Factbook with information about this country as compiled by the CIA, please visit: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

The following information is generalized and compiled from questions posed to the agents and interviewers in Ghana. Although au pairs from Ghana may or may not have had these experiences/beliefs, Au Pair in America wishes to share this general information with our families.

Driving Skills

1. How expensive/difficult is it to obtain a driver’s license?
   Not expensive ($100 US), however, it is difficult to pass both the written and practical tests. The instructors are strict.
   
2. What is the process in order to obtain a driver’s license e.g. driving lessons, practical and theoretical test?
   Driving lessons, practical and theoretical tests. You obtain a learner’s license during the practical lesson period. When you pass both tests, then you obtain the driver’s license. The whole process takes about 3 months.
   
3. Is the International Driving License available in your country?
   Yes
   
4. Do most young women obtain a driving license, and if so, at what age?
   No, they don’t, but a few obtain it at the age of 18.
   
5. How common is it for 18-26 year olds to own their own car or use the family car?
   It is common among higher income families compared to lower income families.
   
6. Are most cars manual or automatic?
   Manual.
   

Health

1. What are the most common inoculations given?
   Vaccination against 6 killer diseases in childhood, vaccination against yellow fever, TB and tetanus.
   
2. Are most young women inoculated and tested for TB (Tuberculosis)?
   Not generally, but they will be tested when they apply for the Au Pair in America program.
   
3. Does your country have a free health service?
   No.
   
4. Do most young women visit the dentist on a regular basis?
   Is this expensive? No, it is expensive.
   
5. In America “eating disorders” are regularly diagnosed in young women. What do you know about this problem in your country?
   Anorexia is on the increase among females in high school.
   

Education

1. What percentage of young women in your country go on to university?
   About 2%.
   
2. If they do not go to university, please explain the alternatives chosen when they leave school.
   Some do apprenticeship courses or professional courses. Some do trading or set up a micro enterprise or small business. Some young woman might get married and start a family. Those who are interested in continuing with their studies at university or college will re-write the examinations for higher grades.
   
3. How important to the au pair are the educational opportunities of the Au Pair in America program?
   Extremely important.
   
4. When does the academic year in your country start and finish?
   For tertiary institutions, it starts mid-August and finishes mid-May. High school begins in September and ends at the end of July.

English Language Skills

1. Is English a compulsory subject in the schools in your country?
   Yes, it is compulsory in all schools.
   
2. If so, please provide more details on the study of English in your schools, e.g. from what age English is taught, how many years is English compulsory, are courses focused on written or oral skills?
   We have 2 types of schools, private and public. Private schools starts using English as a medium of instruction right from the Kindergarten level. Public schools, which are in the majority, start teaching English from the age of nine. There is an equal focus on both written and oral skills.

Sub-Interviewers

1. Many of our agents also have sub-interviewers who interview applicants on their behalf. Please provide some information on how you recruit sub-interviewers and the type of people you recruit.
   We recruit people who have experience in working with children, e.g., nursery workers, hospitals, or orphanages. It would be a plus if they have also worked in America or western European countries. They should be professional and well educated with an appreciation of cross-cultural issues.
   
2. How proficient in English Language do you expect your interviewers to be?
   We expect that the person should be proficient in English and understand the American accent.
   
3. Do you expect your interviewers to have either lived or visited the U.S.A.?
   YES, it is vital.
   

Childcare

1. Please describe the attitudes to and types of discipline for children that are common in your country?
   Families believe strongly in discipline. Things are changing, and families are changing the way children are disciplined. Parents are now more and more using discussion and communication as a form of discipline.
   
2. Do families commonly discipline a child in a physical manner?
   Some families still do.
   
3. How do young women gain child care experience in your country if they do not follow a formal course?
   By caring for younger siblings or other family members.
   
4. Do the parents share child care responsibilities in the family or does one parent generally assume these tasks?
   Parents do not generally share this responsibility. The mother usually takes on this role.
   
5. In your country, is it common for both parents to work and be away from home during the day?
   Yes.
   

Au Pairs in General

1. Is the idea of being an ‘au pair’ common in your country?
   No, not yet.
   
2. What motivates young people in your country to want to be an au pair?
   The opportunity to improve their C.V, the experience of living and working in another country such as USA, and to gain valuable child care experience.
   
3. Having spent a year in the USA as au pair, is their job potential improved upon returning to their home country?
   Yes, it would most definitely.
   
4. What is the current level of unemployment in your country?
   High.
   
5. Do au pair applicants in your country have a problem finding the fees for the Au Pair in America programme?
   They will find it difficult finding the fees.
   

Religion

1. What are the most common religions in your country?
   Christianity, Islamic, traditional religion or no religion at all.
   
2. Do you believe that most young people in your country practice their religion regularly?
   Yes.
   
3. How often would a young person choose to practice a religion that is different than her family’s religion?
   Not often.
   
4. Do the common religions in your country have any special practices or dietary restrictions?
   Yes, to some extent, especially for followers of Islam.
   

Telephone

1. Do most families have a telephone in their home?
   In the urban areas, almost all families have a mobile phone.
   
2. Would most parents/family speak English well enough to take a message from an American Host Family?
   Yes.
   
3. Do most young people have a computer or have access to e-mail?
   A few young people own their own computers. A growing number of young people have access to e-mail, but they do not always have the opportunity to check them.
   
   

Diet

1. Do most young people in your country eat meat?
   Yes.
   
2. Is vegetarianism common?
   No.
   
3. Are there any common dietary traditions?
   We have our local traditional foods.
   

Miscellaneous

1. Do young people in your country have the freedom of their family to socialize and date?
   Sometimes, but not always.
   
2. Do parents tend to put a curfew on young people?
   Yes.
   
3. Are most young women accustomed to sharing in household chores?
   Yes, it is usually their responsibility in the household.
   
4. Is the population of your country racially or ethnically diverse?
   It is ethnically diverse but not racially.
   If so, would this be represented in the young people you would recruit?
   Yes.
   
5. What would you consider the 3 main characteristics of your people?
   They are friendly, hospitable and hardworking.
   
6. Different cultures have different attitudes to nudity. In your country, please explain the attitudes to nudity both in and out of the home, e.g. sunbathing in the nude?
   It is unacceptable.
   

Please feel free to provide any additional information that you feel would be useful in helping us to understand the young people from your country.

A peaceful country, Ghana enjoys both modern and traditional life. The varied terrain of wide valleys, low-lying coastal plains, and thick rainforests tend to have more traditional communities, while the cities are very much a part of the modern world.

The Ghanaians are known as very friendly, warm, proud yet humble with a contagious and calming sense of humor. Ghanaians want to discuss everything under the sun.

• US visa application information and processes.
  It is available from the Internet as well from the consular section. You need to pay the interview fees at the US consular visa section designated bank and thereafter you are immediately given an interview date. For students who are going to study or are applying for a J1 visa, they are allowed to go in for their interviews on Wednesdays if the interview date given at the bank is too long. It is all based on first come first served basis. There is a maximum number allowed in for the day.
  
• Length of time to apply for a US visa.
  It can take up to 3 months depending on the period.
  
• Ability to obtain a Criminal Record Check from the police department. It is a simple process that takes about 3 days.
  
• 200 child care hours must be obtained from outside of the family – how will this be obtained?
  We are using direct marketing to those working in orphanages or nursery schools. If they are not already working in the fields mentioned we would arrange the placement at an orphanage or a nursery school for them to acquire the skills in a formal setting.
  
• At what stage in their education/career do you think applicants will apply for the program?
  Once they have completed their high school studies or university studies. They could however already be working and just want to take a year out.