Voluntarism is an age-long virtue of the Ghanaian.  Long before the colonization of the various kingdoms and states which now constitute modern Ghana, the people had always volunteered to do their little bit to protect or advance their family, clan, tribe or community.
                         
They helped each other put up shelters, construct bridges over streams, and fight their enemies.  There have always been these beliefs that “many hands make light work and that there is strength in unity”.

As with many other human virtues, voluntarism has taken different forms and dimensions over the years.  It has developed from unorganized voluntarism to organized voluntarism.  Especially after the past two world wars, groups of young people started organizing themselves according to specific objectives related to community development.  There are such groups as the traditional Asafo companies, church groups and youth organizations and societies like the Young Men Christian Association (YMCA), Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Christian Youth Builder (CYB), the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), Norvilorlor Haborbor, and the La Mansaamo Kpee.  Sometimes people of a community are organized according to their days of birth to engage in voluntary service to their community.  Recently the Calvary Baptist Church in Accra realized about twenty-two million cedis through fund-raising campaigns organized according to months of birth.  The amount realized will be used in the rehabilitation of a ward at the Korle Bu Hospital in Accra. READ MORE HERE

The Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana originally had as its motto ‘Service to my nation’ but in view of the international outlook it has acquired over the years it has adopted ‘service to mankind’ as its motto.  This means the Association is not restricting its activities for the benefit of the people of Ghana only.  It seeks to serve the human race, regardless of nationality, creed, colour or sex.

Articles 2 of its constitution state the following as its aims:

1. To bring together all people interested in voluntary workcamps with the object of fostering a spirit of common understanding among all classes of people and to give young people the opportunity to use their leisure time in the service of the community by participating in community development schemes such as building of schools, health and other welfare centres and to generally organize and assist local and national efforts in these and similar projects.
2. To give practical assistance without regard to national frontiers and through cooperation with volunteers from all countries, in the occasion of national disaster, in works of public interest and in case of need.
3. To foster the sprit of voluntarism and ‘service to mankind’.

To achieve these aims, VOLU, among other things (Article 3) runs work camps:

• To encourage and imbibe the spirit of volunteering services amongst the campers and the communities for which the campers work.
• To bring together literate and non-literate towns, people and villagers, and Africans and non-Africans in common respect for manual work.
• To help poor communities to do work which they would otherwise be unable to do for themselves.
• To further national and international understanding by inviting people from around the globe to attend camps in Ghana and by sponsoring Ghanaians to actively participate in work camp projects overseas.