Hi everyone, my name is Tim and I am a Senior Consultant at the Munich Office. The Social Fellowship program at Roland Berger offered me the opportunity to support NGOs abroad for three months at the beginning ofthis year. I decided to divide my time between two organizations, spending 1.5 months in Ghana and 1.5 months in Madagascar, to gain practical experience in different regions and areas of work.

Step 1 – Teach on the Beach, Ghana

I joined the NGO Teach on the Beach, located on the south coast in Busua, Ghana where I worked with children aged 6 to 15. Living and working in a small coastal village with about 3,000 people gave me the chance to spend time with locals and build deeper connections with my team. In addition to my work responsibilities, this allowed me to learn more about the local way of living and thinking. My responsibilities included teaching Math, English, Science, and other subjects, providing swimming lessons, and assisting with maintenance and construction tasks at the school. The NGO is focused on improving access to education and enabling the kids to better understand what is happening around the world.

Daily schedule in Ghana :

08:00: Community breakfast + start work

08:00–12:00: Maintenance, repairs, and construction on the school grounds

14:00–17:30: Teaching children (aged 6–12)

18:00–19:00: "News Hour" – Watching news and discussing current events with teenagers (aged 12–15)

Free time: Sports, surfing, interaction with locals

Step 2 – Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute

In Madagascar, I joined the Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute, which is located on a small island in the north of Madagascar. The NGO supports the community through construction work and English lessons, while also managing research and conservation projects. My tasks during the 1.5 months included teaching English to teenagers and young adults and participating in construction projects, mainly road building. To serve and teach locals across multiple small islands, I traveled to different islands several times a week, teaching English and working with schools and universities. Back on the home island, I supported the team with building streets and walkways and worked on smaller maintenance projects. The mix of two significantly different jobs gave me the chance to explore different areas and people in Madagascar and also improve my own skills in teaching, communication, and construction.

Daily schedule in Madagascar:

07:00: Breakfast + start work

08:00–12:00: Construction work (3 km walk each way; 2–3 times a week, teaching on a neighboring island)

12:00–14:00: Lunch break

14:00–17:00: Construction work (3 km walk each way)

Personal insights

The experience I gained during my time in Ghana and Madagascar gave me the chance to gain a realistic perspective on the impact of targeted support in education and infrastructure. Working with local teams and adapting to limited resources contributed to my skill development and practical understanding of NGO operations.