Building Global Leaders › Ghana
LMCJ goes to Ghana
July 12 – 20, 2027 · Accra · Featuring the LMCJ Dance G.E.M.S.
A cultural and leadership journey. Lillie May was invited to the GhaLLA summit to dance twice and to lead a Student Voice class for educators from across the continent. Booking is open now and closes November 15, 2026.
Republic of Ghana
JUL 12 – 20, 2027
Our scholars are not attending this conference. They are teaching at it.
GhaLLA brings together educators and leaders from across Africa. Lillie May was invited to bring our dancers and our scholars’ voices, and we are sponsoring the summit’s Student Voice strand. Our girls will stand in front of a room of adult educators and run the class.
What our scholars will do
- Two performances at the GhaLLA International Educators Summit, hosted at ICS Accra
- A scholar-led Student Voice class taught to educators from around the world
- A collaborative piece with a Ghanaian youth dance company
What the whole group will do
Parents, staff, board members, and community travelers are the village around our scholars. Everyone attends the three-day summit, July 15 to 17, and is in the room for both performances and the Student Voice class. Together we take an Accra city tour and spend a day at the Cape Coast and Elmina castles, with an optional Akosombo and Volta River day for those who want it. LMCJ is sponsoring the summit’s Student Voice strand, and educators in our group are welcome to submit a proposal to GhaLLA to present.
About GhaLLA
The Ghana Leadership and Learning Alliance, formerly Ghana ASCD, hosts the International Educators Summit at the International Community School in Accra. The 2027 theme is Educating at the Edge of Change, and the call for proposals is open through October 31, 2026, with tracks that include Student Voice, Inclusion, Learning Design, EdTech and AI, and Community-Connected Leadership. Educators traveling with us are encouraged to propose a session.
Cost and payments
The trip package, per person
Billed by LMCJ: nonstop airfare, seven hotel nights with breakfast, summit registration, the Accra city tour and Cape Coast excursion, airport and summit transfers, group travel insurance, and the charter bus to the airport.
| Room arrangement | Per person | Monthly, 30th |
|---|---|---|
| Scholar 12+, sharing with a parent | $4,582 | $560 |
| Adult, sharing a double room | $4,582 | $560 |
| Adult, single room | $5,847 | $718 |
| Family room of 3: two adults and one scholar, any age | $4,160 | $507 |
| Family room of 4: two adults and two scholars under 12 | $3,949 | $481 |
How the payments work
Every package is the same rhythm: a $100 deposit when you book, due by September 30, 2026, then eight equal monthly payments charged on the 30th from October 30, 2026 through May 30, 2027 (February 28; the final payment is a few dollars higher). Bank transfer is free; cards carry a 2.9% fee. Pay ahead any time. If you book after a payment date has passed, those payments are collected at checkout. A parent and a scholar 12+ together is $200 to book, then $1,120 a month.
Funds you bring
Ghana e-Visa (about $260), travel vaccinations and malaria prevention, meals outside group events (about $45 a day), tips, souvenirs, and spending money: plan on about $1,170 per person. The optional Akosombo and Volta River day trip is $200 per person, added at checkout.
Fundraising is applied as credits, to scholars first and then to their traveling parents, and lowers the remaining payments. No district or school operating dollars pay for adult travel. The $100 deposit is non-refundable; later payments are refundable only to the extent Girls Charter School, Inc. can recover them from the airline, hotel, and vendors, and no refunds are possible after traveler names go to the airline on or about June 1, 2027. Full terms are in the traveler agreement you sign when you book.
Reserve your place
Booking is open now and closes November 15, 2026. Seats are held in the order deposits arrive. Make one booking for your whole party and choose one package for each traveler: a parent and a scholar 12 or over choose one Scholar 12+ and one Adult, sharing; two parents and one scholar choose three Family room of 3; two parents and two scholars under 12 choose four Family room of 4; an adult traveling on her own chooses one Adult, single room, or one Adult, sharing and names her roommate at checkout.
Any Lillie May scholar may travel with her family; the performance group is chosen from the scholars who are going. Every scholar rooms with her parent or guardian. The $100 deposit per traveler holds your seats and the rest is billed monthly. You will sign the traveler agreement as part of booking.
Information for families
Does my daughter have to be in the performance group to go?
No. Any Lillie May scholar may travel with her parent or guardian. Ms. Seaborn selects the performance group from the scholars who are going, and every scholar on the trip is part of the delegation, in the room for the performances and the Student Voice class.
Can my daughter travel without me?
No. Every scholar on this trip travels with a parent or guardian. This is a family delegation, not a school group trip.
What do we arrange ourselves?
Every traveler needs a passport valid through January 2028, a Ghana e-Visa, currently around $260, and a yellow fever vaccination, which is required for entry. If a passport needs renewing, start now; it is the one thing that cannot be rushed. We will host a family information night and a vaccine clinic day so no one is doing this alone.
Do minors need extra documents?
It depends on who is traveling with her. A scholar traveling with both parents needs her passport and a copy of her birth certificate. A scholar traveling with one parent needs a notarized consent letter from the parent staying home. A scholar traveling with a guardian who is not her parent needs notarized consent from both parents. We collect these through the booking site well before the trip, and we will walk every family through it at the information night.
Can community members come?
Yes. Paris worked this way and so does this. Supporters, alumnae families, and community members are welcome to travel with the delegation.
Is it safe?
The U.S. State Department currently rates Ghana Level 2, exercise increased caution, as of its July 2026 advisory. The Level 3 areas in that advisory are along the northern border, and our itinerary does not go there. Every traveler will carry insurance that includes medical evacuation.
Who rooms with whom?
Every scholar rooms with her parent or guardian. A parent and a scholar 12 or over share a double room. Two parents and one scholar of any age share a family room of 3. Two parents and two scholars under 12 share a family room of 4. Adults not traveling with a scholar share with another adult or take a single room.
How do we reserve a spot?
Book on our WeTravel page by November 15, 2026. The $100 deposit per traveler holds your seats, and the balance is billed monthly on the 30th through May 30, 2027. Not ready yet? Join the interest list below or contact the main office.
Join the interest list
Not ready to book yet? Leave your name and you will hear about the family information night, the passport and vaccine clinic, and reminders before booking closes on November 15. Adding your name does not commit you to anything.
Open the interest form
Give to the Ghana trip
Give right here. Every gift closes the gap for a scholar whose family cannot carry the full cost.
Send our girls to Accra.
Your gift closes the gap for scholars whose families cannot carry the full cost. It is the difference between a girl watching this trip happen and standing on that stage.
Gifts are made through Givebutter and are tax-deductible. Girls Charter, Inc. · EIN 46-2328012 · 2200 Sinclair Lane, Baltimore, MD 21213. To give by check or discuss a sponsorship, contact our main office.
