West Africa Ivory Coast, and a succession of military coups in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Since the end of colonialism, the region has been the stage for some brutal conflicts, including: The Economic Community of West African States, established in May 1975, has defined the region of West Africa since 1999 as including the following 15 states: Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Western Africa includes the preceding states with the addition of Mauritania (which withdrew from ECOWAS in 1999), comprising an area of approximately 6.1 million square km. The UN region also includes the island of Saint Helena, a British overseas
Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA) is a volunteer-driven, non-profit NGO based in Ghana, which aims to promote better life opportunities for people in underprivileged communities through sustainable development initiatives. VPWA has pioneered several social innovations in the region, including micro leasing, the establishment of a Children and Youth Development Centre in the Eastern Region of Ghana, and campaigns such as Deworm Ghana, Green Ghana, Kick Malaria Out, and Street Library. Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa was founded in 2007 by Ghanaian social entrepreneur Hayford Siaw. Initially set-up to offer only international volunteer placement programmes