By Matthew Davis With Raleigh International in Ghana

For the next 10 weeks BBC News Online's Matthew Davis is working as a volunteer staff member on a Raleigh International expedition in Ghana.

This is his first report as the expedition prepares to deploy from Accra.

Walking off the plane into the heat of the West African night was just the first step into the unknown for many of us.

But over the next few days every one of Raleigh International's volunteers would step outside their comfort zones in more ways than one.

Our children's doctor from Sheffield was grappling with field medicine, a logistics team adjusting to Ghana Maybe Time (GMT), our accountant handling a machete.

And for the first time I slept out under the stars in a hammock - then got up to wash in a bucket.

Everything the venturers need is on their backs

We spent three days trekking in the Shai Hills nature reserve, saw a colony of baboons and a bat cave that was once the look out point for the Shai people who lived in the hills east of Accra.

The aim was to develop some of the skills that would enable us to be responsible for more than 100 young people - venturers - who will work on Raleigh's nine project sites over the coming weeks.

But time spent in group discussions has been as revealing as roughing it in the bush.

In the last two weeks I have learnt how to prepare a helicopter landing site, how to behave in front of a village chief and that when formulating a plan I am an "activist" - although the team may appreciate my "pragmatist" tendencies.

Cultural challenge

The strength of the expeditions comes from the diverse backgrounds of those who take part and are thrust together under challenging conditions - like camping in the torrential rainstorms that have soaked Ghana over the last week.

At one extreme there was Prince William, who gave the charity its greatest publicity coup when he took part in a Raleigh expedition to Chile in 2000.

Volunteers will be working out in the field

But some of the venturers arriving at Accra airport last week had just experienced their first flight.

Whatever their background, however, they were indistinguishable under their rucksacks as they made their way through the airport to be greeted by the drumming and singing of Raleigh's Ghanaian venturers.

The staff too are a diverse mix - from doctors and social workers to former army officers and journalists.

Working in a new cultural environment is a fantastic challenge for all of us, although I have so far failed to rise to enjoying a bowl of Ghanaian fufu - a gooey ball of plantain or yam, mashed to a pulp.

Challenges ahead

The expedition will be working in some of Ghana's most remote and wild regions including the rainforest of Ankasa, Mole National Park, communities in the arid north and the hills around Lake Volta - which was formed by the building of the Akosombo Dam.

Expedition Ghana

Of 105 venturers, about a third are from Ghana 25 of the UK venturers have been referred by social services or youth projects Venturers raise �3,000 for the trip The 33 staff are volunteers

Projects include building ranger accommodation in the national parks, construction of a series of nutrition centres in the north - to educate communities on providing a balanced diet - and work on eye camps with Sight Savers International.

Volunteers will have the chance to see the results of operations after eye screening, and see people remove their bandages to find their sight restored.

Completing the work will be a challenge in itself - but everyone will expect to reach their own personal goals, whether they be coping with roughing it, learning to work as part of a team for the first time - or simply getting a decent night's sleep amid the heat or the rain.