Laptop in exchange for accomodation...isthis normal?

OP - don't be afraid to travel there. I also take 'gifts' for those I know, the worst problem I've encountered is endless marriage proposals & demands for my phone number (know it back to front now!)

I think now that the picture is a little clearer, you could go over with a little 'something' as it's an exchange; maybe keep it hidden away until the end of your stay ... or when you think is appropriate.

Enjoy the trip, Japan is safe, lived there 3 years but I love Africa too & see no reason to put off this trip!

Kira

I notice the OP does say a "used" laptop, so it doesn't seem like they are expecting something brand new and expensive. I'm a member of my local "freecycle" group here in the UK, and I've seen people advertising free old laptops and mobile phone handsets. I've also seen wanted ads from people asking for digital cameras, freeview boxes, laptops etc.

If you did want to take something you could sign up to one of these groups and pick up something for free, or even put out a "wanted" ad expaining you are going to Ghana and want something as a gift for your host family. Plenty of people do have old handsets, laptops, digital cameras etc lying around that they no longer use as they've upgraded to something new.

Yes I have seen this kind of hardware... some local guy in Gabon asked me for help with the used cellphone someone had given him from Europe. Turns out that it was not possible to switch the darn thing to French language as requested. It only offered the language choice of Turkish, Serbocroat or English.... anyway the guy who owned an internet cafe gave me a free hour of internet for trying :-)