Volunteering in Uganda with Volunteer Abroad Africa
by Isaac Ssamba
(Uganda)
At HDV we are dedicated to providing information on volunteer work and volunteer-tours programs in Africa. We are also dedicated to organizing a wide range of volunteer work and internship-volunteering programs in Africa for individuals and groups of any size.
We have a number of projects based in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Southern Sudan. All projects are aimed at providing support to the needy children and community outreach and counseling to youths, adults, care and education for rural people and orphaned and underprivileged children. Most projects have little or no resources, so foreign volunteers with different ideas and experiences are highly valued. Please note that all projects require daily schedules and activities will be determined between volunteers and their coordinator upon arrival. 3 meals are provided each day, which consists of local foods. They are generally served with beef, fish, peas, beans or groundnut sauce. Bread, eggs and fruits are available for breakfast, vegetarians are also accommodated.
Some of these placements focus exclusively on teaching primary or secondary schools. Others include both teaching and community outreach components. Please inform us of which activities you are most interested, so we can best choose your program and please inform us which country would you like to offer your services too and we shall take you there.
Teaching Placement;
Placements can include arts and crafts, structured play, music/singing, sports, health and academics. The main focus is to provide children with a loving, creative environment in which to flourish.
Community outreach Placement;
Placements can include youth mentoring, HIV prevention and AIDS care, home visiting, sanitation and hygiene, public health, women’s groups focusing on vocational skills and women’s rights, and teaching modern organic farming methods.
For volunteers with a medical background, placements can include working with health – based projects. A community outreach placement is particularly appropriate for volunteers with great ideas and enthusiasm for grassroots development. This is a real opportunity for deep cultural exchange.
If you wish to work in a very remote area with HIV affected orphans, we have Orphanage homes Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. These are the areas where HIV/AIDS most devastated Africa. The organizations there are focused on bringing aid, education and love to the orphans of the area, many of whom lost their parents due to AIDS related illnesses and genocide related.
Volunteers help with feeding, organizing play, arts and crafts, hygiene and HIV/AIDS education appropriate to the children’s age level. Volunteers may be asked to help with administrative work such as budgeting, updating paper work, writing proposals for grants, and maintaining personal files on the children. (Please note there is a significant language barrier between volunteers and children). Local teachers will have to help you with translation. This is a challenging but amazing program for volunteers with experience organizing children, such as camp counselors, day care workers and people who love children bring your games, songs and enthusiasm to the village!
Administration placement:
Budgeting, fundraising and handcraft marketing
Vocational Training placement:
Teaching computer skills, hairdressing and tailoring.
Training and support
Once you have been accepted for placement, you will receive advice and support throughout your preparations. Closer to departure, you will need specific information on health, vaccinations, visas, kit, insurance, flights, language etc. You will be supported by HDV information officer during your preparations. In addition, we can put you in contact with a returned volunteer who can answer any questions you may have.
Program Requirements
Volunteers for HDV program must.
v Be 18 years or older
v Have no major health problems.
v Be able to walk distances up to 5km daily.
v Have a positive and outgoing personality.
Program schedule
Volunteers can stay from 4 weeks to 6 months or beyond. Your stay can be extended beyond 6 months on case-by-case basis (depending upon our requirement and your ability to obtain an extended visa) you can start your placement on any day of the month. But it’s better to start your placement on the 1st or 15th of each month. School terms vary from year to year and depend on the country’s syllabus. Please contact us for appropriate information on each country’s school terms.
We strongly recommend that volunteers arrange some days off, for traveling/touring. Many volunteers head off on to game parks, historical sites that are some of the World’s most spectacular sites. You will want a good camera or video camera, as the scenery and wildlife are fantastic.
Returning home:
Volunteers return to their home country after a unique and wonderful experience. We ask all volunteers to give us a feed back on volunteer program in order that we can continually improve it. Many volunteers keep in touch with us and get involved supporting new volunteers you will have the experience of a life time learning a lot about yourself and life in Africa.
