Who Can Volunteer?

Volunteering in Africa is for any age group, it is not something reserved exclusively for ‘Gap Year’ students.
Its always a good idea to talk  with someone who has actually visited the project,  so you can ask questions and get a feel for whether or not the project is something you would like to be involved in.
At Uganda Lodge volunteering is suitable for whole families,  motivated and self-reliant teenagers, and also seniors who are fairly mobile – there are no steps but the ground can be  uneven.

Why Volunteer?

Have you thought about the benefits you will get from volunteering? If you consider the many benefits you will receive, you will be asking yourself why you aren’t more involved with helping a cause. You will get more out of your volunteer experience than you put into it.  Dont hesitate to identify and donate some of your time to a worthy volunteer opportunity. You will be glad you did. Consider some of these reasons  to donate your time and efforts:

1. To make new friends
2. To build personal and professional contacts
3. To build your self-esteem and self-confidence    
4. To develop new job skills
5. To make a difference in the world
6. To increase personal satisfaction
7. To add experience to your resume
8. To develop people
9. To develop communication skills
10. To do something as a family
11. To explore career possibilities
12. To feel needed and appreciated
13. To share your skills with others
14. To be challenged
15. To do something different
16. To earn academic credit
17. To improve your health
18. To have fun!

What can I do?

Don’t think you have to have a degree or some other qualifications or a trade skill on your CV . Anyone with a western education can offer help simply by sharing their experiences of life and general knowledge with these village people.

Skills, Trades and  Qualifications.

What will it Cost me to Volunteer?

For your food and accommodation whilst staying at Uganda Lodge we charge 210,000 Ugx per week, approx £75. This can be negotiable if you stay for a long period and/or are sharing a room.  However please bear in mind that ALL profits stay within the project and are helping to upgrade facilities for both villagers and future guests.

We currently do not charge any marketing or registration fees, all the background work is done for free. However we do ask for at least two weeks to be paid as a deposit to prevent the staff and community in general being disappointed.

You are also welcome to bring some extra money with you – perhaps from a fund-raising event  -   that with some consultationyou can spend on a project  of your own choice  as you see a need.

Why Should I pay to Volunteer?

A good question, please let me explain. In Uganda, as in most developing nations, there are many highly qualified young people who are coming out of universities with degrees but who still cannot find jobs…they simply are not out there.

If a project has enough money to pay a salary, or indeed even support a person by providing transport, food and accommodation then the leaders of this project should be spending the money on the nationals from the country itself and not supporting  overseas visitors.

This is why I firmly believe that any reputable NGO or Charity or Project should not be offering free placements.  I also believe that volunteers should not be asked to pay out for large placement or management fees, and should ensure that anything over the basic costs of their stay should actually benefit the community they are working in.

Latest News

Camilla and Joanna, two Swedish friends arrived in Uganda on 8th April for six weeks, to do research amongst the local villagers for a university project.  They were met by Denis at the airport and all three went down to Uganda Lodge on the bus.

June 2009

Ann  is returning  to Uganda Lodge for a month to try and oversee the opening of the Craft-Centre/Workshop at Uganda Lodge

Village Houses

Most of the people living around Uganda Lodge are subsistence farmers. They have a very basic home,  usually consisting of two or three rooms and built with locally made mud bricks and a roof of either  thatched banana leaves and grass  or rusting iron sheets.

If the inside rooms have been plastered at some stage in the distant past, any paint on the walls looks like it was added at the same time! They have no power and rely mainly on candles or oil lamps.

You will find  a couple of chairs and a bench with maybe a table in the main room and a peek into the bedroom sees an array of dirty mattresses and torn mosquito nets and a few clothes hanging on a nail.

They usually cook on an open fire which will be outside of the house, and may have a roughly made plate rack and a board on which to prepare the food.

Latrines, depending on if they belong to one or several families, are in various stages of cleanliness and disrepair, and I have yet to see any signs of soap and water!

The welcome you will receive if you enter their house (don’t forget to take off your shoes!!) more than makes up for their meagre possessions.

Livelihoods

Having a small plot of land around their house on which to grow a few vegetables and maybe  keep a couple of goats and chickens occupies much of a village persons life.  Sometimes they can rent extra land from a big farmer if they are lucky.

Their day is spent fetching water and wood (jobs often relegated to children before and after school) tending their gardens, preparing and cooking their food,  and perhaps looking after a sick or elderly relative. Many families also care for one or two extra orphan children in their midst.

Crafts and Trades

Only a  few people have  any skills such as weaving, tailoring or carpentry and this is the area in which our proposed craft centre/workshop will be of great benefit.  Learning a trade can help support a family by giving an extra income for purchasing such items as oil, salt, candles etc.

Our idea is to encourage these already skilled village people to pass on their knowledge by offering the free use of the workshop and tools that we already have waiting. We hope that volunteers will come along and enhance this project with new ideas and innovative ways of marketing their products

Weaving Mats and Baskets

Some of the village women have joined together to hold weekly sessions for weaving baskets and mats from locally collected papyrus and grasses.  However, although they are of a very high quality they tend to only make things to sell amongst themselves, as they have no experience of business marketing skills. A volunteer with a love of crafts could perhaps introduce new ideas to them such as  batik, tie dye, jewellery, banana pictures and small items suitable as souvenirs

Pottery

Some women in the village are able to make basic pottery items for home use by hand, and for each batch they build a pit in the ground to make a kiln and fire them. The local clay is only suitable for brickmaking, so they have to save enough money to buy a truckload of clay from the next district. I have identified a different area in Uganda where we could bring a potter and teach our villagers how to build a kiln and a potters wheel, plus make items to sell to visitors staying at Uganda Lodge.  Maybe a volunteer could bestow the cost for that?

Music Dancing and Singing

A group of about 20 women have joined together to sing, dance and play drums at village events such as church gatherings, weddings, parties or funerals. They also come and entertain our guests. Any donations they receive go towards the caring of the orphan children in their midst

The Church

We have two churches quite close to Migorora Cell, and both welcome  visitors (in English) inviting them to stand up and say a few words about themselves. A tip: if you do not really wish to listen to a 2 or 3 hour service in another language – time it to enter half hour before the end! When the service ends you will be called into nearby homes to take a drink – some sort of local brew.