Are you thinking of volunteering?

annmcc — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:34:44 +0000

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:

To make new friends
To build personal and professional contacts
To build your self-esteem and self-confidence
To develop new job skills
To make a difference in the world
To increase personal satisfaction
To add experience to your resume
To develop people
To develop communication skills
To do something as a family
To explore career possibilities
To feel needed and appreciated
To share your skills with others
To be challenged
To do something different
To earn academic credit
To improve your health
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.

You really need to be fluent in English, and even if you are not a teacher you can go into the classrooms and hold conversations with older children in several nearby schools. They badly need help if they are to pass their exams as some of the teachers themselves are not too good!

Children at our own Nursery School and the P1 and P2 classses in the primary schools love help from visitors to learn new nursery rhymes and action songs, or simply talking about pictures in books.

We have a series of educational interactive DVD’s that are already translated into Runyankole, and they can be facilitated by volunteers both at Uganda Lodge using the TV or in the heart of the villages on portable DVD players.

Skills, Trades and Qualifications.

If you have a specific interest, for example singing & music, or sports. or arts & crafts, or you have medical experience, or computer knowledge, or have a trade such as a builder or a welder, then if you wish, we can utilise these skills and match them with work and training that can be done around Uganda Lodge.

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

Uganda Lodge » seniors

Are you thinking of volunteering?