Uganda Lodge

Volunteers with no specific skills

Just speaking good English can be of great help and it is not necessary to hold a TEFL certificate although this could be useful, and you could then take formal lessons in the senior schools.  Alternatively you can hold English conversation classes with small groups and just give the students conversation practice.  In the Nursery School the main aim of parents is to get the children learning English quickly and the more volunteers that go into the classes teaching nursery rhymes, action songs and words from books and pictures the faster they will learn

We have a series of interactive educational DVD’s that are translated into Runyankole (the local language of Ruhanga) and especially when these are facilitated by volunteers they can teach both adult groups  and  children many basic living skills. See www.tme.org.uk

Arts , Crafts, Music, Dance, Singing, Sports

We will assist volunteers with any of these skills and interests to set up informal classes either for children outside of school-time, or to work with existing women’s groups.

Office Based Skills

IT,  Computer Skills,  General Office Work such as accounting, letter-writing, designing posters, marketing  and  general Business Studies are all subjects that need to be learned by staff and suitably chosen villagers.  Knowledge of how to cost  projects and writing proposals would be a really useful skill.

Trades and Vocational Subjects

All building skills (design & planning, bricklaying, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, roofing, painting, plastering etc)  can be utilised, as  can trades such as welding, mechanics, tailoring,  knitting, beautician

Health and Medical

Our DVD’s will help to educate local villagers in such subjects as healthy eating, clean water, diarrhea, and why children suspected of having malaria should be diagnosed earlier rather than leaving it til its too late!  There is a hospital only a few kms away – yet every month young children or pregnant women or those weakened by HIV ae dying unnecessarily.  It would be possible to offer help in the hospital, depending on your previous experiences and interests.

Other Ideas

If you have been able to raise some money over and above your weekly food and accommodation costs, then we can discuss before you go how you would like to spend this money. You may like to research and start up something to generate an income such a small animal project,  buying seeds and starting up the growing of new varieties of vegetables. Fruit drying using solar drying cabinets, mushroom growing or a pottery kiln and wheel are other ideas.

Building upgrades at Uganda Lodge, such as concreting the nursery school floor and adding glass windows, completing the toilets,  upgrading the large hall, adding better fencing, are all things that need to be funded.

Our idea is to discuss beforehand (preferably during a telephone interview) with volunteers what they would actually like to do while they are staying at Uganda Lodge.