East African voluntourism in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania or Rwanda. Make a difference in the life of a child. Millions of children have been orphaned due to AIDS or civil war. From painting schools to teaching to gardening, every little bit of effort helps and the smiles of gratitude will be embedded in your memory forever.
Volunteer packages, including accommodations, all meals, and donations - prices start at $250 US per week. See below for projects and packages that include safaris.
VOLUNTEER PROJECTS IN UGANDA, KENYA, TANZANIA AND RWANDA
Doing philanthropic work will get you involved with the local people in a way that nothing else can. Anyone can become a volunteer, even children. You will have an unforgettable experience and everyone wins. Below are some of the projects we are supporting.
Special Offer - Volunteer and Safari Package in Uganda
15 day/14 night group tours to Uganda include living and working in a village, and a 3 day safari to Murchison Falls National Park for the following dates:
October 9 – 23, 2010
February 12 – 26, 2011
July 9 - 23, 2011
October 8 - 22, 2011
Price:
Single occupancy - $1945 USD per person.
Double occupancy - $1700 USD per person sharing in a double/twin room.
Note – prices are based on a minimum group size of 4
Volunteer opportunities
·Build schools – help paint or build new or refurbished classrooms at primary schools
·Teach – assist with educational training at preschools or adult skill sharing
·Counseling in community development projects
·Nursing
About the village
Banda (cabin) accommodations are at a small campground/resort in the village of Bujagali, the sporting centre of East Africa, 8 km from Jinja and the source of The Nile River. Amenities at the resort include a large garden, an open air lounge area, bar, satellite TV and pool table. Most volunteers stay here. There are a number of other western and local restaurants within 5 minutes walk. Optional luxury accommodations are available as well.
Beautiful Bujagali Falls is nearby where you can watch locals doing laundry, fishing, and fetching water in jerry cans that are carried on their heads. Other activities in the area include quad biking, horse safaris along the Nile, golfing, white water rafting and kayaking.
Includes:
11 nights accommodation in a banda (cabin) in Bujagali village near Jinja, Uganda
1 night accommodation in Entebbe guest house
2 nights/3 days lodge safari to Murchison Falls National Park – including chimpanzee trek, rhino sanctuary visit, game drives, boat safari
All meals while on safari
Breakfasts while at Entebbe and Bujagali
1 dinner with a local family in Bujagali
Lake Victoria boat ride
Daily transport to and from volunteer work site
Donation to the charity you work for
Airport transfers to and from Entebbe International Airport (2.5 hours drive)
Excludes:
Airfare to and from Uganda and/or Domestic Airfare
All beverages except tea, coffee or juice taken at breakfast
Visas/passports
Travel Insurance
Tips and gratuities
Special Offer - Volunteer and Safari Package in Kenya
15 day/14 night tours to Kenya include living and working in an orphanage in Nyeri and a 3 day safari to Aberdare National Park.
Price:
Double occupancy - $1615 USD per person sharing in a double/twin room.
Dates:
Offer is available any dates.
Volunteer opportunities
·Teach – assist with educational training of preschoolers
·Gardening
·Assist with building project
About Nyeri and area
The town is situated about 150 km north of Kenya's capital Nairobi, in the country's densely populated and fertile Central Highlands. The most imposing landmark around Nyeri is Mount Kenya, and starting from about twenty kilometres out of town is the Mount Kenya National Park. Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in the country and the second, after Kilimanjaro, in Africa. The wildlife found in the park include giant forest hog, tree hyrax, white tailed mongoose, black leopard, bongo, elephant, black rhino, suni, black fronted duiker, mole-rat and over 130 species of birds.Activities carried out in the park include game drives, nature walks, mountain climbing, wildlife viewing, camping and cave exploration.
3 day Safari
Day 1 - Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Aberdare National Park
After breakfast at your accommodations, we will pick you up and depart for Ol Pejeta Conservancy.All 5 members of the ‘big five’ can be found on the conservancy; lion, buffalo, elephant, leopard and rhino.The Ol Pejeta Conservancy works to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for chimpanzees, and boasts the largest sanctuary for black rhinos in East Africa.
Lunch is served at Aberdare Country Club in Nyeri upon arrival. A separate vehicle will then transfer you to The Ark Tree Hotel for dinner, a whole night of game viewing from the deck of The Ark and overnight stay.This tree-lodge is designed with decks from which numerous balconies and lounges provide superb vantage points for viewing the animals visiting the salt-lick and waterhole. A ground-level bunker provides excellent photographic opportunities. The waterhole is floodlit by night to enable all-night viewing of game.
Day 2 - Aberdare National Park
An early wake up call will be followed by tea or coffee before a game drive. The high altitude makes the park different from the typical savannah of most Kenyan parks and creates a cool alternative to the traveller. The forest is rich in wildlife; elephant, rhino, warthogs, bushbuck, waterbuck, and buffalo and the rare giant forest hog. We will return to the lodge where breakfast awaits. You will then have some leisure time to observe the water hole, or visit the gift shop, followed by lunch. You will be taken on another game drive in the afternoon and then back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3 - Depart
After breakfast and a morning game drive, we will return to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and your flight out of Kenya.
Volunteer/safari package includes:
12 nights accommodation at a home stay
2 nights/3 days lodge safari at the famous Ark Hotel in Aberdare National Park
Game drives including Ol Pejeta Conservancy
All meals as indicated while on safari
Breakfasts and dinners at homestay
Lunches while volunteering
Weekday transport to and from volunteer work site
Donation to the charity you work for
Airport transfers to and from Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (2.5 hours drive)
Excludes:
Airfare to and from Kenya and/or Domestic Airfare
All beverages except tea, coffee or juice taken at breakfast
Visas/passports
Travel Insurance
Tips and gratuities
VOLUNTEER PROJECTS CONTINUED
UGANDA
Jinja and area
Painting or building schools - Help refurbish or build new classroom blocks at rural primary schools. Many of the existing government schools have classrooms that have been condemned. Volunteers here spend their time painting walls and murals or assisting with a range of building activities.
Teaching - In the Jinja area, there are 2 preschools for Ugandan orphans where you can assist with teaching. A brand new Education Centre with a science lab and 2 computers has been built so that all children in the district can visit at least once to look through a microscope. There are a number of volunteer positions to help with literacy training, sewing lessons or computer skills training.
Counseling and outreach - There are two organizations that care for poor and vulnerable HIV/AIDS orphans and widows. One is located near Bujagali and provides scholastic materials, school uniforms, literacy training and sewing lessons. Children receive regular visits by volunteers at their homes or school, and reports are kept on their progress. Another program is situated in nearby Mafubira. They are helping children get an education in their small school for kids aged 4 - 12. They have an outreach health education and counseling program as well as skills training for young adults and widows. This organization needs teachers, counselors and social workers.
Other areas in Uganda
Mbale
Babies' Orphanage -In 2007 this orphanage had 22 orphaned and abandoned babies. They now have 41 babies left in the care of the sisters. Cooking is done in an old and very hot kitchen. They need food, a nursery school, clothing, toys, books, teachers, and people who love to care for babies. Accommodations can be on-site at the orphanage or in a hotel or guest house in the area.
Murchison Falls
Building schools - This site is suited to large groups. School and conservation projects are ongoing in the Murchison Falls National Park area. Builders, painters, teachers, skill sharers and funding are required. Groups are welcome to participate on the Murchison projects. Volunteers will be working in conjunction with The Uganda Wildlife Association inside the park or at schools helping with refurbishment. Accommodations are very basic and dorm style.
KENYA
Nairobi
Orphanage - on the edge of Kenya’s largest slum, lives a woman who is trying to care for 217 orphans on her own. They have only 1 small dorm to house 30 boys in 10 beds. Each night the babies and many of the youngest girls go to the matron's home to stay safe. All the rest of the orphans and vulnerable children are sent out to the community to sleep in the slum homes of poor but caring people. The orphanage needs proper housing. This place is desperate but as their name says, they have "hope". They need dorms, beds, bedding, classrooms, school supplies, teachers, builders, cleaners, people who can share any skill, and people who just love children. Accommodations range from homestay to 5 star hotels in Nairobi.
Nanyuki
Primary School - This school has 900 students, among them a class of 70 handicapped children. Qualified teachers are needed to assist in regular classes as well as with the handicapped. Each class has 55 – 70 children and classes run January – mid March, mid April – early August, Sept to November.
Orphanage - 54 HIV, abused, neglected, or orphaned children, aged 4 – 17, live here. This home started as a soup kitchen by Unicef and was previously known as Laikipia Rehabilitation and Rescue Centre. The Municipal council gives some support through children’s services, although they need school fees to be paid as well as counselors and social workers. They wish to rehabilitate the kids and then send them back home. Volunteers can work assisting the children with homework, gardening, or counseling.
Nyeri
Orphanage - 10 children reside at this orphanage 9 km from Nyeri. They are expanding the children’s dorms to be able to house an additional 10 this year. There is a large garden that produces the food for the orphanage as well as for some vulnerable children from the community. The home needs assistance with school fees as well as gardening, counseling and teaching.
Mombasa
Orphanage - The Calvary Zion Children's Home in Kiembeni District houses 35 orphaned or abandoned children, providing meals, shelter and education. Calvary Zion has 4 paid employees and rely on volunteers and sponsorship. A previous volunteer has set up a British charity as a way of making donations to this orphanage. Check it out at http://www.czchildrenshometrust.org/. Accommodations range from homestay to 5 star hotels.
TANZANIA
Moshi
Center for street children - providing care and support to street children, families and the local community. In its 3 year existence, the center has processed 112 children, and is currently accommodating 64 boys aged 7 to 16. The boys live and attend school here and will hopefully be able to return to their homes eventually. Accommodations range from homestay to 3 star hotels.
School for orphans and children with HIV - currently there are 110 children attending the school. They also have an outreach program and are hoping to be able to build a dorm for about 300 children on some newly purchased land. Accommodations range from homestay to 3 star hotels.
RWANDA
Ruhengeri
Community charity and education centre - school for preschoolers, assistance with education to primary and secondary students, scholastic materials, health care assistance, and providing goats to needy families. Mature volunteers are needed here to help by teaching or assisting at preschool or primary schools, assisting with building a new school or barns, or providing health care to students and local villagers.
Choose which volunteer placement interests you, how long you want to go for, and what type of accommodation you'd like.Click here for sample package costs or contact us and we will provide you with a quote.
