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Volunteer in Uganda
The Global Volunteer Network currently has opportunities to help rural communities through our Christian-based partner organization in Uganda. Volunteers have the opportunity to participate in teaching, medical, construction, and community work. This program will give you a chance to make an important contribution to Uganda and while doing so gain an in depth experience of the country and its culture that will stay with you the rest of your life.
:: The Program
The program seeks to provide education and training to AIDS orphans (children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS), and to help their families become self-sustaining through initiating micro-income generating projects in Uganda, Africa. As none of these projects are full-time, volunteers will take part in a flexible schedule, which includes some or all activities offered by the program.
Volunteers can be involved in:
- Education & Training for AIDS Orphans: While the extended family has traditionally taken care of orphans in Uganda, the AIDS epidemic has resulted in many children living as beggars on the streets. Volunteers teach in schools, and take part in a children's outreach project on Saturdays.
- Mother's & Widows Empowerment Program: The husband is the traditional breadwinner in the Ugandan family, and if something happens to him, his family is left to suffer. The women's empowerment scheme seeks to teach mothers and widows practical skills, so that they can support their family and keep their family in school. The women are taught to raise and sell pigs for profit, and volunteers are expected to have a knowledge of caring for animals and a willingness to build pig pens.
- Primary Health Care Project: Our partner's Health Program aims to increase access to basic healthcare for rural people, decrease the prevalence of endemic disease and improve overall village health by providing public health projects and promoting health education in the villages. Our partner also aims to construct health care clinics in rural communities. Especially needed are volunteers who can train the clinical staff. This project requires professional medical experience.
- Youth Sports Program: This program is run on Saturdays, where volunteers conduct sports workshops with youth who have dropped out of school.
- HIV/AIDS Prevention: This project uses culturally sensitive methods to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention. There is very little awareness of HIV/AIDS among rural communities, and our program is directed specifically at youth in primary and secondary schools.
- HIV/AIDS Counselling: Trained counsellors have developed educational materials for the local village population, and volunteers use these for the project. Volunteers need to have a strong interest and knowledge in HIV/AIDS, and previous experience in research or counselling is preferred.
- Community Development Program: This project teaches villagers a range of skills and knowledge in order to equip them to meet the challenges that rural Ugandan communities face. Villagers learn about sanitation, HIV and health, while they are also taught new skills to help them generate income and promote sustainable development in the region. The local people learn crafts and agricultural skills, rediscovering traditional Ugandan methods or learning new innovations using only local materials.
- Katebo Children�s Village: This project incorporates much of the work above, but on the grassroots level. Katebo is the site of a long-term outreach project envisioned by our partner to eventually result in a �Children�s Village�. Land is being set aside to develop a community that will be home to AIDS orphans not in an institutional set-up, but rather a group of homes where the orphans will live with a primary caregiver and a few other �siblings�. The idea is to give them a sense of family. Every aspect of the children�s lives is being considered. Plans are in place for homes, a health post, a library, a recreation area, and schools.
Volunteer Liaison Officer: We also have an additional role that long-term volunteers could really help with. Our partner, entirely run by local Ugandans, has expressed interest in having one volunteer at all times who could help with the duties listed below. Having an experienced volunteer�s perspective would be extremely helpful and would improve the efficiency of the program for other volunteers, NGO staff, and community members. Upon arrival, this volunteer would work in the regular program as above, but after a month or so, begin taking over the duties of the leaving volunteer who had been filling the position. For volunteers, who want to gain hands-on experience with the operations of an NGO in the developing world, this is a perfect opportunity. A minimum 3 month commitment is required. Roles for the liasion officer include accompanying local staff to meet new volunteers at the airport, organising orientation packages either to be supplied to volunteers on arrival, working with each project manager to provide an up-to-date orientation program, liasing with GVN and its Ugandan partner to understand when new volunteers are arriving and for how long, corresponding with incoming volunteers before their arrival, and keeping in contact with donors to the program.
In Ndejje, all volunteers stay in private homes, with Ugandan hosts as well as several other volunteers. In Katebo, the volunteers are housed together on school grounds. Meals are cooked right in the home and feature a wide variety of tropical fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, breads and fruit beverages.
:: Program Location
The program is located in the villages of Ndejje (Namasuba - Ndejje Village, Kanyanya Zone, Ndejje Parish in Wakiso District, which is 5 miles out of Kampala city) and Katebo (on the shores of Lake Victoria, about 1 � hour�s drive or fifty miles south of Kampala along the Kampala-Masaka highway).
.: Program Requirements
- be 18 years or older
- have no major health problems
- a medical background is required for the primary health care project
:: Program Schedule
Volunteers can stay from a period of two weeks to six months. Your stay can be extended beyond six months on a case-by-case basis (depending upon our partners requirements). Volunteers are asked to arrive on either the 1st or 15th of the month.
:: Program Cost
The cost of the program are as follows:
Global Volunteer Network - Application Fee: US $350.00. The application fee covers administration, marketing, program information, communication and direct support of our partner in Uganda. (This fee is paid to us before you leave for Uganda).
Uganda Program Fee
- Cost for 2 weeks will be US $450.00.
- Cost for 1 month will be US $650.00.
- Cost for 6 weeks will be US $950.00.
- Cost for 2 months will be US $1250.00.
- Cost for 3 months will be US $1850.00.
- Cost for 4 months will be US $2450.00.
- Cost for 5 months will be US $3050.00.
- Cost for 6 months will be US $3650.00.
The program fee covers administrative charge, project donation, airport pickup, transport to project, meals and accommodation during placement, and supervision. (This fee is paid directly to our partner organization before you arrive in Uganda).
You will need a weekly budget of up to US$20 to cater for all your other expenses like bottled water, personal costs, beverages and entertainment.
To see the cost in your local currency, we recommend you look here.
The other costs you will need to meet are:
Your flights, visa, shots, travel insurance, and departure tax.
.: Frequently Asked Questions
We have put together the following page, which answers the majority of questions people have.
Click here
.: Volunteer Journals
If you would like to read about the experiences of some of our volunteers who are currently in Uganda, you can do so here. This journal service is provided free to all our volunteers.
Click here
.: Book Resources
We have a selection of books available that you may find useful if you decide to volunteer in Uganda.
Click here
:: Application Process
All, applicants will be notified by email as to whether their application has been successful.
(1) Complete the Application Form: Fill out the application form via the link below. Upon receipt of the form we will assess your suitability for the program.
2) Contact You: If you are successful we will then email you a letter of acceptance.
3) Decision Point: Once you have read through the letter of acceptance and we have answered any questions or concerns that you might have, it is time to pay your application fee to secure your place on the program. Please note that we will refund your application fee if you decide not to go.
4) Confirmation: Once the application fee is paid, our volunteer partner will contact you to ensure everything is organized. We will also send you the link to our program guide which covers topics such as: country information, travel links, visa application process, fundraising ideas and much more!
5) Communication & Support: Throughout the application process, we are committed to working with you to answer any of your questions or concerns. During your placement we are also available as a form of support to you as a volunteer and will email you while in country to discuss how the program is going.
Click here to apply for the Ndejje Program.
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