10 ways to volunteer in Africa
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Our Journey began in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — when we left to visit nearly every country in Africa. At every stop we are meeting with farmers, community organizers, labor activists/leaders, unions, non-governmental organization (NGOs), the funding and donor communities, and local press
All we hear about Africa in the United States are stories about conflict, famine, disease, HIV/AIDS, and hunger. The news tends to be so negative that it desensitizes people from the problems, makes people feel powerless, hardens us from doing something about it, and even scares them from visiting Africa (beyond for the World Cup or a packaged tour safari).
Our goal is to highlight the stories of hope and success on the ground in Africa. We are visiting and profiling projects and innovations that are working (in sustainable ways) to alleviate hunger and poverty and spotlight things that are working on the ground that could be replicated or scaled up. We blog everyday on our personal site called BorderJumpers.
We want to highlight some ways for travelers to see Africa while helping cool initiatives on the ground by volunteering.
Here are 10 interesting options for you to consider (thousands more are out there….):
Africa Impact offers a wide variety of ways to volunteer such as conservation work in Swaziland, chimpanzee and wildlife care in Zambia, pre-school orphan teaching in Mozambique, HIV/AIDS awareness in South Africa, and lion rehabilitation in Zimbabwe.
Cross-Cultural Solutions offers exciting volunteer projects in Tanzania, South Africa, and Ghana working side-by-side with local people in community organizations focused on supporting social services, education, and health initiatives.
Volunteering in Africa has programs in Ghana that include volunteer work in the area of orphanage assistance, teaching, health care, journalism. You can participate for 1 to 26 weeks and volunteer ages run from 16 to 70.
Marine Conservation offers a program in Seychelles where spend your time scuba diving upon the amazing reef while providing much needed data to local organizations and government.
The Center for Cultural Interchange offers projects in Benin that enable you to work at a center for troubled youth, at a hospital, participate in a social action project, or to teach at a nursery school in a community village.
The Global Volunteer Network places people in Uganda working on an organic farming project. Volunteers work along side Ugandans digging and maintaining demonstration gardens. Activities include raised bed and double-dug farming to best utilize soil and make planting, harvesting, and fertilizing easier.
Reef Doctor offers diving training and certification and conduct hands-on marine research, all while working with local fishing communities in the third largest coral reef system in the world.
GapYearForGrownUps offers short and long-term volunteer projects in twelve African countries. Some of the types of volunteering include animal conservation, child development, mentoring youth, teaching reading an writing, and wildlife research. Programs last from a couple of days to several months.
WorldTeach runs a semester or year program in Namibia. You can teach a number of different courses for elementary and high school children, including English, math, science, and computer studies.
Earthwatch Institute, is an international nonprofit organization with volunteer field researchers engaged in scientific and social science research around the world. With a strong emphasis on sustainability, it presently supports about 140 projects in 48 countries, including Africa.
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By bernardpollack
Bernard Pollack and Danielle Nierenberg are the brains behind BorderJumpers. A blog about their journey across Africa. Meeting with farmers, community organizers, labor activists/leaders, unions, non-governmental organization (NGOs), the funding & donor communities, and local press
What do you think? Post your comments
Amanda says:
I’d also recommend checking out International Volunteer Headquarters. (http://www.volunteerhq.org/) They’re in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa and work with local NGOs to place volunteers. I’ve sent three students on the Tanzania program and they’ve all raved about their experience.
Bethany says:
This is perfect timing! Great list of places to volunteer!
Steve says:
This list is great. I’ve been wanting to do some volunteer work abroad and now I have a good list to go off of.
Amy B. says:
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Sam says:
This is a great article and a great resource for anyone looking to volunteer. You should also definitely take a look at (http://www.campsinternational.com/gap/index.php). They run a diverse range of volunteer programs throughout Africa incorporating community, wildlife and environment work. I travelled with them on a sports and construction expedition in 2007 and it was fantastic. They build all their own camps and employ local people which allows them to have a really positive, sustainable impact on the local communities. I've recommended to several friends since and they've all had a wonderful time.
Mamerito says:
Amaidi India now runs volunteer programmes in Africa through the local teams. Its website is always updated on available volunteers opportunities. For instance, you can decide to volunteer in Uganda and programmes range from school teaching, instructors, coordinating orphanages centres activities, meeting farmers, interacting with local communities, fundraising and much more. You will have an amazing experience with the most friendly people on earth
Africa Scholarship says:
This is a great list. We love to see people who do not judge Africa by what the media presents but by first hand experience. Volunteering is a great way to leverage this experience.
Thanks for sharing..
Africa Scholarship recently posted..Anzisha Prize $75,000 Young Entrepreneurs Awards by African Leadership Academy (ALA) 2012