Intern or Volunteer with a Grassroots Micro-Enterprise Organization in Uganda

  Uganda

• Other Cities in Uganda: 
Jinja

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer, Throughout the year, Trimester, Winter 
Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 9-12 weeks
Dates: See FSD Website

Description: Examples of how you can support Micro-Enterprise in Uganda:

* Assist education of community members on sustainable micro-enterprise creation and money management issues.

* Mobilize clients of a micro-credit lending program by educating them on issues related to savings and how to utilize a loan for small business development.

* Aid development of new loan programs that could improve the livelihoods of the rural poor.

* Administer training to farmers who want to start successful micro-enterprises or expand their existing businesses through effective planning and loan usage.

* Support marketing of farmer's crops in order to receive higher prices in the national and international market. Strengthen an FSD project organizing local farmers into a cooperative that centralizes market development.

* Support micro-enterprise training for rural villagers. Programs include organic/sustainable agriculture, brick laying/brick making, beekeeping, poultry management, tree planting, coffee and banana management, business management skills, and produce buying/selling.

* Provide non-formal education to displaced Karamajong migrants in Mbale so that they can sustainably develop income generating activities and job skills.

For more opportunities in micro-enterprise in Uganda, visit our website or contact us directly.

About FSD

The Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 to support underserved, international communities in a collaborative and sustainable manner. Our model incorporates three overlapping programs:

1. Sustainable Development Training Programs for Interns and Volunteers
FSD provides comprehensive training and immersion programs for interns and volunteers seeking hands-on experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Program participants come from countless professions and more than 300 universities worldwide to collaborate with our partner organizations on community-driven projects that reflect sustainable practices.

2. Grantmaking to Projects and Initiatives Led By Our Partner Organizations
Donations and grants given to FSD are used to support projects and initiatives implemented by our partner organizations, site teams, interns, and volunteers.

3. Sustainable Development of Community-Based Organizations
Our professional field staff, consultants, and program participants provide on-site technical training and capacity building to more than 200 community-based organizations.

Highlights: Community Issues Addressed by FSD in Uganda
Although it is held up as one of the few African success stories of the last decade, a closer look at the situation of poverty and development in Uganda reveals a much less encouraging picture. Overall, the economic situation is severely constrained due to internal conflict, the high prevalence of infectious diseases, environmental degradation, lack of infrastructure, and low capacity for business development. According to international standards, Uganda still ranks among the twenty poorest countries in the world, with over fifty percent of the population living below the official poverty line. These impacts are particularly prevalent in rural areas, where the economy tends to be dominated by low productivity subsistence agriculture. Rural Ugandans have seen very little real growth in crop production over the last decade due to lack of access to agricultural inputs and financial services, declining soil fertility, poor infrastructure, lack of critical information and communication, and the inability to access large markets.

Over the last 25 years, microfinance has emerged as an effective vehicle for poverty reduction in Uganda. Many nongovernmental organizations are working to provide the rural poor with an increased access to credit by teaching community members about the benefits of savings, encouraging them to save, and offering loans to start small businesses. FSD works with locally-run non-governmental organizations to support grassroots economic development by providing job skills, micro-enterprise trainings and workshops, and micro-credit opportunities that empower communities to actualize change. Interns have the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of micro-finance and business related activities that will directly assist Ugandans in their struggle against the current economic situation.

Minimum Education: High School

Cost in US$: Depends on Program Selected; See FSD Website

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: FSD supports participants who boldly wish to initiate the change they believe is necessary in the developing world. Interns are passionate about sharing their practical knowledge, heart-felt enthusiasm, and economic resources with communities abroad that suffer unnecessary hardship. They wish to gain hands-on, grassroots development experience because they believe change is most powerfully cultivated on a community level. The aim is to experientially learn how their work can empower the community toward applying sustainable development solutions, rather than increasing reliance on foreign aid. Participants choose FSD because the program structure enables them to design and implement their own sustainable projects in collaboration with their host organization and the FSD Site Team. They are able to test their ideas and theories in the most direct way possible, giving them the experience and knowledge they seek. The flexibility of the host organizations allows for participants at all stages and levels of experience in international development to participate, thus opening the programs to a diverse group of capable applicants.

Age Range: 18-75

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Uganda Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of 3-10

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

Foundation for Sustainable Development's Mission Statement: FSD supports the efforts of grassroots organizations in the developing world that are working to better their communities, environments, and the economic opportunities around them. We believe community development is only sustainable if it empowers the people to effectively use and cultivate their own resources in a conscious manner. Through our programs, we aim to raise international awareness of the economic challenges in developing countries and to support cross-cultural communities in finding more effective solutions to development issues.

Year Founded: 1995