Intern or Volunteer with a Grassroots Youth and Education Organization in Uganda

  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 Youth and Education initiatives in Uganda:

* Teach classes and provide tutoring to students in arts, crafts, sciences, vocational skills, sustainable agriculture and farming techniques, environmental conservation, and computer skills. Develop school activities, such as sports programs and student clubs.

* Continue an FSD project that is building a vegetable garden for students to experientially learn organic gardening techniques.

* Visit young children in their homes and schools to offer remedial lessons. Support the organization's textbook library program (created by an FSD intern) for young students unable to acquire learning materials.

* Assist with health education, mass immunization, blindness prevention, de-worming, and reproductive health programs and workshops for communities and local schools. Support home and school visits of child patients at local medical clinics to monitor and assess progress of treatments.

* Support the AIDS Challenge Youth Club - a program promoting youth peer counseling in local secondary schools.

* Assist a community outreach with the goal of addressing social stigmas related to sexually transmitted diseases, voluntary testing, and counseling. Drama, music, and dance are common means of educating and mobilizing community members. Offer educational workshops about HIV/AIDS to rural communities and support the development and promotion of HIV/AIDS informational materials.

For more opportunities in youth and education 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: Development Issues Addressed by FSD in Uganda
Since Uganda instated Universal Primary Education by removing primary school fees in 1996, enrollment has drastically increased. Unfortunately, many classrooms now have 200 students in one room with one teacher. Teachers are often forced to hold classes outside because of the lack of sufficient facilities and many observers are skeptical about the quality of the education. There is also a large discrepancy in the education received by girls and boys.

Since secondary schools in Uganda require fees for books and stationery, there is often a lack of educational opportunity for orphaned children. Whether the orphans are living alone or with relatives, there is a great chance that money for school fees will be unavailable. Although some financial aid exists for poor children, expenses remain an insurmountable hurdle for poor families who must already pay the opportunity cost of allowing their child to study rather than work. The result is that many children never receive secondary education and are therefore stuck in the poverty trap of basic labor.

FSD works with organizations that sponsor payment of school fees, ensure student health, and offer many forms of education to underserved youth. Interns and volunteers can spend their time supporting youth development in a wide variety of subjects and programs geared toward opening doors for children to grow out of the poverty traps that afflict their families.

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