Volunteer at Our Primary School in Uganda - only USD400 per month

  Uganda

Jinja

Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 7-12 months, 1-2 years and over 2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: All year

Description: This primary school in Jinja has been built in a clearing in the forest, about 6 miles from Jinja town. Volunteers who go here will experience something that will last a life-time - African culture. And they will leave knowing that they have made a valuable contribution to these children's lives. Moses the senior teacher is really enthusiastic and is keen to have volunteers to help him look after the children and to build new facilities. He is the person at the school who looks after the volunteers, but the Headmistress, Robinah, and all the teachers are very welcoming and caring.

To learn more about this project a recent volunteer has returned to the UK and written a blog. It is full of information and tells you what to expect at Jinja. Members can find the link in the members area above. Ann is in constant touch with Moses and the school and she is returning in January 2009. Amenities are simple, but clean and hygienic. Volunteers must not expect luxury.

If volunteers do not mind losing some of the True Africa Experience and want to live in more luxurious circumstances, there are options available at Bujagali Falls which may be researched via the internet. Volunteers would still take their lunch (and dinner) at Moses home and a small reduction in the placement fee may be negotiated.

When emailing Moses please remember that he can only get to a computer about once a week and also to make sure that your volunteer time falls during a term time. Term dates will be researched and added to this site soon.

Cost: Accommodation is included in the volunteer fee and will be with Moses and his lovely family at their home in a truly magical forest setting. It is 5 minutes walk away from the school and 15 minutes to Bujagali Falls. He has converted his house to provide rooms for 4 volunteers. Breakfast and lunch will be provided leaving volunteers free to go out to the local village or town for an evening meal where there is some night-life or volunteers may order an evening meal from the Project Manager the day before taking it. The cost is approximately EUR2.50.

The volunteer fee including accommodation, breakfast and lunch is USD400 a month.

This project is part of Ecoteer - the solution to travel and volunteering on a shoestring

Ecoteer is a unique volunteer opportunities agency - offering a directory of cheap volunteer work opportunities, volunteer jobs abroad and working holidays. Our volunteer opportunities are cheap because we have eliminated the middleman slashing the price to volunteer abroad for gapyears, careerbreaks and working holidays. Ecoteer is leading the way in a new type of volunteer work opportunities abroad and is changing the volunteer and working holiday industry back to what it used to be   benefiting both the volunteer and the volunteer project.

We have other opportunities in ecotourism, conservation, humanitarian aid and teaching in other 50 countries.

To volunteer with Ecoteer you need to become an Ecoteer volunteer member which costs only EUR20 per year.

Please inquire for more of our cheap volunteering opportunities.

Highlights:
Role of Volunteer

Volunteers don't need to be trained teachers. They need to be 18+ with no upper limit. Ann does not mind us saying that she is 61. You can see her on her blog with Vicent the boy she adopted and on this website.

One of the most valuable things volunteers can do is help the children express themselves on paper in English and use that as a platform for English language development and understanding English with a non African accent working with groups of up to 10 using shared writing as a medium as it's less threatening than doing it alone. That can come later. Products of writing sessions to be made into reading books for use with younger children in the school for learning to read English - products become resources, then.

Other valuable things volunteers can do with the children are reading stories, hearing children read, art work, football, netball, hockey, music. In fact task creativity/innovation from the volunteers is welcomed. Just relating to and playing with the children is valuable. Teachers do not have time to teach more peripheral subjects due to curriculum pressures. Music and singing with the children would be a wonderful, life enhancing treat for them as would teaching them new games to play.

There is repair work and possibly construction work at the school which badly needs a secure store so anyone with building experience would be valued. The school does not have any goalposts another potential volunteer task. Carpentry, glazing the possibilities are endless and you will soon discover them when you are there. Staff are very open to ideas.

Qualifications: None

Cost in US$: 400 per month

Experience Required: no

Age Range: 18+

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 1-5

Application Process Involves:

• Other
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Job and Internship Network

Ecoteer's Mission Statement: To help locally run grass root organisations to achieve their aims via attracting paying volunteers and tourists. Plus we personally help develop and improve the projects we work with to help them to achieve their objectives.

Year Founded: 2005