Volunteering in Uganda
Get to volunteer in Uganda and discover the snow-capped mountains, the dense forests, arid savannahs and the great Lake Victoria, added on the natural beauty are the welcoming people in Africa, the great place for you to volunteer on board.
The rare mountain gorillas in Uganda are in danger to becoming extinct, get to support their protection by joining a gorilla conservation project.
You can get to meet many volunteer opportunities from the capital of Kampala to remote villages. Many orphanages and schools need help of experienced long term volunteers for teaching efforts and the child care.
When planning to volunteer abroad, there are many destinations and the reasons for volunteering in Uganda is the beautiful Lake Victoria and the rare mountain gorillas that live in the Virunaga ranges, get to learn more and more about the beautiful country.
The country is home to 5 big animals, the source of the Nile, great people, however, poverty is still rampant in the country and there are many social projects that work towards the improvements in various areas.
Through volunteering in Uganda, you can make a lasting impact by supporting those local projects on-site.
The different volunteering opportunities in Uganda
Support community services
In case you want to know Uganda and its people while giving something back and a great way of doing this is to volunteer in Uganda in the diverse field of community development.
These opportunities range from working in culture and arts to construction and social work. You might decide to hold classes and teach children in drama, music and arts.
Here you will work closely with the locals, reaching out to the community, organizing events and learning a lot about the culture of Uganda.
You can work in many construction project, environmental projects to provide access to clean water, sanitation and the improved infrastructure, while protecting the environment. With social work, you can decide to work with vulnerable children, women and the elderly to meet their practical, physical and emotional needs.
In case you want to know Uganda and its people while giving something back and a great way of doing this is to volunteer in Uganda in the diverse field of community development.
These opportunities range from working in culture and arts to construction and social work. You might decide to hold classes and teach children in drama, music and arts.
Here you will work closely with the locals, reaching out to the community, organizing events and learning a lot about the culture of Uganda. You can work in many construction project, environmental projects to provide access to clean water, sanitation and the improved infrastructure, while protecting the environment.
With social work, you can decide to work with vulnerable children, women and the elderly to meet their practical, physical and emotional needs.
Animal and wildlife conservation
Uganda is home to endangered mountain gorillas, with half of the world’s remaining population living in the Bwindi impenetrable national park.
The mountain gorillas were discovered only 100 years ago and has since been exposed to the destruction of its habitat, hunting and war. Great thanks go to the social projects that are dedicated to conservation work, the mountain gorilla population is showing small increase.
As a volunteer, you can support these organisations and help in protecting the rare mountain gorillas. These include; working in the communities, tracking the gorillas, reforestation efforts and educating locals about the importance of gorilla conservation.
Medical and healthcare programs
The volunteer opportunities in Uganda that are concerned with health care are adequately distributed. In case you are a medical professional you can have an impact by working at a hospital, while learning a lot and developing new skills in a completely different environment.
Volunteering in health care can be a great opportunity for you to make a difference there are many projects in the area including; health education, AIDS prevention, hospital placements, dentistry, nursing and medical and health care internships.
Teaching in Uganda
Volunteering in this particular field offers the greatest impact on those who need it most. There are social projects focusing on helping with educational initiatives providing a better education for local children and also for the illiterate adults.
This could be a great chance for everyone who couldn’t afford to go to school. As a volunteer in education, you might teach local children some school subjects like; maths, English, spelling, reading and writing and games and sports.
What to know before you volunteer in Uganda
Safety & precautions: the country is trouble free and the country has experienced an improvement in all security categories except the international terrorism and road safety, however, you need to pay attention to some issues including; the poor roads in Uganda, limiting the amount of cash you carry and always leave valuables in the hotels, Not to leave your bags and camera on the car seat while driving.
Culture & religion; Uganda is more than Lake Victoria and the mountain gorillas. As a volunteer in Uganda, you’ll have the time to really get to know the country and experience it like tourists usually can’t.
The local Ugandan culture is a diverse mix of different ethnic groups, languages, history and cultural habits. As a volunteer in Uganda, you will be able to immerse yourself in and become a part of the local community and culture you’re living in.
Health advice: traveling to another country includes some issues and precautions that need to be taken into account, most especially when you are traveling to a country with a tropical temperatures and the wilderness.
You need to be careful with what you eat and drink, always wash hands more often, plan how you will get health care during your stay, always prevent bug bites, be careful with rabies, and make sure you are up to date on routine vaccinations before very trip.