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Voluntary Work in Africa

© Jonathan Griffiths

This week I will focus on the continent of Africa. Africa is huge yet the opportunities for volunteerism here are surprisingly small. While there are numerous opportunities at the grassroots level for those with an area of expertise--such as medicine, development, or engineering--there are very opportunities for the kind hearted but unskilled traveller who wants extra money to prolong his or her stay.

Begin by establishing exactly where in Africa it is that you would like to travel. You can find out information on individual countries at the Rough Guides website. A few other useful sites at which you can learn more information about Africa include The Africa Guide , Africa Information Center (a site with a clickable map of Africa), and New Africa.com

Africa Centre is a non-profit project that tries to make information about Africa more readily available. It also tries to educate the public about Africa. Some volunteer opportunities are available with this organization. More details can be found at their website.

Cross-Cultural Solutions provides volunteers with opportunities to work in Ghana. Volunteers will be involved in humanitarian assistance programs. The most common placements are in the health, education and business sectors. Trained staff will be able to provide you with close supervision, planning and care.

The African Conservation Experience offers young volunteers placements in wildlife parks in Africa. The volunteers can get involved in exciting projects such as darting Rhinos, fitting tracking collars to elephants, and research on the many species of flora and fauna. The projects are all based in Southern Africa. Volunteers will get to work closely with experienced game rangers and conservationists. Greenforce works alongside the National Trust of its host country to aid in wildlife conservation schemes. Voluntary research teams gather data to help the local government to develop management plans which help protect ecosystems. Full training is provided for all volunteers

The Institute for International Cooperation and Development prepares volunteers to work in development projects in various developing countries. The volunteers then work from 3 months to 1 year with a development organization in the third world. Additional work involves educating others about third world problems and producing educational resources. with development organizations in the third world.

Visions in Action send volunteers to a number of developing countries. Its main aims are to achieve social and economic justice for all human beings. Within Africa, volunteers are sent to Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Burkina Faso. Volunteers are placed with nonprofit development organizations, research institutes, and the media in a variety of fields. For most positions, training will be provided.