Work Travel Volunteer

There is a huge range of voluntary opportunities in Africa from desert elephant conservation work through to building local classrooms. Most projects are run through a larger organisation, although many are small scale projects run in Africa. If wildlife, and in particular, BIG animals are your thing, Africa should be your first choice for conservation volunteering . Rhinos, elephants, big cats, turtles and gorillas are all threatened species and there are many worthwhile projects based in Africa monitoring and actively protecting these animals.

Community development work such as HIV and AIDS awareness, assisting with water education and well building or looking after sick children are also key areas that volunteers can participate in. Finally volunteer teachers are also sought after in areas of Africa.

There is some controversy about the benefits of volunteering, particularly in Africa. Many say "aid" takes away the impetus of local people to try to help themselves plus a volunteer takes away the need (and the want) to employ a local person.

We say things are not as clear cut as that. Each situation is different. Africa is not going to heal overnight and the problems run a lot deeper than Westerners wanting to find out more about the issues and try to play their part in helping the continent.

We recommend, before embarking on any placement in Africa;

• Find out why the project has been set up and how long it has been running for
• Does it employ local people?
• How much of your money goes directly back into the project?
• Why do they need volunteers?

Think about how you would make a difference. The key benefit of any volunteer to a project is that they contribute something extra. If you have IT or writing skills for example, these can benefit a project tremendously where a skill shortage in these areas may be present. The other issue is the length of time you are prepared to give. A volunteer staying six months or more will contribute (and get out) a lot more than someone staying two weeks only.

For more information visit out Travel Africa section and search our directory to find out what you can do in Africa.