Posts Tagged ‘Volunteer’

Family

January 16, 2010

How Does A Family Volunteer With Children During The Holidays?

Tags: children, Does, During, Family, Holidays, Volunteer, With

My husband and I live very far from any family and every year we spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with just our small children. As this is nice and special, we both wish to make this year and possibly the the future years memorable ones and do something meaningful.
Since our kids are small, we know that this will pose a roadblock to certain things.
But we wish to start volunteering our Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Eve nights to a shelter, hospice or nursing home.
Anyways, any other suggestions?
God bless

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November 20, 2009

Volunteering In Tanzania- Ecology, Wildlife, And Social Issues

Tags: Africa, Ecology, leisure, Politics, South Africa, Tanzania, Travel, Volunteer, Volunteering, Wildlife, World

Tanzania is situated in East Africa, and its economy runs primarily on tourism. It is a country of geographical extremes like the highest point being the Mount Kilimanjaro peak and the lowest point being the lake bed in Lake Tanganyika. It also shares a part of Lake Victoria, which is the largest lake on the continent. But Tanzania has much more to offer than this and one such place is the Serengeti. The Serengeti is a national park and a haven for animal lovers as you can spot the big 5’s of Africa and the fastest animal on the plant: the Cheetah.
Why Volunteer In Tanzania
Although tourism is good in Tanzania but it is still stricken with poverty and children often die in the formative years due to malnutrition, AIDS and other diseases. A beautiful country, Tanzania needs help from volunteers to preserve their wildlife, which also seems to be depleting due to extensive poaching. As a volunteer in Tanzania, you will be able to get close to the heart of Tanzania, their people and their lives. You will be able to get access to some of the most spectacular landscapes from Mount Kilimanjaro to the wide grassy savannahs that teem with wildlife, and above all, you will be able to know more about the Masaai woman and the tribe.
Types Of Projects Available
As a part of volunteering in Tanzania, you will get to choose the kind of project you are interested in. The different types if projects available include:
Cultural Experience: As a volunteer in Tanzania, you can be a part of the culture of the country and take back with you immeasurable cultural experiences. As a part of this project, you will be able to speak with the local people, mingle with them and collect data for enabling research on the Tanzania people and society.
Internships: There are different types of internships available in Tanzania, which can vary from medical training to community trainings and are normally of a longer duration than most of the other programs. The internship programs can be from 9 weeks to a year depending on the nature of the project.
Soccer coaching: Soccer is the new craze in Tanzania and they have been preparing for the FIFA world cup for a long time. In fact soccer is the chosen sport in most of the urban and rural schools. So if you are a soccer player or have played the game at any level then you can volunteer for this specific program. It will be grueling as well as fun and present a new way of looking at the younger generation of Tanzania.
Teaching in schools: Most of the Tanzania teaching programs are for schools situated in the rural areas. As a volunteer in Tanzania, you can teach different subjects in rural schools from English to mathematics, science, economics and others. Most of the rural schools don’t have proper building structure and lack educational infrastructure. As a volunteer, you can assist the existing teaching staff and also teach.
Women’s development: There is a lot of work going on in Tanzania to uplift the status of the Masai women. The Masai tribe is the original people of Tanzania but they have been left out for a long time. As a volunteer, you can impart your experience and teaching and help in strengthening the Masai women for the future.
Cheetah Conservation: Cheetah is the fastest mammal on earth and exists only in the African wilderness. There are some interesting Cheetah conservation projects for which you can volunteer. Cheetah’s are almost on the brink of extinction and these conservation projects help with the breeding in wild and captivity for cheetahs and also take care of educating the African farmers so that they don’t end up killing any more of this beautiful animal.
Volunteer Requirements
Age: The minimum age for volunteering in Tanzania should be 16 or older.
Duration: The duration of the projects can vary from 4-12 weeks depending on the nature of volunteer activity
Fee and Other details
There is a fee attached to each of the projects that you volunteer for. The fee is charged in advance and is charged for the following:
1. Accommodation
2. Food/meals
3. Transportation within the region
4. All types of training material
Conclusion
Volunteering in Tanzania is an opportunity that can’t be missed because Tanzania needs us and we can’t let them down.

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November 1, 2009

Vounteer in Kenya- Conservatism and Social Issues Volunteering

Tags: Africa, Costa Rica, Kenya, Latin America, Nepal, Travel Abroad, Volunteer

Kenya is situated in East Africa and shares its borders with Somalia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Sudan. Kenya has one of the greatest or biggest wildlife habitats in the world and it is called the Masai Mara, which sees the annual migration of Wildebeast.
Some of the other big animals found in Kenya include buffalo, lion, leopard, rhinoceros and elephants.
Although Kenya has some natural resources and wildlife, there is still a lot more that Kenyan people need in terms of stabilizing the economy. There is poverty, lack of health care facilities, lack of education and poaching and amidst all this the Kenyan and the Masai tribal people are trying hard to carve an existence.
If you are interested in overseas volunteer work and want to add to a cause then volunteering in Kenya is a great opportunity! There are many organizations, which have specific programs that can help you get volunteer work in the form of teaching English overseas or lend a helping hand in development of a community.
Volunteering in Kenya, Africa can vary depending on the programs but opportunities offered are in the following field:
- Academic reinforcement
- Adult education
- AIDS
- Childcare/children
- Community centers
- Handicapped
- Health care
- Homelessness
- Nature Conservation
- Pastoral work
- Primary education
- Relief
- Street kids
- Teaching
- Wildlife Conservation
- Women
- Youth development
Volunteering in Kenya means that you will get to amass a lot of experience through working on several programs for a longer duration. Attending these programs and working for a cause will be a value addition on your resume and also provide the necessary exposure.
You will get to work with existing staff and depending upon the program, you will attend to the issue at hand. As a foreign volunteer in Kenya, you can get the following facilities but this will largely vary from organization to organization. They are:
- The program price can vary from $200 to $600 for 2 weeks
- You can choose from a variety of volunteer work in Africa
- The programs are mostly flexible
- You will get 24/7 support from existing staff
- You will get an airport pickup and/or drop
- Local transportation
- Food and lodging will be taken care of
- You will get introduced to the local people, existing staff, banks, restaurants, government officials etc.
- You will get to learn the local language through a crash course
Volunteering in Kenya also offers a range of opportunities for those who love to be close to nature and wildlife. A part of overseas volunteer work, wildlife and environment conservation programs in Kenya offer opportunities in animal welfare, biological research & conservation, wood cutting, fixing fences, ground patrol, protecting natural resources, reforestation, wildlife surveying and many more.
A typical volunteer for working in Kenya doesn’t need to have any kind of special education. You just need to be inspired and ready to work for a cause with passion and dedication. One of the key qualities required is the ability to adapt to the environment.
There are times when volunteers from US or Europe are unable to eat the food prepared in Africa by a local Masai woman and it is not just about food, it is about complete adjustment and you have to become one with the project. The recommended age is 18 or more for any of the programs. Nationality or religion doesn’t matter for volunteering in Kenya.
Volunteering in Kenya teaching programs involves teaching in elementary and high schools and the subjects can vary from mathematics to English, science, social science, geography, history, painting, cooking and music. It doesn’t matter whether you have any prior teaching experience or not. It all comes down to one thing: Are you ready to volunteer for a cause?

Volunteering in Kenya expert Alex Landin is a project manager and contributes to Volunteer in Kenyan programs at GlobalCrossRoad.com
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