You will join like-minded volunteers assist the families to improve their surroundings in rural Uganda. Depending on which phase of a project you join you may wish to split your time between a building/renovation project and engaging at the local school. There is always the opportunity to get involved assisting teachers in the classroom and running after-school activities, especially in sports clubs.

Working alongside local teaching staff and builders, spending time with the kids and staying in the villages will make you an essential part of the community. These projects will tackle needs that have been identified by your host community to ensure that your financial and physical investments are sustainable long into the future. Tackling side projects such as educational murals or competitions will inspire your community to work with you and achieve their goals that also become yours.

The key to any building project is the partnership between our team and the local community. As well as bringing essential funding to the project the presence of a team of volunteers who serve in the village community can be a great motivator to local people.

Volunteer Tasks

Volunteer working hours are usually 8am-4pm with breaks during the day. Volunteers will work 5 days a week. The volunteers’ mornings are either spent helping in a school or building in the community.

You will have an opportunity to take a morning break as well as lunch. Throughout the day we will rotate classroom assistance, you may wish to take part in some teaching and/or after-school activities and sports. When not teaching you can work on the building site or plan the next lessons.

Because of the poor standard of English (for most of the very young children at the school Lusoga is their first language and then very rudimentary English), teaching any core academic subjects will be a language challenge for international volunteers. However arts and crafts classes, and PE (which could include football, netball, cricket, rounders, baseball etc) can be taught after school finishes at 3pm. Any materials for such classes should be brought with you (only basic stationery is available locally) and can be donated to the school on your departure. We have a local crew leader who can help with translating.

Additional activities include a range of sports depending on the needs of each school, the timetables and resources. Many of the village schools we work in teach on a blackboard with chalk and share text books. Classrooms are usually quite basic, comprised of brick walls, a tin roof and simple wooden desks. Windows may be simply holes in the wall, or may be fitted with frames and glass. Resources available to teachers and students are limited. Some receive funds from churches or other donors, giving them access to more books and occasionally a few computers.

Although most of the schools we support are Primary Schools, there may also be the opportunity to engage with older children who have a better understanding of English in nearby schools. Your project leader will be able liaise with local teaching staff if you have a particular teaching interest or focus that you would like to conduct individually in a class or under supervision, such as English, Math, Sports, or Creative Arts. The amount of teaching you get involved in will depend on your departure date, school timetables & holidays.

We appreciate any and all donations, especially in terms of stationery supplies such as stickers, pencil crayons, educational posters and sports equipment etc. You can plan activities like artistic projects, conservation education, or health awareness. Sports events are also very popular, especially football and netball; you could organize a sports day or tournament.