Volunteer travel and expedition in Africa
| country: | Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Swaziland |
| departures: | 2009: 8 Jan, 9 Jan |
| price: | From £3750 + £850 project donation (12 weeks) excluding flights. Price includes all activities, training, food, accommodation and in-country transport. We can help arrange flights from the UK |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Project Phase (weeks 1-6):
Babati is the regional capital of the recently formed Manyara Region. It has a population of approx 30,000 of which approx 50% are under 16 years. Since January 2007 we have been working with the Livingstone Tanzania Trust, a self-help development charity that works in association with local rural communities to alleviate poverty through education. They believe that through grassroots participation we can help local communities realise their development aspirations in a cost effective and sustainable way. “Education is not just about students in schools but ought to include the whole community, but school is a good place to start.”
Since we started working with LTT the teams have constructed enclosures for the animals on the school farm and a store room with teachers and farm managers office. Our groups have also finished a 4 classroom school in a small village outside Ndareda 40minutes from Babati.
Expedition Phase (weeks 7-12):
Swaziland – Relax after hard work on the project in one of Swaziland’s most tranquil game reserves. Then trek through the spectacular mountains of Malolotja finally visiting one of our long running community projects looking out of the Kingdom.
Mozambique – Learn to dive and gain your PADI open water dive course. Then make the most of these fauna rich seas at some of the most impressive dive sites in the world.
South Africa – Let the inner animal out and get stuck into caving, bridge swinging and white water river tubing. Then take in the views of the Blyde River Canyon and largest in South Africa. Take in the student lifestyle in the hip area of Pretoria with the chance to visit the Apartheid Museum to learn more about South Africa’s troubled past.
Botswana – Spend a night out on the largest collection of salt pans on the globe with the chance to get close up to a family of habituated meer cats. Then head out to the Okavango Delta to learn about the plants and animals in this stunning wilderness. Finally spend a 3 day 2 night safari in Chobe National Park with leopard, elephant, wildebeest, buffalo, giraffe, lions before watching the sun set on the river cruise.
Work includes rural construction- cement mixing, carrying rocks and sand, making mud bricks, carrying water. You will also get involved in school sports days, mural paintings, the school farm and much more community based work.
Babati is the regional capital of the recently formed Manyara Region. It has a population of approx 30,000 of which approx 50% are under 16 years. Since January 2007 we have been working with the Livingstone Tanzania Trust, a self-help development charity that works in association with local rural communities to alleviate poverty through education. They believe that through grassroots participation we can help local communities realise their development aspirations in a cost effective and sustainable way. “Education is not just about students in schools but ought to include the whole community, but school is a good place to start.”
Since we started working with LTT the teams have constructed enclosures for the animals on the school farm and a store room with teachers and farm managers office. Our groups have also finished a 4 classroom school in a small village outside Ndareda 40minutes from Babati.
Expedition Phase (weeks 7-12):
Swaziland – Relax after hard work on the project in one of Swaziland’s most tranquil game reserves. Then trek through the spectacular mountains of Malolotja finally visiting one of our long running community projects looking out of the Kingdom.
Mozambique – Learn to dive and gain your PADI open water dive course. Then make the most of these fauna rich seas at some of the most impressive dive sites in the world.
South Africa – Let the inner animal out and get stuck into caving, bridge swinging and white water river tubing. Then take in the views of the Blyde River Canyon and largest in South Africa. Take in the student lifestyle in the hip area of Pretoria with the chance to visit the Apartheid Museum to learn more about South Africa’s troubled past. Botswana – Spend a night out on the largest collection of salt pans on the globe with the chance to get close up to a family of habituated meer cats. Then head out to the Okavango Delta to learn about the plants and animals in this stunning wilderness. Finally spend a 3 day 2 night safari in Chobe National Park with leopard, elephant, wildebeest, buffalo, giraffe, lions before watching the sun set on the river cruise.
a day in a life of a volunteer
The wonderful aspect about this project is that volunteers get to live in the heart of Tanzanian Village day to day life; this can be varied and interesting depending on what events are happening in the village. There will be opportunities to experience the local culture and the main bulk of your diet will be made up of local dishes sourced from the Manyara region. Work includes rural construction- cement mixing, carrying rocks and sand, making mud bricks, carrying water. You will also get involved in school sports days, mural paintings, the school farm and much more community based work.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Schools in disrepair in the Babati region face closure without your help. Give the children of Babati the start they deserve. You will be renovating and building schools, classrooms and libraries as well as organising sports days and informal teaching in the local schools. The village community are friendly and welcoming and in desperate need of help. This is a unique opportunity to experience Tanzanian village life and directly help rural villages to improve the livelihoods and future of their children.
On this project £850 from each individual's contribution goes directly to the project. You will see your donation at work as materials come in by the truck load! Some of your donation will also go towards the long term goals of the project so that work can continue while our groups are not there. You will be working alongside both paid builders and also volunteers from Tanzania who are giving up their own time to benefit the community. It is a combined effort on behalf of both you and the entire community to make the project work. Accommodation is locally owned and although basic is set in the heart of the community. Local guards are employed for security at night and we make sure they are well paid as safety is very important to us. Before departure we will hold a preparation weekend to prepare you for the project. This is a chance to meet everyone on your trip as well as your 2 Leaders who will run the project and expedition when you are away. All aspects of the trip will be covered including how to travel responsibly and highlighting cultural awareness issues. All weekend and expedition activities are run through local tour operators making sure that the money spent stays in the countries you visit. Where possible we utilise local guides as well as having your project and expedition leaders with you on all activities. To ensure a positive impact, project managers and local workers carefully direct the project, sourcing all food and materials locally, ensuring that all objectives are completed. We listen to the needs of the project partners we work with to prioritise the project work we do. We limit the size of the group to 16 people; this ensures a minimal impact on the local community, while still making a huge difference to their lives. Back in the office we use only recycled paper and try to minimise our printing. We offset our carbon costs for all our leader flights by donating to two of our project partners who in turn spend the money on planting trees in Kenya and buying and protecting tropical rainforest in South America. We also encourage all our volunteers to do the same. Even the T-shirts we supply to our volunteers are ethically sourced, 100% organic cotton and manufactured solely using green renewable energy. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |