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When Cyclone Favio hit the Mozabican coast in February 2008 and devastated much of the local area, our partner organisation was involved in the initial relief work and assisting international aid agencies. Since then we have started working with them, to rebuild the lives of many and improve the lives of many more.
Through having volunteers on this project they have been able to fund and facilitate HIV testing and awareness for over 450 members of the Vilanculos community. At the rural preschool they have built a full new classroom, a large vegetable garden, a kitchen, a toilet facility, and a new shady veranda for the children’s eating area. They have also repainted the interior of the existing classrooms to provide a bright and fun learning environment. The home-building project has provided approximately 25 new homes to those without the means to build for themselves, and a house for the night guard/caretaker of the pre-school. They have also enrolled approximately fifty students in the English language school and established a language club within the local community, who are all amazingly keen and dedicated learners. Without volunteers they would not have been able to do any of this – and without your help they will be unable to sustain their efforts.
This project is packed with variety – so it means you’ll be making a difference in many different ways and in initiatives that really need volunteers. You’ll work with Pre-school children, School Children and at Orphanages. There is a genuine requirement for help, teaching basic English, and assisting with the education of the children, along with helping in the many community development projects that are in progress. You may be building a new home one day, to working in the vegetable garden the next, or maybe re-painting a school. By volunteering your time you’re directly helping the local community by providing the manpower to develop the community and the knowledge to educate them.
These children are growing up in great poverty and so it is incredibly important for volunteers to share their time and energy. At the establishments we work with on this project, the children are in a safe environment where they can learn, play, and grow with positive role models and encouragement provided by you, the volunteer. Where possible volunteers are encouraged to purchase supplies for their placement in the local community rather than in their home country, supporting local business. Also donations of equipment, clothing or money are encouraged and full support is given to assist with this process.
In the afternoons you’ll be part of many different community development initiatives, from home building to beach clean-ups, cultural days and language clubs. All of these development activities greatly benefit the local community and you’ll be a part of this! You’ll have the opportunity to not only help the local people but to educate them, which gives them a chance for a sustainable prosperous future.
You’ll be living in a rural camp with comfortable thatched bungalows.
By living in the volunteer camp provided by the project you’ll be providing much needed income and employment to the local population. The bungalows are simple and built from natural materials and you’ll be actively encourage to recycle, be efficient with energy and water usage and preserve the natural surroundings. All food is provided and sourced locally. The majority of the money that goes to us will be invested in the local community for your accommodation, food and in donations. The money that you spend whilst on this project will be also directly support the local economy as you’ll be spending it on local amenities and in local establishments. By taking part on the project you’re bring financial support and learning experiences for the whole community.
Environment
Transport to and from the project is left up to you to choose (costs covered for public transport). Public transport is always recommended by Travellers and all nearby public transport routes are shown to all new arrivals. If taxis are required, you will be encouraged to share with other volunteers in order to lessen the impact of pollution wherever possible.
Having regard for the local community by being consciously aware of your impact is encouraged in all our documentation for all our projects in all our destination countries. This is because we feel very strongly that many countries are subject to, for example, water shortages, high cost of energy and high impact of energy usage, the negative impact of litter and general pollution. Thus we encourage our volunteers to be aware of these possible impacts so that they contribute positively and not negatively to the community in this respect.
Our company
You taking part in this project enables us to continue to donate financial assistance as well as necessary goods, where it is needed around the world. Examples of donations include building new classrooms, providing school uniforms for poorer students, buying computers, sports equipment, playgrounds, toys, mattresses, classroom equipment and funding school trips and the building of libraries, and more. We also donate significantly to conservation research efforts and the purchasing of necessary conservation equipment. In the past, these donations have been made in all continents and in projects where we work, and some where we do not work.
Recent donations made include:
- Monthly donations to a variety of schools, orphanage and animal sanctuaries around the world to help with costs.
- Donations to a school in Zambia to sponsor the education of five children per year.
- Donation made to a school in Ghana to build new signs to advertise the school, buy a photocopier, buy reading books and pain some classrooms in need of repair.
- Donation of funds to build a toilet at one of the schools we work with in Cambodia – until now the children have had to go into neighbouring houses or in the bushes!
- Computer and Camera for a Street Kids project in South Africa.
- Ongoing monthly donations made to orphanage in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and every year additional money given at Christmas to buy presents for children.
- Approximately £1,500 towards the building of a desperately needed classroom in a Zulu school in eMakhosini, South Africa.
- Water tanks for various projects in Ghana and Kenya to allow the children safe drinking water.
- Toys and play equipment for children at a project that was severely lacking funds for this in South Africa.
- A donation of books for the Red Cross Hospital in Cape Town.
- A donation of $400 to the elephant project in Thailand.
We employ an all local staff force in most of our destination countries, which benefits the local economy. These range from skilled country managers, who are often pillars of their community, to local labourers and craftspeople. We believe in paying our overseas staff fairly, and many are rewarded with higher than average wages for local standards. When required, we send local staff on training courses to widen their skills. For example, a member of staff in South Africa recently attended an ‘eco-school’. Here, she was trained in eco teaching methods, which she will take to the schools around her region of South Africa to encourage eco-friendly farming methods.
We are committed to upholding strict ethical standards that ensure a positive and lasting impact upon the environments, communities, institutions, volunteers, animals, children and people that we work with. For example:
- We encourage our volunteers to make the most of local opportunities available to them, such as shopping at local markets, eating in local restaurants and using local services and transport.
- We encourage volunteers to pay fairly for goods and services. We believe that over payment for goods and services or payment to beggars can have negative consequences and result in the over-reliance of tourism within the local community.
- We strongly advise against purchasing wildlife souvenirs or anything which may perpetuate the death or cruel treatment of animals for the purpose of profit.
- We advise on dress codes and codes of behaviour in all of our destination countries to ensure volunteers don’t cause offence to local communities.
Our aim is to create always a win-win-win situation in terms of the benefits for the local communities and institutions that we work in, for us and for the volunteer. We do not embark on any project that is not beneficial to the communities, institutes or volunteers. We conduct regular volunteer satisfaction surveys to monitor our performance. We are also an incredibly environmentally aware company – we recycle in our offices and carbon offset when we need to send staff to our destinations. Although individually these are small actions, we believe it’s the first step to preserving the planet for future generations.
Our projects enable vital conservation, research, care and education work to take place directly where it is most needed. For example, the schools where we teach English very often have no other English teachers, and so they rely on us for continued lessons. We kept a Species Survival Conservation project in South Africa afloat until completion after it was threatened by lack of funds. Our volunteers contribute, all over the world, to projects that would not exist without them.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
