We are now accepting applications for our 3 week General Skills volunteer placements in Summer 2019!

 

There are no specifics skills required to apply for the General Skills placement.

This programme is open to students and professionals from all backgrounds and walks of life.

The wide range of activities allow volunteers to get involved in achieving the overall objectives of Nurture Africa whilst gaining a greater insight and experience into the world of development through our educational sessions. Our structured and varied timetable means that volunteers’ days are rarely the same.

 

 

The timetable for this placement will be made up of the *activities listed below:

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• Library reading sessions with Primary School children

• Primary School Sports/Games days

• Building Project

• Community Farming

• Basic First Aid Workshops (No first aid experience necessary as training will be provided)

• Sanitary Pad project

• Home and Sustainable Livelihoods Visits

• Educational talks

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Please note: The many of the above activities are ‘hands-on’ projects which enable our volunteers to work side by side with our Ugandan staff. We have a numbers of volunteer activities which are purely experiential, and focus on volunteers’ learning by providing insight into different aspects of Nurture Africa’s work, and the lives of the people with whom we work.

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​To apply for this placement, please click on the button below. Once submitted our Volunteer Coordinator will be in touch regarding the next steps. For further information relating to the overall placement and General Skills activities, please scroll down.

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Programme Information

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Pre-placement

Once you are accepted to the programme you will participate in two workshop days that will focus upon critically exploring international development, your own motivation, expections and preconceptions related to overseas volunteering. We will also prepare you for your placement in

Uganda by introducing you to local culture and customs and the relevant Role Descriptions for your placement.

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Placement Information

 

Where:

Nansana, Wakiso District, Uganda 

Nansana is located 6 miles northwest of Uganda’s capital city Kampala along the Hoima Road.

 

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When:

 

3 weeks:

              

Placement 1: 7th - 28th June

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Placement 2: 28th June - 19th July 

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Placement 3: 19th July - 9th August 

 

 

Volunteer Activities and Role Descriptions

 

                                          

                                         

                                          Library Outreach

 

Facilitate a library reading session with primary school children in their own

school or at one of Nurture Africa's libraries. Working in pairs or individually;

use the book as a tool to generate conversation and ignite childrens' imagination

in order to promote the joy of reading and assist in improving

English literacy and comprehension levels.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                          Valerie Hickey and Karen Faughnan facilitating a library reading                                                                                                                                              at Learnbridge Primary School, Kyebando, Wakiso District, Uganda.

 

 

 

                          Playground Activity

 

Volunteer groups facilitate structured playground activities with primary

school children. As well as being great fun, these sessions use the joy of play 

as a way of promoting childrens' physical and emotional development.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to teach the children games that you 

grew up with, and more often than not, learn some new Ugandan games too!

 

 

 

                                                                                               Mary Walsh and Katie Hanley facilitating a play session 

                                                                                                                               with Ugandan school children.

                                                         

 

                                     

                                     

                                   Building Project

 

 

No building experience is necessary for this aspect of the placement!

Nurture Africa focus upon building a structure that will benefit the community

in which we work. In recent placements, structures such as a community library 

and youth resource centre have been built by volunteers who receive

guidance and training from local builders.

 

 

 

                                                                                              Volunteer team and local builders constructing a classroom in Kasengejje

                                                                                                                             Primary School, Wakiso District, Uganda.

 

 

 

                       Community Farming Project

 

 

As a member of the volunteer team, you will be educated about the common

health problems faced by the local population, Ugandan methods of farming 

and locally available nutritious crops. You will then work alongside our 

community outreach team in clearing, planting, maintaining and sowing 

nutritious crops for their families supported by the Nurture Africa HIV

Community Healthcare project.

 

 

 

                                                                                             

                                                                                                                           Volunteers Gina Corbett, Kelly Smullen and Rachel Maguire clearing

                                                                                                                         and maintaining a community farm with the assistance of 

                                                                                                                         Nurture Africa Community Health Officer Doreen Badaru.

 

 

                         

       

                              First Aid Workshops 

 

 

As a member of the volunteer team, in groups of four, you will facilitate

basic first-aid workshops which are provided to school children/staff,

with the goal of enabling individuals to act promptly and correctly should any

given accidents occur in their home or school.  Empowering children to

become good first responders can have meaningful benefits in a country

which has limited and under-resourced public health services.                                                                                               

                                                        

     

                                                                                         

                                                                                              Volunteer Eoin Nagle assisting school children, through demonstration, 

                                                                                                                              to learn the recovery position.

 

 

 

 

       Sanitary Pad Workshops (female volunteers only)

 

The Ugandan government says up to 30% of girls drop out of education

once they hit puberty and adolescence. Female members of our volunteer 

teams will receive training and then teach young school going girls how to

make reusable sanitary pads from locally sourced materials. You will then

distribute materials which will allow the girls to make their own pads which

will assist in enabling female students to remain in school throughout the

academic year. You will also provide information on female health and hygiene. 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                  Volunteers Ciara Moran and Gaye Healy with famale students St. Joseph's 

                                                                                                                                     Primary School, Nansana, Uganda during a re-usable Sanitary Pad Workshop

 

 

         

 

             Community Home and Business Visits

 

These experiential activities are focused solely upon providing you

with an opportunity to learn about the challenges that face vulnerable

families in Uganda. A Home Visit  will provide you with the opportunity to

accompany Nurture Africa staff to visit families of those who are on our 

HIV Healthcare Project. You will learn how our medical team work with

families to ensure their health status improves and hear first-hand stories 

about how Nurture Africa are working with them to help improve their lives.

 

Sustainable Livelihoods Business Visits allow you to visit businesses that

have been set up as a result of support provided by Nurture Africa, in order 

to ensure a brighter future for the families supported by our healthcare and 

education projects. Through training provided and micro-finance loans, families

are working towards earnng an income and working themselves out of poverty

                                                                                                                                                      Nurture Africa Sustainable Livelihoods Officer Ssettumba Kenneth explains

                                                                                                                                            to a group of volunteers how Nurture Africa supports vulnerable families

                                                                                                                                            to commence and manage their own business in order to provide an

                                                                                                                                              income for themselves and in doing so, work themselves out of poverty.

 

 

                         

                           

                     

                       Development Education talks

 

These timetabled interactive Q&A sessions with the Heads of Nurture Africa

departments are used to provide you are better understanding of the situation

and context of Nurture Africa operations and how it fits within the global

framework to end poverty. These sessions aim to challenge percetions and 

allow you to learn more about the successes and challenges of development

work and gain a greater knowledge of the areas of intervention that

Nurture Africa focuses upon from experts in each respective field

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                              Finance Officer Kafumu Samuel is also a graduate of the Child Sponsorship

                                                                                                                              Project with Nurture Africa. Here, Sam explains to volunteers the challenges

                                                                                                                              that he faced accesing education whilst growing up in a vulnerable family, 

                                                                                                                             and outlines the importance of how access to education can enable young

                                                                                                                            Ugandans to realise their full and true potential.

                                                                                                                                                     

 

 

Application Process and Requirements

 

Volunteer placements are allocated subject to the suitability of the applicant.

 

You MUST:

• Submit an application form (downloadable here)

• Undergo an informal interview process in order to ensure that you are suotable for the programme; and also that Nurture Africa's programme suits you!

• Be willing to submit a completed Garda Vetting form.

• Attend TWO pre-departure training sessions which are vital for prepartion for your placement

• We advise attendance at debriefing and reunion workshop approximately 4 weeks after you return home from your placement.

• Obtain all required travel vaccinations and anti-malaria drugs before departure.

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This is an opportunity to put your energy, enthusiasm and skills to good use for a great cause. It is also important to have realistic expectations about what can be achieved during a short-term volunteering placement. By volunteering with us, you will also  learn about the challenges of international development and to better understand the ways in which we are all connected. Come with an open mind, a humble heart and an adventurous spirit and you will gain a new perspective on the world. By contributing to Nurture Africa projects, you can help us make a positive difference for people in some of Uganda’s most vulnerable communities.

 

Contact us

​For more details and information please complete the contact form below and Volunteer Coordinator Colm Ashe will respond to you with the information that you require

 

Disclaimer: By completing and submitting the contact form below, you are accepting being contacted by a member of staff from Nurture Africa.