About the project
Volunteers will assist and support the needy communities in the town of Kazo, Uganda. The international volunteers will work together with the local volunteers who are among the communities' leaders and can facilitate local cooperation.
Many communities in Kazo are in distress and require the urgent assistance of international and local volunteers.
Among the people in need are:
Orphans: Children that lost their parents, (mainly from AIDS) or children that were abandoned by their parents.
Single Mothers: Many of the men in the community in Kazo abandon their families and thus leave the women to struggle by themselves with raising their children.
Adult and Senior citizens who are not mobile and find it difficult to take care of themselves. These individuals require assistance and aid in their own homes.
Sick and HIV carriers who need supervision and constant follow up to insure that they take their daily medicine. Many of them live in sub-standard conditions that further expose them to additional health hazards
Most of the activities will take place at the Volunteers' Open House that has, in addition to a kitchen and living quarters, a large common area for this purpose. Some other activities will be in the town all within walking distance of the House.
Volunteer work and contribution
The Volunteer work in the project is divided into three parts:
1. Central group activities - mainly educational activities such as:
- Computer studies: internet, windows, and other advanced applications.
- English Studies - particularly for adults or for children in public schools that do not get the same level of English studies given in the private schools.
- Private lessons in the afternoon and assistance to schoolchildren with their homework.
- Each volunteer can teach the local residents drawing on his/her specific area of expertise.
- Mapping the community's needs and profiling the distressed population.
Each group of volunteers will deal with a maximum of two tasks.
2. Projects in cooperation with local volunteers
- Building a children's amusement park. (Today there is no park like this in Kazo). The park can be built, for example, from renewable materials.
- There is no infrastructure for garbage collection. The waste is thrown on the streets. The volunteers can assist in building local incinerators in every neighborhood and devise ways to collect and to treat waste.
- The locals are heating their houses with coal ovens. The elderly and phsically frail people need assistance in building and operating these ovens.
- Volunteers will visit the homes of the disabled and infirm. Assist them with daily chores and provide companionship.
- Volunteers assist in maintenance works for Volunteers' House. They will maintain and improve living/working facilities in the House and demonsrtate by their example that continued upkeep and repairs with cooperation and minimal resources can improve living conditions.
Each group of volunteer will deal with one task.
3. Individual activities
- Playing a music instrument for music classes etc.
- Photography. The town has a Cinema Club but no resources. Volunteers with knowledge of Cinema, video and photography are welcome to contribute their time and expertise.
- Sport. The town has Football Association. There is room for improvement.
- Arts and craft, dance, drama.
- Lectures on subjects like human rights, gender, democracy, politics, etc.
- Volunteers with business experience can assist local businesses in their daily activities such as budgets, cash flow, marketing, profit maximization, etc.
Accommodation & Facilities
The volunteers will stay in an Open House with private living quarters. They will receive all basic food and cook their own meals in the communal kitchen. The House has a dining room and a large garden for relaxation and recreation.
Not just work...
Kazo is located about 40 km from Kampala and about the same distance from Lake Victoria. During the weekend, one can go to Kampala and enjoy the restaurants, shopping and very active nightlife. At Lake Victoria you can have fun on the beach, go on a mini safari and enjoy the beautiful nature of the area. It is recommended to visit the Chimpanzee and Gorilla Reserve of Uganda that is unique in the world.
Minimum requirements
- Min age 18
- Good level of English
- Previous travel and/or volunteer experience
- High level of independence and emotional strength
- Motivation to work with children
- Full travel & medical insurance
- Immunizations (please consult your doctor)