2013 Summer Volunteer Opportunities in Rural Uganda

Are you passionate about making a long lasting change in rural communities in Uganda? Then consider volunteering with Mgahinga Community Development Organisation. Since 2003, Mgahinga Community Development Organisation (MCDO) has been at the forefront of advancing community driven development in communities adjacent to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Kisoro district, south western Uganda . MCDO's overall goal is to use tourism as a resource to provide education opportunities, improve livelihoods, and promote eco-tourism, better health and income generation.

Our volunteers come from different countries and backgrounds. In the past, we have had volunteers from the US, UK, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain among others.

We offer diverse volunteer opportunities listed below:

1. Ecotourism: There are two community lodges that need your management, hospitality training, website design and social media marketing expertise. These are: Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp located at the main gate of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Mutanda Eco Community Centre located just 6 kilometers away from Kisoro town. Both lodges are community owned and they provide accommodation, food and camping services to visitors of Kisoro.

2. Teaching at a community kindergarten: You will be teaching English, basic counting, sports, and games to young children between 4 and 7 years old at Mgahinga Community Nursery School. The school was founded by a local association and the current enrollment is 80 children.

3. Income generation: If you enjoy working with income generating activities, then come and support a group of local men and women who make handicrafts as a source of income. The group has a shop at Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp and they meet weekly to make the handicrafts. The volunteers can help with proposing marketing strategies, improving product design and training.

4. Public health and conservation: In collaboration with different partners, MCDO supports a veterinary project in villages adjacent to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The project focuses mainly on vaccinating dogs against rabies and deworming livestock to prevent spread of disease from community livestock to the wildlife in the national park. If you are a vet, biologist or interested in conservation, this project is a good fit.

5. Health care: If you are interested in working on health care issues, apply for this volunteer opportunity to work at the front-line of health care delivery in Kisoro. You can work at community health centers or at Kisoro hospital. This opportunity is also open to non-medical professionals. In this case, you can provide support to the nurses when delivering care to the patients.

6. Sports: There are opportunities to train and couch local football clubs. There are two football clubs we work closely with. These are "The Primates Group" and "Nyarusiza Football Club".

7. Computer training: MCDO collaborates with secondary schools in Kisoro to offer computer training to students. As a volunteer, you will teach computer basic skills like MS Word, Excel and Internet browsing to the students.

8. Vocational training: This entails teaching vocational skills like driving, knitting and tailoring at Kisoro International Vocational Institute.

9. Agriculture: Here you will have an opportunity to work with local farmers. You will learn how the farmers prepare the land, plant the seed and even how they harvest.

10. Project monitoring and operations support: There are also opportunities to support MCDO office operations especially in monitoring and evaluation, finance and accounting. This would be a great opportunity to experience how small NGOs operate in rural Uganda.