Go Volunteer Africa

I traveled to Uganda, to volunteer with Go Volunteer Africa for 2 weeks. So the first thing I can say is that always apply for more weeks, if you really want to experience the Ugandan culture, and also to enjoy what Uganda has to offer. It was the best experience I have had in my life so far. My experience was very authentic and valuable to my profession as medical student. I at some point stayed with other volunteers at the Volunteers’ house but most of the time stayed with a sweet host family in Mukono. The Country Manager, Isaac was so incredibly warm and welcoming. Although I didn’t see him often, but he was always available, when we needed him, he knows every bit of his culture and he is a good resource. The truth is nobody is prepared to come to Uganda until you come but believe me, after you are ready for everything and you will never want to leave! I am incredibly grateful to the entire Ugandan team and Go Volunteer Africa for making my experience so rich. Overall, this was a very humbling and realistic way to experience Uganda and the rural culture and healthcare system. Thank you!

Pre Departure: Anna always got back to our team very quickly and answered all our questions that were great and really comforting. Arrival/Airport Pickup: Isaac in Uganda was there even though our flight was late and that was very good. Isaac was a great driver and stopped for us to get water. Placement: I really enjoyed working 2 projects, they were both very different but all of the staff members were very welcoming and allowed us to work with the children in the best way possible. Home stay/host family & meals: The group got to stay together under one roof so we felt really comfortable. The host family was wonderful. The Ugandan family were very friendly and welcoming. Highlights of your placement: Getting to know the children and teaching my own class at Hope Children’s Academy was really interesting and rewarding. The kids at Mukono were always full of joy and Isaac was fun to be around. Any unique experiences?: Learning a bit of Luganda, waking up and seeing children waving Mzungu, waking up to roaster crowing, walking the streets by ourselves, and getting to know the wonderful town of Mukono. We saw a lot of animals and the trip was great. Would you recommend this program to others? Yes, I will let others know about these programs and recommend they go to Mukono. It is beautiful there and the people are wonderful. Thank you so much for everything. I will cherish this experience always and I hope to return someday soon to work with the organization again. Thank you.

I did my volunteering project through go volunteer Africa with most contact to Paul. The communication between me and Paul was really bad, they did not pay my host for the airport pickup/dropoff ,although it says its included. I was told I would be put into the emergency department but that was not the case and when I tried to contact Paul he was very rude and then stopped answering me. But Winny the lovely woman I stayed with was great and welcomed me with open hands, she taught me about tanzanian culture and food, both her and her son Thomas were very good to me and Im forever grateful for them! I stayed at her house in a private room with a private bathroom as well, I got homecooked tanzanian food everyday and was really good taken care of. I would rather contact her directly for a volunteering opportunity through Amazing Grace widows and orphans❤️

In November 2023 I spent about a month in Tanzania as a volunteer for the Rafikisana Foundation. I got a nice room with a shower at the volunteers house, where also good, typical meals were provided for those staying over. Together with his wife, the headmaster of the school I was assigned to, took good care of me. They took me from and to the airport, regularly invited me to a restaurant or bar and, most importantly, agreed with me on what I should do at the school site. I opted for the set-up of a reading class, a dedicated room for the kids to have a separate session, at their specific level, to improve their English reading and writing skills. The kids really liked it, being away from their classroom and getting the full attention of a teacher! :-) On the weekends I also got the occasion to visit the country as a tourist: we walked to the Kilimanjaro waterfalls, visited a Masaai village, went on safari and even flew to Zanzibar! I can strongly recommend this to other possible volunteers: it's a perfect combination of adventure and giving back to society!

Go Volunteer Africa team led by Anna did such a great job, communicating with us via email and gave us the encouragement we needed to take this step with our family. Thanks so much. It was great to have Emily at the airport to meet us. The school and Head teacher Moureen - all were excellent. Thank you for being so flexible with us and providing such a fantastic experience for our family. We will remember it for the rest of lives! Gorretti does a good job cooking for us and taking great care of the house. We felt very fortunate to be well taken care of. We look forward to keeping in touch with them and the projects they are helping. We are now in Uganda, working on a construction project and we shall also share our volunteering experience. Our children are involved in tree planting project, very amazing experience so far and they love it, and every day is great.

Before I left to go to Rwanda I had a lot of contact with the Go Volunteer Africa office in Kenya and in Rwanda. I was emailing nearly every day to check everything was okay (because I only had about two weeks between booking and leaving - it was all very hurried but they still managed to sort everything out perfectly for me). When I arrived at the airport I was greeted with a huge hug and smile by the woman that I had been emailing, which made everything feel better, because I was on my own I immediately felt like I had friends there. I was driven to where I would be working and living outside Kigali by the go volunteer Africa local driver and introduced to the family who would be looking after all the volunteers in Rwanda. The family was lovely, very friendly and full of fun. She introduced me to other volunteers, gave me numbers of trusted local taxis, showed me around town; tourist information, market etc. She also explained how to get about using taxis and buses and how much money we should pay as to not be ripped off, which was really helpful. My host family were just lovely, they cooked the most incredible food, we usually had a bowl of rice and 5 or 6 different dishes in the middle of the table to choose from, and we could have as much as we liked. The house was very clean and tidy, and our bedroom was always keep nice and private. I even had friends from England who were in Rwanda at the same time who came to visit me, and my host mum brought us some sweets and snacks to share to make my friends feel 'at home'. When I left the home I was really sad, I bought my host family a house plant and they had bought me a traditional Rwandese handbag. I loved every second of being at work. The children were so lovely, and the staff made me feel welcome from day one. They didn't treat me like a guest, they treated me like one of them which was really nice, and they always made sure that the children had respect for the volunteers, the children called us 'teachers'. The staff at work cooked us gorgeous food and always asked if we wanted more, we were very well looked after. Also I really appreciated that when the volunteers did our activity the teachers always helped, they didn't take that as an opportunity to take a break. At the weekends we were free to do what we wanted, so we would often leave on a Friday afternoon and come home on a Sunday evening. We'd get a hotel (which was really cheap) and go and visit and explore Rwanda. I had a lot of fun in Rwanda, I felt very comfortable at work and at home. I wouldn't change a thing, I only wish that I went for longer.