Program Reviews

In total I volunteered for 4 months in Livingstone, Zambia on the teaching and the sports project. And it was an amazing experience!
It was my first time volunteering abroad and I never suspended so much support. The staff is always there to help you. And they are also always up for fun activities in the evenings and the weekends. From quiz nights to movie nights and even just simple game nights.
The projects are amazing. You feel that you really make an impact and especially when you volunteer for a longer time.
You work in a beautiful community, with a lot of lovely people.
It was definitely the best first experience with volunteering abroad.
I will for sure go back to Livingstone, they stole my heart!!

Volunteering with African Impact in their Big 5 Wildlife Research and Conservation program is the best thing I've done! I had always dreamed of experiencing Africa's wild in person, so my expectations for this program were very high. To my delight, African Impact surpassed these expectations. There were all sorts of magical experiences in the bush: encountering a leopardess and her cub, eating and talking around a bonfire while an elephant ate just a few yards away, and sleeping in tents to the sounds of lions, elephants and hyenas. African Impact is very professional and I felt safe at all times. Dumela Lodge is a great place to stay and the food is really nice. I highly recommend this program.

Truly inspiring, life changing & challenging experience. Incredibly grateful to have worked with wonderful staff & volunteers. Met loving, enthusiastic & joyful students which made classes so much fun & rewarding. Living in Moshi was by far the best cultural experience I've had yet. The people, animals, music, energy, food, gratitude, strength, adventure & love. Had the pleasure to teach English to the Masai tribal men & local primary school kids (who were the cutest!) . As well as teach business skills to the tailors in town. Thankyou African impact for an incredible trip, I didn’t want to leave x .

Can’t wait to come back next year!

I absolutely loved the month I spent in Zambia with AI. I was on the medical project and the home-based care which we did most mornings was really interesting, and getting to see people in their homes was definitely a highlight. When we revisited people we were able to see an improvement as a result of the advice, medication and clinic referrals that we gave so it was very rewarding. The afternoon projects were varied and fun - I go to have a go at teaching, farming, sports and after-school games all of which I really enjoyed! The staff team are amazingly enthusiastic and friendly, and they make sure that everything runs smoothly. Livingstone is also a great place to be in terms of the free weekends we had - I got to go on safari, go to Victoria Falls, go on a walk to find rhinos, camp on a boat overnight, feed elephants at the Elephant Cafe and lots more! I made some great friends and was amazed at how much we were able to genuinely help in the communities around Livingstone - I would 100% recommend this project to anyone!

I don't even know where to begin. It's been 6 weeks since I came home and I still miss it every single day. I volunteered in the orphanage in the morning and at GAPA in the afternoons. The atmosphere in Khayelitscha is so special and makes the experience incredible. The smiles of the children are worth everything and unforgettable. The African Impact team makes you feel so welcome, not only by providing so much information that you know the house like your own in day, but also by always being there for a chat. I would recommend volunteering for everyone wanting to make a change, big or small. You also get to know so many people from all around the world and get to make so many memories at projects or in the weekends.

Upon arriving in Zambia, I was immediately thrusted into the best exposure and training in the medical field I had ever encountered as an American pre-medical student. I never expected to have opportunities to weigh babies, assist nurses with taking vitals and preparing vaccines, clean wounds from HIV fungal infections and leprosy, and even shadow doctors in a different country on the other side of the globe.

If you are searching for a way to gain exposure to healthcare, see clinical cases in real life, and find the confidence within that you can succeed as a doctor, a nurse, a physical therapist, etc., this program is for you!

The program is enjoyable for youth who wish to get in contact with the local population. The staff is generally nice and between 20 and 30 years of age. They are helpful as long as you don't question the planning or the project in general. The project is based on teaching English and strengthen the grammar skills of the local students. That is a good thought, but unfortunately you teach something else than the project organisation claims. I asked in advance for a work plan since I did not feel very confident when it comes to English grammar and the staff replied that I shouldn't worry and that we would plan upon arrival. One week before the project start date I got an unegotiable schedule stating that I was going to paint walls, pick litter on the beach and teach English 1,5 hours a day, (since it was Ramadan. Normally it is 3 hours. Some of the activities are the same even when it’s not Ramadan), I was also informed that I would take part in weekly lesson planning together with other volunteers.

Once on site it turned out that the planning was a mere half hour together with a coordinator without teaching experience or even teacher education. To get more support they suggested I would accompany a volunteer who had been at the project for a longer period of time, but it turned out that the teaching experience of that volunteer only consisted of three weeks being at the site and Ramadan started. I have been working as a support teacher and have some experience of how to help young people with difficulties. I was shocked when I noticed how the volunteer who was supposed to be experienced and a support for me was teaching. A week before exams used’s most of the lesson to tell jokes and teach the students another language than English.

Some other volunteers knew even less grammar than the students and yet when the day of exams had passed, no student had passed the exam. You cannot teach English on that low level, which I discussed with the staff. They stressed that the program gives the locals a chance to learn English when they cannot afford formal education. However, the level of the program was so low that it would not make any considerable difference. And if it will be, it will not be about teaching English its more about to get contact with local people and practicing everyday English. Impact only seemed to fool the locals into thinking that we knew what we were doing. There were two staff members with an 'English as a foreign language' education, but none of them took part in the actual activities. Instead the activities are run by unexperienced and uneducated staff. Nobody I worked with knew how to teach or to solve problems associated with teaching. Many students knew how to take part in simple conversations, but I believe they had learned that from talking to the islands numerous tourists rather than from African Impact's teaching program.

During community project we were painting a school, but the paint started to come of before we had even finished. We cannot have used the best method, so apparently none within the group had the know how. I do not know why a local specialist weren't employed to help us out with this.

When I tried to discuss all these issues with the local staff, they said that there was nothing they could do. But when I discussed with the head office later on, they said the issues would have been solved if I had discussed with the local staff instead. I even asked about how they use my money (since its very expansive and we did not got enough of food every meal and some of teenager had to put back of his food so that would be enough for all), I got a general information as answer. The local staff also pointed out that being there during Ramadan means less teaching and fewer tasks, but other volunteers who had stayed for longer said it was the same before Ramadan had started.

In total, the whole experience seemed to be like youth camp not serious teaching volunteer organisation. My advice check carefully all information you receive. You do not know who really are working in the organisation since there is no site which presents the stuff

I had never been to Zimbabwe before, just Kenya and Tanzania, so this was the first time I was going to Africa not knowing what to expect. When I arrived into the Bulawayo airport and later at Antelope Park, I was greeted with nothing but smiling faces. Immediately, I felt so welcomed and appreciated as a volunteer. As I was doing the conservation photography program and there were not many of us, I was worried that we would be very separated from the rest of the group. However, our activities included everything possible—lion walks, carriage rides, horseback rides, research drives, game drives, elephant herding astrophotography, and more! We also had the flexibility to do what we wanted to do, which was always a nice option.

The staff always made sure we were well taken care and that we were safe at all times. The African Impact, Antelope Park and ALERT staff were always willing to answer questions about the program, and I learned so much about lion conservation during my short two weeks during the program... I'm already planning my next African Impact trip!

The teaching and community project in Jambiani, Zanzibar, promises amazing surroundings and a true impact on the local community. That is partly true, the site is beautiful and the locals are interesting and normally fantastic to interact with!

The African Impact organization on site have cute ideas for how to make an impact on the community. Cute, but not sustainable. This is a very good destination if you are an unexperienced teen and requires detailed schedules in advance which you don't need to plan yourself. When you feel that the possibility to take part has to be more important than the actual impact. Unfortunately, African Impact tweeks that picture a little.

I am a teacher, educated in environmental sustainable development and multiple times volunteer. My conclusion was unfortunately that none of the activities offered at the site today is actually sustainable. However good African Impact makes it all sound, it is not sustainable to fly in people from across the world to paint houses (when a local painter of course would have done a better job and get a job opportunity) or litter picking without continously involving the locals as part of a long term and well planned environmental project. There are even environmental activities that are called 'recycling', even though they don't actually involve any recycling. Neither is it sustainable to fly people in to teach subjects they are not educated to do. To teach English in an European school requires several years of university studies, but at African Impact in Zanzibar it is obviously considered a hobby. The locals in Jambiani deserves the same quality of education as everyone else and there is no reason to see their education as 'whoever, however'. A positive attitude and even good knowledge in English does not mean that you know how to teach it. As a volunteer project, which is a form of charity, the African Impact teaching and community project is to much Hakuna matata and not enough professionality. Charity is not to lure as many volunteers in as possible, it is to secure the quality by engaging people with the right skills or utilizing different skills for different parts of the project.

Above is simply my honest analysis of the project. If you think differently and believes this project is right for you, then make sure you ask African Impact for a detailed description of how your money will be used. Do that before you pay the deposit, since you have the right to know.

I have done 3 African Impact volunteering trips and found the Tanzania education program in Moshi to be the best run and planned for those interested in teaching. I loved the variety of activities that were still clearly scheduled- work with adult English education in the early morning, nursery students in the late morning, and the elderly in the afternoon. There were also opportunities to work with a women's group or teach English to the elderly. A real cross section of the population!

I also really appreciated how helpful and understanding the people at the project were about my other travels. I was able to get a discounted rate to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for volunteering, and later was able to take a day off of work to travel to the Serengeti for the weekend, again at a discount, with one of their travel partners. My flight for that trip had to be canceled and rescheduled and the staff was super understanding and helped me with everything. It allowed me to accomplish some major life travel goals along with having the experience of living and working in Moshi. There are also options to travel on day trips and safaris on the weekends once you get there. I recommend Lake Chala- super cheap and easy. The photos I took there of the scenery were some of my favorite of the trip.

The way the program was set up allowed for consistency and continuity so I never felt like my help was for nothing. You are part of a system that has existed before you arrive and will exist after you leave so all of the people you work with and teach will continue to grow even after you leave. You also get to work in a room with a staff member- this is so nice. I teach for a living and having someone else in the room who knew the people I was working with made it such an easy transition. It felt like fun, not work.

Finally, I have been in contact with the program even though I have left. I love keeping up with the people I met and with the group itself on facebook. There is such a community of volunteers and it is clear how much the experience meant to everyone who was there.