Program Reviews

To go to africa and to african impact was one of the best choices i made in my life. The photography project helped me a lot to understand my camera and to get used to lightroom. To work in such an amazing place for one month, with the animals and the beautiful landscape gave me a lot of awesome memories. The staff and the people I met during this time were just great. To volunteer with african impact means to work hand in hand with people, nature and animals. And I had the possibility to do what I love, beeing able to spend hours and hours in the nature with wild animals and my camera and just live in the moment.
I am thankfull for every minute I passed at this beautiful place.

It has always been my dream to come to Africa and see the diverse wildlife. African Impact certainly helped that dream come true and more. I learned and saw so much as well as made plenty of new friends. It is also quite evident how the research one conducts here is making a difference in terms of conservation. The staff is also very helpful and supportive and they will answer any question that you might have.

I was volunteering in Cape Town with African Impact for six weeks, and I guess those were the most amazing six weeks of my life. I was able to get to know another culture, get in touch with people from all over the world and work with children from different age groups. It was an unbelievable experience and I would recommend volunteering with African Impact to everyone, you won't regret it! I can't wait to be back.

Previous to me volunteering at African Impact, my experiences with Africa where purely based around safari holidays and photographic expeditions. What I didn't realize was just how these trips had blinkered me from a much wider and more encompassing experience.

The photography project was perfectly in line with my own personal opinions and viewpoints of photography and ethical approaches to wildlife, and it was nice to be taken back to basics and to rebuild my skills and creative techniques with more focus. Getting to know more about the research being done and, in particular, the community was fantastic and knowing how photography aided these projects was great. The fact that our photographs weren't just for our own use but making an 'impact' too, it reaffirmed my love and passion for photography and opened my eyes up to just how important this artistic medium can be if correctly tapped into.

The lodge was beautiful, all staff were enthusiastic, passionate and kind, the food was plentiful and tasty. The worst thing was having to say goodbye to people who had become more like family by the end of a short four week stay.

I took a gap year last year and decided to come for 7 weeks in the Kruger area to know more about the bush and about the wild life but also to know more about Africa, about other lifestyle and about myself.
I was here during December and January. During this time I've been lucky to live some amazing moments, to meet some incredible persons from all around the world and to see some unbelievable sightings of animals and for sure to learn more about everything, myself, wildlife, conservation....
If you want to know more about the wildlife, if you want to see the big 5, if you are open-minded, if you want to work for conservation and research this project is definitely for you and you should take the first flight to come here.
I would like to explain you all the schedules all the activities, to show you how cool it is to give you the motivation to come. I think if you only see the pictures in the page you already want to come and spend some time at Dumela Lodge.
After this experience I was supposed to go to England to improve my English but I changed my plan to come back here as a staff member for 6 months....
I hope I gave you the motivation to book and to come here...
Enjoy your time!
Enjoy every moment, take pictures but most important enjoy with your eyes...

So back home now almost 3 weeks. Everyday I reflect and remember each day filled with experiences. How wonderful to spend 28 days with a camera in your hands, surrounded by life so different to yours and a chance to contribute to a world/life that needs help. Apart from the amazing pics I’ve returned home with, my life feels enriched by knowing in some very small way I’ve made a contribution. Yes back home, but the journey continues to spread the good word of the African Impact Projects. I hope I get the chance to return someday, but if I don’t then I will always be greatful for this amazing experience.

I spent three months in Cape Town with African Impact on a teching and sports volunteer programme. It has been the most amazing experience meeting such interesting people, working hard to actually feel like i could contribute to the community and learning valuable lessons about the South African Culture.
I was very happy during my stay, the staff were very nice and helpful and I would love to come back in the near future to see how much has developed and changed. I liked the emphasis on sustainability and collaboration with the partners on site, and this was such a valuable lesson for me personally as well. Hope I can come back someday!

Last summer I went to Moshi, Tanzania. I am a teacher and have always wanted to teach abroad and finally I was able to do so! When arriving at the Kilimanjaro Airport, I was nervous because it is so different than the states, but as soon as we passed through customs, Elieza, from African Impact, was there with a sign with bright smiling face - needless to say, my nerves were gone. The drive to Moshi was incredible; most take pictures, but taking it all in was far better. Everyone at the volunteer house were so welcoming - the staff and volunteers.

Volunteering to teach adults English was truly a blessing - that school year prior, I thought I’d lost my love for teaching, but teaching them reminded me how incredible the gift of learning is and how important it is. The adults and the children in the nursery brought so much joy to me. Visiting the Wazee each day and learning Kiswahili was life changing.

They say we went to make an impact, but no one realizes the impact Africa has on you.

Our goal was to teach, so that their are more opportunities for all. I think African Impact does it beautifully and makes you feel at home the minute you arrive! Staying for two weeks seemed long in the planning process, but in the end, it didn’t feel like enough.

I went to Livingstone in July 2017 for 4 weeks to volunteer on the Medical programme. I'm currently studying Medicine in the UK so I was looking for somewhere to go to experience healthcare in a completely different way. I absolutely loved my experience - doing home-based care most mornings was an amazing way of meeting locals, experiencing their homes and lives and delivering medical advice, basic medicines and referrals to the local clinics. I would love to go back again in the future, particularly once I'm a qualified doctor so I could do more and would have a greater experience base to draw on. All the African Impact and Happy Africa staff are lovely, and very organised. Everything ran smoothly and all the volunteers got on so well. Livingstone is an amazing place to be staying as there is so much to see and do, and the local people are so welcoming and kind. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone - my only regret is that I couldn't stay longer!

When I went to Africa last year I was 18, fresh out of school, I booked a 4 month trip to africa and I started with this project in South Africa. And I was mostly scared about not feeling comfortable or at home in the places i was going to be staying. But be assured, the african impact team make you feel like a family, especially the team in Cape Town! They are amazing, from a welcoming hug to the staffs calming natures and knowing you can ask them any question was so reassuring for my 18 year old self!!