Affordable Low Cost Volunteer Opportunities in Africa

I've been checking out Go Volunteer Africa for a few years now before I finally decided to take the leap. Simply reflecting back on my time volunteering here in Uganda makes me tear up. I had the most amazing life changing experience I could have ever asked for.
I had a genuinely meaningful, fulfilling, and enjoyable time on my first trip. The youth support project is based here in Mukono, east of Kampala the capital and largest city in this nation.

I connected well with both fellow international travellers, but the rich local community, too. This was the deepest, most profound educational experience is the hands-on volunteering.

The placement was ideal for me, as it allowed me to deploy my love for / experience with young children and enabled me to help the promotion of education for young women from disadvantaged communities.

Overall, I developed a deep connection with the country and community, while also diversifying my interactions and experiences with a unique, cosmopolitan group of travellers staying in the hostel.

It beyond exceeded my expectations. The support of the Kenyan and Ugandan team had me at ease, the local team is very amazing, and the accommodation and food is incredible.

Mukono is an incredible place – the nightlife is wonderful – I will miss it a lot. I can't say enough good things about Go Volunteer Africa and the experience I had volunteering. I can't wait for my next adventure!

I volunteered with Go Volunteer Africa in Uganda for two months and had the most amazing experience of my life (so far). I decided to travel with GVA for personal reasons. I was born in Uganda, adopted by American family and brought up in the States.

I wanted to visit my birth country but did not want to go back as just a tourist. While visiting, I wanted to experience the culture and give back if I could. Go Volunteer Africa offered everything I was looking for; cultural immersion, a chance to meet new people and friends, a great place to stay, and opportunities to volunteer.

I met amazing people and went to incredible places. Furthermore, words cannot explain just how amazing the in-country GVA staff is! They were helpful, always a pleasure to be around and became a second family to me.

I cannot thank them enough for such an incredible time. Choosing to travel with Go Volunteer Africa was and still is the best decision that I have ever made. I 100% recommend this program! I learned a lot about myself and the world outside my world. I bet you will too! I enjoyed every second of my trip and plan to volunteer with GVA again.

I have had the best four weeks of my life. The Go Volunteer Africa staff made me feel so welcome from the start. I enjoyed staying in the volunteer house in Mukono and felt like part of the team. On my project I got to meet some inspirational people, travel to the rural most community of Uganda and improve my communication skills.

I would recommend Go Volunteer Africa in Uganda to all my friends and am thinking of doing another project next year. I have not got a negative thing to say about my experience and I am sad to be leaving. The project exceeded all my expectations. At the weekends we got to travel to many different places and I have made memories I will never forget.

I was expecting much more basic accommodation, but it was a nice surprise. A small beautiful lovely house with showers, big comfortable beds (no bunkers).

It's a fun project in a great location with lots to do outside the project activities if you want to. I had wanted to visit Uganda since my teenage years. As a keen photographer of the elephants I also wanted the opportunity to photograph them in the wild and see them roaming freely, I did that during the safari experience to Queen Elizabeth Safari Park.

In the morning, I helped out the local team with their fundraising drives but by far the most enjoyable activity was afternoon visits to the local school. The kids were so gorgeous, with friendly, open and curious smiles.

Everyone on the project was so accommodating and friendly and I felt very well taken care of. Mercy’s food was absolutely delicious and I don't think there was a single dish that I didn't love. Peter provided ample entertainment! Isaac and Beatrice were also kind enough to take me on an excursion to safari.

All in all it was an unforgettable experience and I leave feeling that I have contributed just a little to the great work that Go Volunteer Africa does. I will definitely be back.

I have been in Madagascar for 2 months now and love it. It is truly a unique place to visit, in terms of culture and wildlife. On my first day we went on a snorkel on home reef, saw loads of anemone fish, a giant puffer and a hawksbill turtle.

We then went for a walk to a local village, on the way spotting a family of black lemurs and a Chameleon. Not too bad for the first day! Since then, I have been able to explore further afield through science work and seen even more wonderful creatures.
The local village that we live next to have a strong sense of community, inviting us to parties, celebrations and even a carnival! Out here you get sun, sea, sand and science! Perfect combination!

Working within the marine staff here has been an absolute eye opener and one which has allowed me to experience many new things. From the moment I arrived on camp I was taken away by the beauty of our surroundings- the green forest surrounding the back of the camp and our views out over the ocean and the surrounding areas.

The diving is not the most amazing in the world but there is a wide variety of extremely colorful fish, rays and occasional turtles. I have genuinely enjoyed every dive I have done here and some of the dives have amazing coral formations so I would not overlook Madagascar as a diving location.

Being able to carry out science whilst on the dives is also a really enjoyable experience and has allowed me to learn more about the reef fauna and flora in the area. The marine crew are also extremely fun to work with and the mixture of people on camp means that there is plenty to learn and never a boring moment.

I would recommend Madagascar with Go Volunteer Africa to anyone, but be prepared for basic living standards! This is genuinely not a problem and I believe it has added to my experience here- but maybe bring a few luxuries from home with you!! Enjoy!
Thank you, Paul, Herbert and the entire Go Volunteer Africa for making this happen!

We have just come back from our amazing trip to Tanzania. Leaving on the ferry to our first stop, then a bus ride to the fantastic village of --- it was right by the beach and the kids went to get us coconuts while we watched the local rugby game at the school.
We went to church, all dressed up in our kitenge on the Sunday, we all introduced ourselves and sang with the choir. After the kids took us around the beach and showed us the fish, we came back to a feast!

Tanzania has been an eye-opening experience for us. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time there and made some amazing friends with the other volunteers and staff alike. The medical camp is right on the beach which means we have amazing views of the sunset. All the staff are very welcoming and the locals are friendly and always willing to teach you some swahili.

Joanna & I, had one of the most enjoyable and exciting times of our lives. We have learnt a lot about the healthcare in Africa and doing rounds at the hospital which was very useful to us. Overall Tanzania is an amazing place to be a Go Volunteer Africa volunteer and we have had a brilliant time here.

My initial impressions and thoughts of this trip have been surpassed by what I have experienced in these past six weeks. As soon as I arrived at the airport in Arusha I felt a warm welcome, with my fellow travelers, friendly staff and an impressive accommodation.

I arrived in the country early so had a few days to relax before I met up with the others on the project site. We spent a couple of days with the coordinator who took us around and showed us the community and the projects supported by Go Volunteer Africa.

For me the experience of being on a project in a group and with the young people was much better than what I thought it would be, the project was very well run and there were lots of activities available to do in the evening if you chose to.

The most enjoyable part of the project was being with the youth soccer team preparing for the regional tournaments. The project is not only for youngsters there is no age limit and no matter what age you will love it here.

I was impressed by the organization of the sports and athletics project, and straight away I was involved in coaching activities. Thanks to Paul my contact at Go Volunteer Africa, who made everything possible.

AIRPORT COLLECTION
The collection from the airport was well arranged, and very helpful in showing me where to exchange currency. The project briefing was informative and clearly explained the main objectives of the project and how activities were carried out.

ACCOMMODATION
Very good, any issues/problems I had with the homestay were dealt with professionally. Amir was a great help in supporting everyone with any queries. Location was great, could walk to work (if the sun wasn't trying to melt me that day) and was even walking distance to the city centre - but again I’m lazy and relied on Taxis. Our home mother at the homestay made the place very special, and the family was wonderful. Really appreciated the cold shower. Bring extra money for your own meals though, breakfast is very basic - toast. Dinner is interesting, a bit different but any future volunteers should push themself to try it all! Nothing ever tasted bad and even meat eaters were asked if they wanted seafood or not which was greatly appreciated - I feared, I would be eating fish with heads the whole time I was there but it was largely vegetarian meals.
The food and living conditions were much better than I expected and overall, I had a brilliant time and thoroughly enjoyed my time on project.

WORK
I worked with school in Dar-es-Salaam. The school is a little all over the place, but you get used to it and settle into TZ time - aka, slow paced life. The school project for me was very rewarding I made a real connection with the kids and was really sad to leave. Ubungo is a lovely town and all the people are so welcoming I didn’t feel unsafe once throughout my whole time on project.

SUPPORT
10++ for this one, Amir kept an eye on any illness or injury I had, from the tiniest little scrape to a suspected case of strep throat. My health seemed so important here and had a high priority as did my safety.

OVERALL
Amazing experience. So much free time and flexibility for you to go and explore the Tanzania. You learn so much about the culture here. I'd recommend it to all, just be prepared for a difference in setting as it is a low-income nation. This was my first ever time in a low-income (developing) country and it has really opened my eyes but in a positive way. The entire project for me was an experience I will never forget I loved every minute of it. I couldn’t tell you the best aspect as it was all amazing.

I volunteered for three weeks in August at a children’s centre and hospital in Masaka, Uganda with go volunteer Africa. I had an incredible experience! During the planning stages I was a bit apprehensive but my contact Paul was very professional.

We lived in a small accommodation (but very comfortable beds) with other amazing volunteers from all over the world (we were 6 solo travelers). We lived as a family and we had two incredible local people living with us, who took care, shared moments and cooked for all of us. The local meals were delicious and their generosity and support made us feel right at home.

I worked in a hospital every morning. I took an easy ride with a funny bus to the hospital. I could go to operating room and help also in some operations. I spent some time in the emergency department. It was a good learning experience. I could share knowledge with local doctors, learn from them and try to do my best in order to help the patients.

Afternoons I often went to the children’s centre and play with the children and also take care of them. Then evenings and weekends we spent most of our time with the other volunteers. Going to karaoke and having a beer and chatting with locals was one of our main hobbies.

My first day at the children’s centre was kind of overwhelming but at the same time it's was an incredible experience. It is a life experience that I strongly suggest to anyone that want to spend some time abroad and want to have an amazing experience!!