Volunteer Programs in Zimbabwe with African Impact

I volunteered back in 2013 in Victoria Falls at the Lion Conservation and Rehab. centre for ALERT. I still look back incredibly fondly on my experience with both companies and am still in love with everything about it. I follow on social media a lot and it just makes me smile every time I see the work being done on many projects across Africa. The teams were super supportive of the volunteers, and with me being only 18 at the time and travelling to a new continent alone for the first time, I felt incredibly safe and supported. The work that we did was so fulfilling and crucial and I would love to go back one day! I highly recommend getting in touch, they will point you in the right direction for the right project for you to get stuck into! I have also made friends for life and stay in touch with them - in Europe and Africa! We were incredibly lucky as well to be close to an orphanage project they were running and we integrated with the local community and visited and supported a local tribe. Community spirit is definitely at the heart of these projects!

Volunteering in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe was absolutely amazing! From the amount of wildlife, the incredible staff and people, and the breathtaking adventures combined made this experience extraordinary.
While in Victoria Falls, I was able to go white water rafting in the Zambezi river, take a microlight above the falls, go on safari day trips and much more!
As I was volunteering, I go to get up close and personal with wild lions and would take part on community projects. I really got to understand and experience culture, which was an awesome addition.
Anyone looking to volunteer here, I would HIGHLY recommend it. I would love to go back sometime in the future!

Incredible experience with African impact. Tour guides were excellent and made us feel at home and well informed. Would advice to go into the main house as it is a more social environment. Made lots of friends and had an excellent time. You learn lots of photography and the teachers are great, the classes are small and they give you individualised attention. Great trip for people thinking of starting out photography but also beautiful landscapes for more advanced photographers.

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!

Volunteering in Africa was something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember, though in every way my expectations were completely exceeded. Every person I met in Zimbabwe, from cooks and housekeepers to community project managers, lion handlers and the volunteer and admin coordinators were the most friendly people and all so knowledgeable within their respective fields. On top of this, there wasn’t a single occasion I didn’t feel 100% safe!

I was on the community project so majority of my time was spent with people; primary schools, preschools, the Rose of Charity Orphanage and the Old People’s Home. Whether you were teaching maths at Monde Primary (I had 4th Grade!), testing out your finger painting ability at the old people’s home, teaching sounds at Reading Club or simply hanging out with kids on a Saturday at the orphanage, every single second spent on project was so rewarding. You could really see how what you were doing was contributing to the short and long-term goals of African Impact.

An awesome highlight was, thanks to the flexibility of African Impact, despite being based in community, I also got to dabble in the other project areas- walking with the lions on several occasions and being apart of the research projects like game counting and even a camping trip for hyena monitoring! My days off were equally as amazing. We rafted down the Zambezi and threw ourselves of a perfectly stable gorge three times with the adrenaline combo. We also took a day trip into Botswana for safari and to Zambia so we could quite literally hang off the edge of the falls at Devil’s Pools.

Overall the experience was nothing short of incredible- I wasn’t prepared for the attachment I would feel for many of the people (kids and adults alike) I met on project and the way they would fill me with happiness even though I was the one who was meant to be bringing them whatever happiness I could by volunteering in the first place. My advice is simple- if you’re considering volunteering in Africa- DO IT- I’ve only been home a week and I’m already working out when I can go back!

The first 4 weeks of 2016 were incredible and thats all thanks to African Impact and the team at Victoria Falls. This was my first time volunteering, my first time travelling alone, and my first time in Africa and I loved every single minute!

The trip taught me so much, volunteering with lions and the community of Victoria falls was so special. The team as Masuwe where the lion project is based made me feel so welcome as part of the team, the knowledge and passion they show is why the programme with continue to be a success, and being a part of it makes me feel proud. Although I spent most of my time with the lions walking, interacting and playing with them, the flexibility of the programme at Victoria Falls enabled me to enjoy the research and community projects. Visiting and helping the community taught me so much and changed my outlook on life, how they live in poverty but give you so much happiness, you always are smiling.

The trip has had a huge impact on my life and I am thankful to the team at African Impact. Victoria falls is such a wonderful location, the perfect place to volunteer, I would recommend any of the projects to anyone, they really are special, I gained so much knowledge and learnt so much, and had the time of my life!! I just hope I can return one day.

I volunteered in Vic Falls as a community volunteer.
The community projects were diverse, and we really got the feeling that the people we worked with appreciated it. We got to meet so many people that at first it was a bit overwhelming, but after a couple of weeks it already felt like home.
What was really great about the program, apart from the community projects, was that we volunteers were able to go to other projects, and see the research project and help out with the lions. I didn't know that would be an option but it was a pleasant surprise.
After four weeks of volunteering I had to leave, and it was pretty difficult to do. It's amazing the kind of connections one can make over such a short period of time. It has only been a few months since I got back, but I'm already trying to make plans to go again.