Volunteer work in Africa

Volunteer Work in Africa can an experience to take on its own or it can complement a safari or a relaxed beach break.

ZedAway is involved in a number of volunteering projects in several African destinations. Our volunteers range from 20 years old up to over 50 years old and our projects go from as little as 2 days up to 1 month. We don't require any previous experience as volunteers, and no special skills.
Everyone is welcome as genuine enthusiasm and commitment make up for any lack of skill or experience.  Clearly what you do will depend entirely on your interests and your possibilities, as well as positions available.

You will have the opportunity to live in a rural community and to get involved in construction, teaching, health care or conservation . You will be able to work with kids, adults and animals and your short experience could be the most memorable moment of your visit in Africa.

Volunteer work experience in Africa is not just for students or people working in the social field as many believe.  Volunteer work experience can be a unique way to appreciate African culture, something that a safari on a 4*4 car or a luxury break in Zanzibar can not offer.
So, why not to combine the two? A safari or beach break together with few days of volunteer work?

Work experience will also allow you to gain a real perspective on how people in different cultures live and work.  It will open your eyes to new ways of living, and a new pace of live.  It can make you appreciate the little things that sometimes we fail to see in the hustle and bustle of western life.

Africa works on different rhythms and this is what you will begin to appreciate during your work experience.  The degree of success of your experience will be based more on your ability to understand the culture than the practical work that you will undertake.

Think about it for a second: in one day of work with a Western standard maybe you can build a big wall of bricks. Then your project will end, you will be back to your country, proud of your achievement and tell your friends how big your wall was.

Now try to think that you cannot apply your rigid western standards, because Africa does not work like that. You will only build a very small wall, but you will go back to your country thinking about what you really learned about the people and the culture around you. You will talk to your friends, not about your big wall achievement, but about what you understood of Africa and people there and in the end this is what will make a real difference.