Volunteering in Africa: What Are Your Options?
Africa is a huge, fascinating and diverse content, where there are so many different cultures, cities and communities to explore and enjoy. It is also a place, unfortunately, where there is a huge demand for volunteer workers to go and offer their time, resources and energy to improve the lives of others. The work is varied but nonetheless very important wherever you decide to go, so allow me to present a few of the most popular things people do in Africa, when taking volunteer vacations in Africa.
Why should you volunteer in Africa?
Africa is one of the most exciting continents on Earth but also one of the most impoverished in the world. Make no mistake about it, volunteering in Africa can be a tough experience but, speaking from my own memories of volunteering over there, it is well worth the trouble. The main benefit of volunteering in Africa, in my opinion, is that you are awarded a unique and quite possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore such a great collection of places. It is very rare to get such a close look at Africa than you are awarded as a volunteer, as you are actually living, working and helping to improve the communities in which you are staying. Visiting Africa as a tourist is obviously going to be a lot of fun, but working there as a volunteer worker gives so much more of an experience.
What kind of work do people do as volunteers in Africa?
Volunteer work comes in all shapes and sizes in Africa. There is thus, naturally, a huge demand for healthcare workers who are trained in how to treat health problems, such as diarrhoea, hunger, thirst or malaria, which can be very easy to treat yet hugely problematic when there is a lack of resources or support workers. Many of the problems that are well known in Africa are easily treated and many of them could be almost erradicated, there simply aren't the resources and manpower available to achieve such a feat. Similarly, education plays a huge role in the volunteer sector, where the passing on of knowledge can change an entire community and its future. For up to date information about volunteering in Africa, see GVI, a great resource for any international volunteer or take a look on Twitter or travel blogs for other, personal accounts of volunteering abroad. Good luck.
Why should you volunteer in Africa?
Africa is one of the most exciting continents on Earth but also one of the most impoverished in the world. Make no mistake about it, volunteering in Africa can be a tough experience but, speaking from my own memories of volunteering over there, it is well worth the trouble. The main benefit of volunteering in Africa, in my opinion, is that you are awarded a unique and quite possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore such a great collection of places. It is very rare to get such a close look at Africa than you are awarded as a volunteer, as you are actually living, working and helping to improve the communities in which you are staying. Visiting Africa as a tourist is obviously going to be a lot of fun, but working there as a volunteer worker gives so much more of an experience.
What kind of work do people do as volunteers in Africa?
Volunteer work comes in all shapes and sizes in Africa. There is thus, naturally, a huge demand for healthcare workers who are trained in how to treat health problems, such as diarrhoea, hunger, thirst or malaria, which can be very easy to treat yet hugely problematic when there is a lack of resources or support workers. Many of the problems that are well known in Africa are easily treated and many of them could be almost erradicated, there simply aren't the resources and manpower available to achieve such a feat. Similarly, education plays a huge role in the volunteer sector, where the passing on of knowledge can change an entire community and its future. For up to date information about volunteering in Africa, see GVI, a great resource for any international volunteer or take a look on Twitter or travel blogs for other, personal accounts of volunteering abroad. Good luck.
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