Community Development Volunteer with ACO Africa in rural Uganda

Location: Kampala, Uganda

ACO Africa’s Community Development activities offer a variety of opportunities to volunteers that are often unique to the location they are set in but the shared purpose is to improve the circumstances of local communities. The work is often quite mixed and requires initiative to get projects off the ground as well as interaction with different groups of people. Volunteers will be
a) Working with vulnerable families to establish income generating activities, working on the household improvement plan
b) Participate in construction of shelter for vulnerable families without homes or house
c) Working with the child headed families and elderly caregivers through counseling and care
d) Participate in home activities for vulnerable families like establishing backyard gardens, gardening, installing mosquito nets and provision of Agric inputs to families etc
e) Community sensitization on development especially health and school outreaches. This includes promoting community health through water sanitation and hygiene (WASH-activities)
f) Livelihood skills training/small business entrepreneurship trainings, through empowering gender groups in local communities to strengthen their economic role in families and communities.
Working hours: Project work is normally Monday-Friday; hours vary from 5-6 hours per day. The total hours that you are expected to be "on the job", in various activities, is 20-30 hours per week. However, there are some cases where it is extended up to the weekends (Saturdays and Sundays)
Commitment: 2 weeks minimum to 1year maximum (12months)
Accommodation:
•Accommodation: Volunteers are provided with living facilities, accommodating 3-4 people per room.
•Meals: All meals are covered from breakfast (including milk tea, dry tea, bread, eggs) plus evening tea, to lunch and super/diner every day. Most of our meals are vegetarian, including banana, cassava, potatoes (sweet and Irish), rice, and corn, and beans, peanut soup, peas, included with vegetables. On occasion, we also provide fish, beef, and goat meat.
•Bottled-water: All volunteers will due to sanitary reasons be provided with bottled water
•Washing: Laundry is always done for our volunteers during weekends and it is done always once in a week.
Volunteer qualities: -
•Ready to work with orphans, HIV positive children and women, and elderly caregivers
•Be ready for a very fragile community (changing characters)
•Willing to play and interact with vulnerable children including those living with HIV/AIDS, disabled etc
•Emotionally strong

Community Development Volunteer with ACO Africa in rural Uganda