HIV/AIDS, Teaching and Conservation Projects

Placement number: 0219
Location:   Kenya
Preferred Languages:   English
Minimum Period:  2 weeks

This HIV/AIDS Orphans charity is a registered charitable local Non Governmental Organization (NGO) based in Kenya that is run by a team of volunteers. It is established to give people from around the world the opportunity to do volunteer work and reach out through programs in Africa, and also work in community initiated projects that include Orphanages, HIV/AIDS projects, Child education and consevation work. Our main focus is the promotion of the right to education and the rights of the child. We are in active participation in the eradication of poverty, working with people suffering from HIV/Aids and conservation of our environment.

Despite progress on many fronts, children are still the forgotten face of AIDS. For too long, children have been the missing face in the HIV and AIDS response and their needs are often being overlooked. Yet, they are the ones who offer the greatest hope for defeating the epidemic. Many local organizations are doing a great job in their communities but don't have the resources to reach volunteers.

Our work is to identify the need and place volunteers, individuals or institution groups appropriately. We serve as a link to these organizations by placing volunteers needed to make these projects a success and provide volunteer experiences that bring pride and satisfaction to everyone involved. We also believe that local communities are in the best position to determine their needs and we connect volunteers with the communities in need to help them achieve their goals.

Staff will tailor make volunteer activities to suite an individual's needs upon prior request. To learn more about our programs and how one can register for a program placement today please register with Ecoteer.com and then visit our website

Role of Volunteer

1. Orphanages.   Make a direct impact on the lives of abandoned and neglected children when you volunteer with our Orphanage Program.

The children live in the shelter until they are adopted or placed with family members that can take better care of them. Volunteers will be involved in the daily tasks of caring for babies and toddlers.

You will feed, bathe, and change them, and you will also play with them and give them the one-on-one attention they deserve.
As a volunteer you will be filling an important role in the lives of these needy children, as well as assisting the hardworking staff at the shelter.
Work at the orphanages ranges from cleaning, babysitting, teaching, office work and much more. Children growing up in orphanages have not known love and the volunteer will find that just a smile will brighten their day.

Many orphanages are based within the vicinity of Nairobi with largest number of them based in slums. These homes have overwhelming needs. It is not surprising to find a home that is struggling to feed the children or even get them the very basics like blankets and mattresses. Most volunteers that work in such homes will find that it is so heart warming to just love on the kids and just play with them.

2. Health Care. Works in collaboration with the community medical centers where the common man and the less fortunate meet for medical attention. While the government of Kenya is doing so much on providing medicine to our hospitals, you will find that it is still very expensive for many people to afford healthcare in the country.

Kenya also runs a public health care system that is sadly under funded and understaffed. Its clinics are struggling to cope with an HIV epidemic that has now infected one-fifth of the population. Meanwhile, large numbers of Kenyan doctors and other medical professionals continue to leave the country in search of opportunities abroad.

Your assistance in the clinics will provide much-needed relief to overwhelmed staff. You will get a rare glimpse into how Africa’s medical institutions are coping with the HIV epidemic and the spread of other infectious diseases. Your energy and presence will help make a lasting impression on their lives.
We also organizes community free medical camps in remote villages where there are no hospitals and healthcare centers. Organizing such camps requires a great deal of planning and medical supply. We would like to encourage any doctors and nurses out there who can put together a medical team to get in touch with us so that we can work together and reach our needy communities.

3. Teaching (including Special Needs)  We have partnered with a number of community based schools in the country. These schools are managed by the local community and most of them do not have access to or cannot afford qualified staff and equipment. The mostly rely on volunteer services.

As a volunteer with our Teach English program, you will be working to create a positive learning environment for the children, which will encourage them to continue education throughout their lives. You will have the opportunity to dramatically improve the levels of education.

Besides giving each child individual attention, volunteers will also be helping promote hygiene and health awareness for these young people. Teacher volunteers will team up with local teachers and are expected to perform just as regular teachers. During orientation, you will be guided on what to expect and any other issues that may arise.

The Kenyan school year begins in the first week of January. There are 3 academic terms in a year. 1st term runs from January to April, 2nd Term from May to last week of July and 3rd term from September to November. In between the terms there are 1 month holidays. When the volunteer is not teaching during the holidays, they will usually take the time to go on safari or just travel to see other parts of the country.

4. Building    Improve the living standards of local communities when you volunteer with our building program.

As a volunteer in our building program, you will contribute towards constructing low-cost buildings like clinics, therapy rooms, computer rooms and build water supply boreholes too.

As a volunteer, you will be working in the rural towns and villages. Volunteers on this project will labor side-by-side with local residents who are working hard to improve their own living conditions. Volunteers will be involved in both the planning and construction duties. You will also train locals in the skills necessary to build, including how to use construction tools and perform the tasks at hand.

Depending on your capabilities, you will be painting, landscaping, helping clear the site, helping with site care, performing masonry, making bricks, Pouring concrete, general construction work-depending on age and physical capabilities.

As a volunteer, you will be able to directly aid the projects and make dreams become reality.

5.Conservation    In this unique wildlife conservation project, volunteers work closely with an elephant research team and local Maasai tribesmen to monitor the movements and behavior of Kenya’s threatened elephant populations. You will help protect a threatened population of elephants when you volunteer.

As a volunteer you will spend most of your time in the bush, tracking and monitoring elephant movement, group size, physical characteristics and behavior. You will be trained to locate elephants and other wildlife by reading the landscape and by using GPS technology. You will also work directly with the local Maasai community to build nursery schools and medical clinics, assist teachers in classrooms, and organize conservation workshops and other after-school activities for children.

As a volunteer you will monitor elephant movement and behavior, track and record the number and location of elephants and other wildlife species using GPS technology, assist community game scouts with data collection, help with development projects in the local maasai communities such as building much-needed nursery schools and medical clinics, working with children in classrooms and organizing extracurricular sports and wildlife conservation workshops.

Cost

Program cost All Participants are required to pay a non-refundable application fee of US$350.00 to secure your place on the program, with the remainder of your fee due for payment 8 weeks before you begin your placement. You only pay your application fee once and you can access any volunteer programs over the years.
Typical costs are: 

2 weeks US$390,     4 weeks US$490,   8 weeks US$890,   12 weeks  US$1290

The fee covers administrative charge, airport pickup; meals and home stay accommodation during placement, transport to your volunteer program if necessary and guidance throughout your program.