Volunteer info pack

t c e j o r P d n u o r g y a l P a d n a g U Information Pack www.eastafricanplaygrounds.org #playeveryday

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Summary Description

Join us this summer and help transform a community school in Uganda by building an amazing new playground from start to finish. As well as this, assist on our Arts and Play program to inspire the children at a school to learn, explore and develop themselves whilst giving them an awesome place to play. Uganda is a beautiful, green country with the mighty River Nile running through the middle and with a warm, welcoming culture that you will fall in love with. Our volunteers live locally, with our building teams, in the community that they are impacting. This gives the opportunity to really be immersed in the local culture and to form fantastic bonds with the local children, community, our build team and other volunteers.

Date & Duration

4 weeks between June and September

Cost

£100 deposit £800 minimum fundraising target (excluding flights) £200 participation cost £600-800 flight to Uganda Other expenses such as insurance, vaccinations, kit list and extension trips will be incurred on a case by case basis.

Challenge Level

Medium level difficulty: Though we believe that this project is accessible to everyone, a reasonable level of physical fitness is required. Those who do not engage in regular exercise are advised to engage in some regular physical activity before the project begins.

Sign up

You can sign up online at: eastafricanplaygrounds.org/uvpsignup but places are limited so make sure you get yours before they all go!

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Itinerary Arrival weekend

Your group will be greeted at Entebbe airport by the EAP team who will provide you with a snack and act as your tour guide as you travel to Jinja. After a few hours of traveling through Kampala, sugar cane fields, tea plantations and the forest; you will arrive and have a nice chilled evening with a drink overlooking the River Nile. This time will help prepare you for the excitement of the weeks that lie ahead!

Waking up in Uganda with the birds tweeting and the monkeys jumping from tree to tree, you will have a relaxed morning where you can enjoy a hot shower and get to know the EAP team. We will hold a short briefing where you will learn even more about EAP and what you are doing for the next month. After that it’s time to pack up and travel to your new home, the school. The afternoon will be spent getting to know the EAP build team, the community, the children and getting familiar with your surroundings. You will receive a lovely home cooked dinner to eat around lantern-light with your new friends.

Week 1

The week will start with a safety briefing from our build team before setting off to work in pairs digging the foundation holes for the playground – you will be so proud of your first hole! The first week will comprise of digging foundation holes and mixing cement by hand - a really physical week! After a restful lunch the Arts and Play program starts with two classes from the school, one for art and the other for play. The volunteers will be allocated a class and supported to run a session alongside our Arts and Play staff.

These fun afternoon sessions are wonderful for building up the children’s creativity and problem solving skills. The sessions will run every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, giving you Wednesday afternoon to either relax at the project, adventure into town or chill at the nearby swimming pool.

Weekend*

Coming away from your first week of work with new friends, pride in your heart and the need for a hot shower and a rest, the adventure of the weekend beckons you! Staying in dormitories overlooking the River Nile, you can choose from Horse Riding, Quad Biking and/or Bungee Jumping.

Jump on a horse and take a unique ride through a typical Ugandan village and a stunning section along the banks of the Nile, accommodating any ability, this is an experience for all. Take a guided Quad Bike Safari into the heart of rural Uganda, visiting scenic places many tourists never get to see. Leap over the source of the Nile from one of the most spectacular bungee jumping sites in the world.

Week 2

Back at the school you will finish off all of the cementing and start to put together the tyre structures to make play animals, motorbikes and caves. This is when you will begin to see the playground really coming to life! In the afternoons the Arts and Play program will continue to develop the children’s skills, relationships and confidence. On the Wednesday afternoon EAP organise a big BBQ for all the volunteers and staff to come together for the evening, a way for us to say a huge thank you for all your hard work.

Weekend*

The River Nile is one of the safest and most enjoyable rivers to enjoy white water rapids in a raft or tandem kayak. In the rafts you will be in a group which will power over the waves; in a tandem, you sit in the front of the double seated kayaks and provide the power to get through the waves. Both are an incredible experience not to be missed!

After a day on the river you get to unwind on a paradise island. You can choose to spend the day either working on your tan at the beach, playing volleyball in the calm waters surrounding the island, exploring the streams to find the natural Jacuzzi, reading your book in a hammock or playing disc-golf around the island. What more could you ask for?!

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Itinerary Week 3

By the third week the empty playing field that you first encountered is starting to resemble a playground. The biggest task for this week to decide the colour scheme to bring the playground to life! This is your chance to make the playground unique and eye catching. The Arts and Play continues from the previous weeks - ensuring that every child has access to the program. The Wednesday afternoon off is potentially your last chance to pop into town to buy those last few souvenirs for your family.

Weekend*

The safari is a 3-day long trip. On the way to Murchison Falls you can stop at the Rhino Sanctuary and walk alongside the amazing creatures. You will then take a morning game drive to see the amazing wildlife and an afternoon boat trip along the magnificent river to see hippos, elephants and crocodiles along your way. An adventure not to be missed.

Week 4

This working week is a shorter one after your long weekend on Safari, spent making finishing touches to the playground and running through final Arts and Play sessions.

The evenings are often filled with chatter with your newfound friends by lantern-light as you prepare yourselves for the reality of your emotional departure.

Open day

A day purely for celebration! The playground is finished, the children are excited and the community thankful. This is a day for the community to come together to appreciate your hard work. In true Ugandan style the day will be full of singing, dancing, speeches and heartfelt thanks. The children have been waiting for the playground to be finished for a long time so the anticipation of finally getting to play is simply overwhelming for them. This day will also celebrate the work that has been produced during the Arts and Play sessions with a big exhibition or ‘Art Attack’! Seeing the children play with such enthusiasm and excitement brings your whole journey together, really showing you the impact that you have made on a community, not just now but for the many years to come. The party often carries on to sundown with a campfire to finish the evening.

Departure

With a heavy heart the project is over and your goodbyes must start. Packed and on the bus in the morning, it is often a quiet journey of reminiscing to the airport, back past the Mbria forest, tea plantations, sugar cane fields, industrial areas and through Kampala to the airport. Never say ‘goodbye’ to Uganda, only a ‘see you soon’. *Weekend activities are optional extras and won’t necessarily be in the displayed order.

A day in the life of an EAP volunteer

Tuesday morning and we are woken by the sound of chattering children, the cook preparing the breakfast and the local cockerel greeting the day! Breakfast gets us fuelled, today it is pancakes and fresh juice, delicious. The EAP build team brief us on the morning’s activities and we get started on the work at 8am. Today we are digging the foundation holes and no one is afraid to get stuck in straight away, getting our hands dirty (and most often our faces too)! As the day warms up we take a well-earned 30-minute break in the shade of a tree, revitalised with fresh fruit and juice from our cook, Janet.

11am and it is back to work. The time often flies by as we cement our friendships with the local building team, sharing laughter, singing and stories. As the hottest part of the day draws in it is time for a lunch break at 1pm. The children will often come to speak to us, inquisitive of our foreign ways and excited for the afternoon’s activities. Today in the arts class we are making animal masks, allowing the children to get creative with our selection of locally sourced materials. The sessions fly by and before we know it dinner is ready and waiting for us to enjoy. This evening we settle into a group favourite game of Mafia. We are still giggling as we head to bed, tired but satisfied with another day’s worth of adventure in Uganda.

Support Fundraising

East African Playgrounds will provide everyone that signs up to the Volunteer Project with a variety of physical materials – from a vibrant orange t-shirt to a fundraising guide, bursting with ideas and how-to ‘s - all of which will help you hit (and even exceed!) your £800 target.

Alongside this, all EAP-partnered universities will have monthly fundraisers organised by their group leaders, from a Krispy Kreme sale on campus to our huge street collections the week after Easter. These will allow you to get to know your group, the charity and raise some hard earned money along the way!

You will also be in regular contact with Rachel, our full time staff member in charge of the Volunteer Project, who will answer any questions that you might have and give you all the ideas you could possibly need to be successful in your fundraising.

Preparation

Alongside a full Uganda Volunteer Project handbook, which will feature information from which vaccinations you will need, to elements of Ugandan culture; you will receive training on what you should expect in country and what will be expected of you as a volunteer. As well as this, you will be kept up to date with regular communications from our UK staff ensuring you are always in the know!

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Frequently Asked Questions Why playgrounds?

Play is a vital part of early childhood development and education. The UN includes the right to play in its Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced. Unfortunately, this right is often overlooked and many children are not granted access to play facilities in which they can reach their full potential. Play is fundamental in developing a child’s fine motor, social, cognitive and problem solving skills. It has also been proven that play alleviates stress, improves concentration and helps children who are living through difficulties. Playgrounds create a safe environment for children to express themselves and learn about the world around them.

How ethical is this trip?

East African Playgrounds understands the importance of responsible volunteering and ensure that all volunteers are thoroughly trained in this topic before they embark to Uganda. EAP employs 40+ Ugandan staff and provides formal training for all staff members. We also run an apprenticeship scheme for disadvantaged young people. All playgrounds built and maintained by EAP are done so to the UK playground standards, ensuring the optimum quality and safety.

What are the living conditions like?

Living conditions in Uganda are basic but comfortable with long drops for toilets and mostly bucket showers. Accommodation is classroom-turned-dorm rooms, with mosquito nets provided. This will allow you to get to know your team well and help you to get stuck in with the Ugandan culture in every sense.

Is this project safe?

By adhering to foreign commonwealth office advice and guidelines and taking every reasonable precaution, East African Playgrounds put our volunteers’ safety first. We have an established reputation for supporting our volunteers both in and out of country. We provide 24/7 support from our volunteer co-ordinator whilst in Uganda.

Will I be ATOL protected?

The reason we ask our volunteers to pay for their own insurance is to ensure that they are ATOL protected through their own means, as unfortunately charities cannot currently purchase ATOL licenses due to UK laws.