What makes Volunteer Uganda Unique?

Volunteer Uganda is a UK-based organisation with deep roots in Uganda, working closely with the local charity CHIFCOD, which runs many of the schools and projects where volunteers work. Volunteer Uganda Ltd is a social enterprise.

Volunteer Uganda has in place a strong and organized network, which means that there is a close relationship with the schools that volunteers teach in. As well as this, Volunteer Uganda has a recognized position in the area as a very positive influence that improves the lives of local people. This means that Volunteer Uganda is a respected and appreciated organization rather than being seen to take more than it gives, as is the case with many "Gap year experiences".

Participation in our programme is highly respected by employers and admissions staff alike, in a way that many “volunteering holidays” are not. Volunteer Uganda is a very different experience from that offered by large profit-generating companies, who may have sites in many countries, but who lack the local relationships which enable us to engage every volunteer in valuable and rewarding projects.

Feedback from former volunteers has been fantastic and greatly appreciated by the schools, pupils and local community where our volunteers work.

Our Mission

Everything we do is part of a well-designed strategy, which, over the past ten years, has helped transform the lives of local people. The area is undeveloped and there is real poverty, but it is clear to any visitor that we are making a genuine difference to people’s lives whilst helping to create sustainable development through education.

Transforming Lives

Volunteer Uganda works with a group of charities that have spent the last ten years helping to improve the lives of people through education in rural Uganda.

When we started, the region was not economically developed. Local people suffered from poor education, health provision and lack of clean water. Most people work in the fields and there are few cash earning jobs so little chance for people to improve their lives without outside help.

Helping this community transform itself requires far more than a simple quick fix. Parents started by building the "Kirima Parents Primary School" and, with the help of the Volunteer Uganda charities, step by step developed a series of interlinking projects which have had a remarkable effect on everybody in the area. The Volunteer programme has become a big part of this success story.

Over the last ten years, Volunteer Uganda's partner CHIFCOD has built and now runs four primary schools (Kirima Parents, Nyakabungo, Nyamarama and Rutenga) one high school (Great Lakes High school) and a college (Great Lakes College). Generous giving from the UK, Germany and the USA sponsors over half of the pupils at these schools. Funding has also helped build health centres, irrigate land and put in place other community programs that would otherwise not be possible.

The four directors of Volunteer Uganda Ltd. have all been heavily involved in the development work for many years. Paul Huckstep and Simon Graffy both taught in the schools in 2007 and Paul lives in Uganda as the local director. Mark Rogers and his Wife Karen are long-term supporters of the developments. John Rutherford, having pursued a career in the travel and international freight industries, has been serving as CHIFCOD's structural and financial advisor, regularly travelling to Uganda and mentoring CHIFCOD officials.