Is international volunteering right for you? This document will give you a brief outline about volunteering with the East African Playgrounds. Please read this information carefully and also read the FAQs on the website. Use your student login to apply via InPlace in the MyBeckett employability tab. If you have any questions email us: . The application deadline is Sunday 13th November 2016
Project summary
Fifteen volunteers are needed to work with local volunteers on a playground construction project in Eastern Uganda.
The project is run by a UK registered charity, East African Playgrounds (EAP). They have a simple but effective structure. They develop relationships with East African charities and schools, visit potential sites and assess the suitability and feasibility of building a playground.
The playgrounds are built from metal sourced in Uganda and their Ugandan playground welderswill make the playground from scratch whilst the volunteers are led by the site manger to clear the land, dig foundations holes, cement the structure in place and paint the finished playground.
EAP and the volunteering team at Leeds Beckett will provide all of the relevant training, preparation and fundraising assistance for all volunteers prior to the project. Teams then travel out to East Africa to work and live onsite for 3 weeks, until the playground is completed.
About the organisation
East African Playgrounds (EAP) was founded in 2009, and since thenhas strived to develop relationships with schools, charities and orphanages within East Africa to provide local communities with their own playgrounds.
So far successful playground builds have been completed in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, in which a multitude of children have benefitted (and continue to benefit) from a place to play, have fun and develop.
Children in east Africa can often have very little time to be children. Many work in their homes, or shambas, once they are old enough to perform basic chores. EAP recognise that there are many excellent charities and organisations in Africa that assist with people’s basic needs. There are, however, little resources dedicated to providing space for children as part of their right to childhood. As a charity, EAP follows article 31 of the United Nations ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’, which states that children have the right “to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child”.
Building playgrounds will not change the world, but it does complement the work of existing charities and gives children something that many others take for granted. We and EAP think that’s very important.
If you are considering applying you need to bear some important points in mind. Firstly, dress codes are really important in East Africa. Volunteers are expected to wear appropriate clothes at all times when volunteering. Women need to be especially careful about not revealing too much! We will brief the teams fully about this in due course. Secondly, as with most volunteering projects there are often last minute changes to the programme, either before departure or perhaps on a day-to-day basis with the host organisation. Volunteers need to be patient, flexible and understanding about the fact that arrangements can sometimes change last minute and it is sometimes things do not run exactly to plan.
Pre-departure activities and commitments
There’s quite a lot for volunteers to do before departure. If you are interested in applying you must make sure that you will have enough time to prepare for the project in between your studies and your work. After the team has been recruited, there will be a compulsory team briefing and you will need to do fundraising some of which will be as a group and some you will probably do on your own. There will be other compulsory meetings to help you get prepared for the experience and talks about essential health information and environmental issues. Although it’s not spread evenly, we’d recommend allowing an average of 2 hours a week from when you find out you get a place to departure.
Don’t forget that the preparation for the trip will add to your personal development!
Below is a list of key dates. Dates for the sessions that are not listed below will be sent out to the team or agreed in the first team meeting.
18th October15:45 – 16:30 / Information meetings
Headingley Campus
Macaulay Hall 111
19th October
15:15 – 16:00 / Information meetings
City Campus
The Gateway, Leslie Silver Building, opposite the library
13th November / Recruitment deadline
23rd November
16:00 – 18:00 / Selection event,
Cavendish 118, Headingley campus
13th December
16:00 – 18:00 / First team meeting
DT104, headingley campus
Before departure / All projects fees and fundraised money to be paid in
Feb, March, April / Team meetings
29th April / Great Big Volunteering Abseil
18th August / Group departs (exact date of flight to be confirmed)
19th August / Project starts
14th September / Project ends
Tbc / Group returns (exact date of flight to be confirmed – it might be possible to have some free time before flying home)
Autumn 2017 / Team reunion and evaluation meeting
About the trip
Project Dates:19th August – 14th September 2017
You will travel to Uganda a day or two before the project starts, exact dates to be confirmed.
Three weeks will be spent volunteering;EAP will plan two weekends away. Weekend activities will include:
- Safari in Murchison Falls national park
- White Water rafting
There is the option of a later return date to allow for independent travel after the volunteer work is completed.
Travel - the team will meet up at the University and travel together by minibus to the airport. The flights haven’t yet been finalised but volunteers will travel together and be collected by an EAP representative and taken to meet their hosts and community members.
Support for volunteers– Suzanne Peacock your team leaderfrom Leeds Beckettwill be travelling as part of the group and will be there to support the volunteers. In addition EAPhave some very experienced volunteers and staff who will make you feel welcomed, supported and well equipped to do your work. The staff in the volunteering office at Leeds Beckett will also be on hand and there will be someone on call 24/7 for the duration of your trip.
Accommodation– Warningthis will be very basic! Volunteers will be housed as a group in very basic accommodation. In the past this has been on camp beds in a school hall. We’re not sure what the accommodation will be for 2017. Don’t expect mod cons or even hot water but the accommodation will be safe and an EAP rep will always be on site
Food–meals will be provided and plentiful.Ugandan cuisine is basic but caters for most needs. Most main courses are based on potatoes, rice and beans with meat or fish but you can also expect some fantastic fruit.
Average volunteering day – breakfast at 7am, work from 8am – 1pm, lunch 1pm-3pm, work 3pm – 5pm, dinner 6pm and free time in the evenings. Three afternoons a week volunteer will help to run play workshops on various subjects, these will definitely include games and play work activities with the school children, as well as activities including arts and reading.
The costs
The overall cost for each volunteer is approximately £1500. However all students are eligible for some subsidy from Leeds Beckett, for your first time volunteering experience the University gives you £250 towards your project costs.
The project fees of £1,500 include the following activities:
- Return flight to Uganda
- Travel Insurance
- 4 weeks of volunteering with East Africa Playgrounds
- Accommodation and food at the school
- Hoodies and t-shirts from both Leeds Beckett and EAP
- 3 day safari including food, drinks and transport
- 2 day white water rafting including transport and accommodation
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What isn’t included?
- Spending money – we recommend £10 per day.
- The cost of some free time activities and the cost of any independent travel
- Vaccinations
- Visas
Fundraising
Fundraising for your host organisations is a requirement to being accepted on the project. You need to raise a minimum of £800 per volunteer to buy the materials needed to build the playground. We also think it’ll be a great way for you to get to know your team. Lots of our previous volunteers have had great success fundraising and some have continued raising money after they got back (after being so inspired by the work of the organisation). We’ll help you with your fundraising and encourage you to work as a group. Previous examples include cake sales, abseils, sponsored walks and even approaching companies for donations.Don’t forget, volunteering and fundraising look wonderful on your CV!Minimum fundraising target: £800 minimum
How to apply
Thank you for your interest! To apply for this international volunteering opportunity, please complete the following short steps via MyBeckett:
1)Click on the Employability tab
2)Click on login on the red Inplace tab
3)Click on ‘Placement’ from the top menu and select ‘opportunities’
4)On the opportunities type, search ‘International Volunteering’
5)Register interest for any international volunteering opportunities that you would like to apply for.
6)Once you have registered your interest this will generate fields for you to complete at your leisure (this may take 24 hours to appear).
7)Answer the questions on the application sheet, attached.
When you apply, remember to upload the following:
1)Personal details 2) Passport 3) Supporting information sheet
If you are having any problems please contact or 0113 8124920
More information
If you have any questions please feel free to emailCara McCoshon d we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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