PROJECT WORKERS

EPAfrica recruits students and young professionals from Oxford, Cambridge and London. The majority of our volunteers are undergraduates or students who have just completed their courses, but we also welcome applications from postgraduate students and young professionals.

No previous volunteering experience or knowledge of international development is required. We are simply looking for young people who are enthusiastic about our work, interested in learning more and who will be committed to the project.

There is no typical day for a Project Worker. Our model gives volunteers the freedom to manage their time and resources as they see fit, depending on the needs of their school.

EPAfrica welcomes applicants from all backgrounds, and many LBTQ Project Workers have thoroughly enjoyed their experience with us. However, volunteers are advised to think carefully before discussing their sexual orientation with East Africans, as attitudes are usually much more conservative than in the UK. Crucially, all Project Workers are briefed on this issue in UK-based training sessions, and EPAfrica has several LGBTQ former Project Workers who will be happy to offer advice and guidance on the subject.

We believe that teaching for a short period of time is not an effective way of improving the quality of education in our partner schools. Our volunteers are not trained teachers, and have only a basic understanding of the Kenyan education system. Instead, they give time, money and a fresh perspective to help develop interventions that will remain effective after they leave.

Yes. International development is complicated, and voluntary projects are often perceived as being mainly for the benefit of the volunteers. However, we believe that creating real change in our schools and providing a meaningful development opportunity for our volunteers are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, these aims are bound together and form the basis of EPAfrica’s mission statement.

We strive to avoid ‘voluntourism’ at all costs. We interview all applicants, and only accept those who demonstrate clear understanding of the challenges surrounding international volunteering. We engage with multiple school stakeholders whilst planning projects, employ local contractors for building work and purchase resources from local suppliers. We work in each school for a minimum of two years, and are developing methods of creating networks between EPAfrica schools.

Our Board of Trustees and external Board of Advisors ensure that we engage in regular critical reflection on the ethics, effectiveness and sustainability of our work.

Yes. All Project Workers have one holiday week, usually after 6 weeks of the project. Many Project Workers also choose to stay on after the project has finished to undertake further travel in East Africa. We offer a selection of return flight dates, to allow flexibility for further travel plans.

Throughout the year, all our energy is focused on supporting you in your fundraising efforts to cover all expenses of this project.

We will help you fundraise a minimum contribution of £1,600. This includes £900 to be directly invested in your school, as well as your living expenses throughout the project. It also contributes to costs that are shared between the whole team, such as the rent of a house in your site.

In addition, we will support you to fundraise the costs of flights, as well as vaccinations, travel insurance, visas and other expenses associated with travelling to East Africa. These vary between individuals, but is typically ~£900.

EPAfrica works in areas of Kenya and Uganda that are safe. While all volunteers travel at their own risk, we constantly take advice on risk from multiple sources, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, various media outlets and friends of the charity in East Africa. If our risk assessment changes during the course of the project, we have a comprehensive evacuation plan, and all summer Project Managers take part in crisis management training.

Although there are areas of Kenya and Uganda that the FCO advises against travelling to, these are a very long way from the sites EPAfrica works in.

Up-to-date travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is available on their website for Kenya and Uganda.

First, everyone expresses a preference for which of ours sites they would like to work in. Once the three groups have been formed, you will meet your group at the training days, before deciding who you would like to team up with. We can’t guarantee you’ll get your first choice, but we make every effort to accommodate people’s wishes.

EPAfrica provides health training to all volunteers that has been designed with input from qualified doctors and a national malaria expert. In addition to discussion of malaria prophylaxis and prevention, the training covers topics including water purification, food poisoning, infectious diseases and mental health. Drawing on more than 20 years’ experience, EPAfrica makes every effort to help its volunteers to stay healthy. However, volunteers are responsible for their own health whilst in East Africa, and it should be noted that the supporting Summer Team not medically trained. Volunteers also complete a first aid training session to help them feel more prepared to deal with minor incidents.

Yes, in special circumstances this can be permitted, although we prefer Project Workers to travel with the main group where possible. If you book your own flights, you can fundraise to cover these costs as normal. Your fundraising target will be reduced by the cost of the main group flights, which is subject to change.

Project Workers live in a rural village in accommodation provided by members of the local community. It is likely to be fairly basic, but EPAfrica makes its partner schools aware of key criteria that the accommodation must match. These include standards of security, access to clean water and walking distance to the school.

EPAfrica also rents a large ‘central house’ in the main town of each site. This serves as a base for the Summer Team (see below) as well as a ‘safe haven’ for any Project Workers who are unwell or need extra support.

Project Workers are supported by the Summer Team, which comprises a Project Manager and usually a minimum of two ‘coordinators’. The safety, health and well-being of the Project Workers is the top priority for the Summer Team, who take part in specific UK-based training sessions before travelling. Highly experienced EPAfrica volunteers also offer ongoing support and guidance from the UK.

All Project Managers receive additional crisis management training, which EPAfrica has developed based on Foreign and Commonwealth Office best practices.

EPAfrica is entirely volunteer run, managed mainly by past Project Workers who remain inspired by our work. EPAfrica’s six-strong Management Committee is responsible for the day-to-day management of the charity, whilst strategy, risk and governance are the responsibility of a dedicated Board of Trustees. The Trustees brings vast experience from their professional careers. The Board of Trustees also take advice from an external Board of Advisors.

The written application is quick and easy to complete. You can find it here. No prior volunteering experience is required. Strong applicants will be invited to an interview, which will usually be conducted by a member of your local committee and a more experienced volunteer. Interviewees will be notified of the outcome within seven days.

If you have previously been unsuccessful you should wait until the next year to reapply.

See our Volunteer Vacancies page to check whether we are currently taking applications for Project Workers

Get in touch with our applications team at pw_applications@epafrica.org.uk