Mother Africa Volunteer Projects

Overview:
Zimbabwe is a country rich in wildlife and pristine ecological surroundings, one of the few places in the world where it's possible to see the Big 5 in one location, and possessing many other wonderful species that don't get the same publicity. The communities they work with are financially underprivileged whose income generally goes straight from hand to mouth. Mother Africa was established with the intention of assisting these communities to become more self sufficient, better educated and through your help to receive a better quality of life.

What volunteers will experience:
Volunteers time will be spent working with local communities, helping to build new buildings, provide and help plant indigenous tree seedlings or use their education to improve the literacy of Zimbabwe's children. Hand in hand with this work is a research component where volunteers will be assisting scientists to collect data on endangered black rhino, help find nesting sites and attend to Ground Hornbill chicks or might be tracking elephants using radio telemetry collars and noting information on their herd structure.

The Mother Africa Projects:
Community Component: Matopos Community Assistance
This phase involves hands on assistance in villages in the Matobo Hills region of Zimbabwe, where their project partners are working on improving the quality of life of children, through better health and education facilities. Volunteers will have the privilege of touching the lives of Africa's children, in a wholly positive way, through building of school facilities and involvement in food programmes aimed at nurturing self sufficiency.

Ethandweni Home for AIDS Orphans
This facility was opened in 1997, and received initial funding from the sai community, Danida and the Danish Red Cross. Mother Africa is working in conjunction with Ethandweni and they are hoping to become a major provider of funding and support for this organisation.  The facility can house 36 children at any one time and the ages of the children range from a few months old to 19 years of age. Volunteers will be required to help with the running of the home, including activities such as washing up dishes and cooking utensils, helping the children clean their rooms, feeding and changing the younger children...and simply to be there, to give care, friendship and love to children who have no one else to turn to.

 

Matopos Cultural Heritage Initiative
The Matobo Hills has deep rooted significance to the local communities of Zimbabwe, it is viewed as a sacred place where the spirits of ancestors dwell. Due to its cultural importance and natural beauty it has been declared a World Heritage site. Recruits will have the opportunity to work amongst the massive granite boulders searching for San painting sites. About 80% of the Matobo Hills remain unexplored and there may well be sites of great archaeological importance that are waiting to be discovered.  Volunteers will be involved in exploring the Matobo Hills, searching for new San painting sites, as well as Kalanga grain bins.

 

Research Components at Mother Africa:  Research at Mother Africa is an integral part of the volunteer experience, although the majority of research work will be conducted at Ivory Lodge, just outside the spectacular Hwange National Park.

Tracking the Hwange Lion Pride
Hwange National Park is home to several prides of wild roaming lion. Research in this area is focusing on determining territory sizes and pride structure. Volunteers will be working alongside recognised scientists and will be required to help capture data on the pride structure, distribution and movements of individual lions.

Ground Hornbill Research
The aim of this work is to piece together the local life history of the Ground Hornbill, where it lives, where it nests, what it eats and how many are in the area. This knowledge can be used to inform developers and policy makers and will be used to safeguard areas where Ground Hornbill can persist.

 

Small Carnivore Census
The African veld comprises a staggering diversity of wildlife, yet most visitors to the country are only familiar with the more charismatic species, such as Lion, Elephant and Rhino. This work focuses on the small carnivore species, such as the Caracal, Genets, Civets and Serval amongst others.

 

Zimbabwe has one of the largest elephant populations of any country in Africa. Volunteers will be working with independent researchers based at Hwange National Park as well as with Zimbabwe National Park's personnel. Work will involve tracking the elephants to determine their movements and to highlight areas they are concentrated in, noting herd structure and behaviour as well as liaising with local communities to ascertain damage done by elephants and to try and develop solutions for these confrontations.

Accommodation and Surrounds:
The project will begin at Amalinda Lodge, on the border of Matopos National Park. An area of dramatic natural scenery. For more information visit the website: www.campamalinda.com. For the first three nights volunteers will stay in the lodge chalets, and experience the luxury this safari operation is famous for.  The following three nights recruits will be hosted by the Ndebele community and will be accommodated in their village, about 30 minutes drive from Camp Amalinda. The remainder of their time in the Matobo Hills will be spent at their home from home, or "Bush House" located on the Camp Amalinda property.  After the stay at Camp Amalinda volunteers will be transported to Ivory Lodge, a magnificent safari camp located on the border of Hwange National Park, a drive of about two and half hours. Have a look at the website for more information: www.ivorysafarilodge.com. For the first three nights volunteers will be accommodated in the lodge chalets, able to view elephants, buffalo and a host of other wildlife from their rooms. After this you will be sleeping in tents, in a comfortable volunteer village, in much the same way as the researchers they will be helping sleep while conducting field research.

 

Dates:  They accept volunteers ideally on the first of each month starting in June 2008.  (They are flexible on the start date although much prefer if volunteers come and go as one group)

 

Costs: The cost is 1495 pounds for 30 days for all food, lodging, materials, and more. As part of the project fee, volunteers will spend the last four days of their trip in Victoria Falls where its possible to take part in optional extra activities there.

 

Included with every project is a four day stay in the adrenalin capital of Africa, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Here you can choose to bungee jump, white-water raft, party with the locals or simply soak up some sun. There are activities to suit everyone, including sedate canoe safaris down the great Zambezi River or sundowner cruises, sipping your favourite beverage while watching the evening show of setting sun and abundant wildlife.  Amazing falls short of the mark!