Volunteer Abroad in Malawi, Africa: An Introduction

If you want to volunteer abroad and you're looking for a life-changing experience that will benefit other people, then our volunteer programmes could be for you. RIPPLE Africa’s volunteer base is located on the shores of Lake Malawi in Malawi, Africa. You will be touched forever by the warm, friendly people at Mwaya. Life here is simple, yet wonderfully rewarding. This is an ideal opportunity to volunteer abroad.

Who:
RIPPLE Africa volunteers are typically enthusiastic, hard-working, self-motivated and proactive people who are able to work under their own initiative. They do not replace or take jobs away from local Malawians – they assist them with the various projects running in the area around Mwaya. RIPPLE Africa volunteers are also realists – they know they won’t change Africa, but they hope they will make a difference to the lives of some of the local people.

Age Range:
Our volunteers are aged 21 years upwards, and are typically between 23 and 35 years old. Unfortunately, we are unable to consider applications from applicants under 21 years old. As a volunteer abroad, you will be part of the team at Mwaya Beach, and it's important for you all to nurture the team spirit. You may well make some life-long friendships during your stay — and some previous volunteers enjoyed their time at Mwaya so much that they have returned for short visits.

The Volunteer Programme:
Unlike many volunteering operations, our volunteer programme is not rigidly structured. It is really up to you what you become involved with when you reach Mwaya. The local community has so many needs that we find it is better all round if volunteers find their ‘niche’ once they reach Mwaya and have had time to talk to the other volunteers, the Coordinators, and our Managers, and also have been able to have a good look at the general area, the primary school, the nursery schools, the health centre, etc. However, it often takes our volunteers some time to settle into life at Mwaya Beach. You must be prepared to be patient as the pace of life in Malawi is much slower than you will be used to.

The vast majority of our volunteers have the time of their lives, but a few have found it difficult to become fully involved. You will get the most out of the programme by being enthusiastic, resourceful and imaginative – and it’s important to remember that you will get out of it what you put in.

The Projects:
All of our projects are focused on finding simple, low-cost local resources to solve a wide variety of problems faced by the local community at Mwaya and the neighbouring villages. We fully understand our volunteers’ desire to ‘make their mark’ during their stay at Mwaya. However, it is important to remember that, once they have left the programme, any project with which they have been involved must be sustainable (and also easily replicated) so that the members of the local community can continue to run it themselves. All too often we have seen Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) bring money and Western expertise to a project, only for the project to fail once the NGO has left because the local people have neither been given the training nor the money to keep it going.

Placement Length:
We would prefer our volunteers to make a commitment of a minimum of three months, although shorter stays can be arranged (see below).

Short stays: Realistically, you will not be able to achieve a tremendous amount during a short stay, but you will be able to get involved with some projects. Your stay will also give you the benefit of experiencing life in a rural area of Malawi.

To read more about our volunteer opportunities, please follow the links below: