| Who:
RIPPLE Africa volunteers are typically enthusiastic, hard-working, self-motivated,
proactive people who are able to work under their own initiative and
as part of a team. 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 a number of 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 nursery
schools, the primary schools, the secondary school, 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 our volunteers 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: |
