Travel insurance is an often overlooked subject. If you’re going to Disneyland then that’s your choice. Risky maybe but how seriously can things go wrong? If volunteering Africa is your destination then travel insurance is an absolute necessity.

For some people the objection seems to be that insurance is a bit of a rip off. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Your investment is very little and in return you get thousands of dollars of cover. So maybe you don’t need it – let’s hope so – but what if you do?

We take care of our visitors volunteering in Africa as much as we possibly can. We pride ourselves on it. Unfortunately we can’t control the company who provides your flights. What happens if they go bust? Who gets you home? Who provides somewhere for you to sleep while alternative travel arrangements are made?

No travel insurance = no flights and no bed!

Now maybe it’s an unlikely scenario. After all, travel companies don’t go bust every week. That’s true, but it seems all too frequent that we hear of one that has. Do you really want to take the risk for the sake of a few dollars?

Of course getting to Africa and back isn’t the only thing covered. We have to be realistic. While volunteering Africa isn’t a dangerous thing to do, sometimes people are unlucky enough to stumble and break bones in their own homes. We hope it never happens to anyone who volunteers in Africa, but however remote the possibility you need to know you would be taken care of properly. It’s why we insist on a “get you home” policy when you volunteer in Africa with us.

You also need to check everything that you are covered for. Read your policy carefully. If you are taking advantage of all that volunteering in Africa has to offer, including things like bungee jumping at Victoria Falls or white water rafting down the Zambezi, you want to know that your travel insurance doesn’t have one of those clauses that says you are OK as long as you aren’t enjoying yourself .

Any volunteer organization will have a preferred provider and we’re no different. World Nomads have many years experience and specialist knowledge so they’re the people we suggest to all our volunteers. Whether it’s volunteering Africa or just Disneyland, they are the people we recommend. Full details here.

Volunteering Africa has excitement and adventure for sure, but sometimes it can be a challenge and occasionally it’s hard work. You deserve some compensations for the valuable volunteer work you will be doing.

So how would you fancy coming home to this at the end of a hard day? Or waking up here in the morning?

This is the new accommodation that volunteers at our Mozambique projects will be enjoying. As you can see it’s right on the beach – that’s the Indian Ocean in the photo – but if that’s just a bit too far for you there is also a pool

Each A-frame style beach villa has 3 bedrooms with en-suite toilet and shower and takes up to 6 people. Although accommodation is shared, bedrooms are not mixed. There are kitchen and dining/lounge areas with TV and DVD player. Next door there is a dive center that you may be interested in when you are not volunteering.

The place is called Aguia Negra Vilanculos and we think you’ll agree it’s rather attractive. Looks tough this volunteering in Africa, doesn’t it!

More details on our Mozambique volunteer projects are here:

Volunteer Pre-School and English Teaching

Volunteer Pre-School and HIV Awareness

If you think “volunteering Africa” then one of the things that’s probably going to come to mind is being out in the wild – or at the very least somewhere where you can get away from the hustle and bustle of your normal life.

What’s more, you probably can’t get a phone signal in the African bush and there certainly won’t be an internet connection so nobody is going to bug you for a few weeks. For some it’s a very exciting thought.

Of course for some it’s a nightmare idea! Many people would be lost without their daily intake of Facebook or texting!

The fact is somewhere between the two extremes. If you’re out on a lion walk then you probably won’t get a signal. However, depending on your service provider and the deal you have you might well have access once you get back to your overnight accommodation. If you’re helping orphans in the slums of Cape Town you’re not likely to find somewhere to charge a laptop but in Cape Town itself you will find internet cafés so you can catch up if you want to or need to.

Modern communications are necessary for your volunteer project to work efficiently. We would also never leave you without any means of staying in touch with people. You may not be able to pick up your emails 24/7 but equally if you need to telephone home – or they need to contact you – a message can always get through.

You could look at volunteering Africa in some ways as the best of both worlds. You are safe and secure in the knowledge that you can make a call if you need to. On the other hand, if there are people that you would rather not talk to for a while you have a useful excuse – just tell them you can’t get a signal, they probably don’t know any better!

Gap year volunteering in Africa is becoming more and more popular. Although all kinds of people volunteer in Africa, of all ages and from all kinds of backgrounds, it’s perhaps gap year students that are the area of most growth.

That’s not really surprising when you consider the opportunity. Peope are more keenly aware of their environment and the negative effects we have on it. As a result, people want to do more to redress the balance whether that’s green initiatives closer to home, or helping some of the most disadvantaged people in the world live better, more fulfilling lives.

There is probably nowhere on earth that a gap year volunteer can have a more positive impact than in Africa.

That’s not the only aspect of gap year volunteering in Africa that is attractive though. Let’s not forget what you can get up to in your “down time”!

When you’re not helping in whatever volunteer capacity you have chosen you have access to one of the most vibrant and diverse areas on earth.

From the multi-cultural city of Cape Town to the African bush there’s something to challenge, inspire and excite. Do you fancy studying the wildlife or would you rather bungee jump off Victoria Falls? You can go for an elephant ride or go white-water rafting down the Zambezi. Have a look through our volunteer projects, there’s bound to be something that will get your pulse racing!

Of course the main focus of your trip is the work you will be doing. Gap year volunteering gives you the chance to do pretty much what you want and we want to work with you to give you the best experience, and to allow you to give of your best to local communities.

So of wildlife is your thing we can help you there. If photography is your thing we’ve got a specific volunteer project for that. If you’re going into medicine after your gap year we have the perfect spot. Teaching? We can give you something to put on your resume that few others will have!

And if you are not interested in any of those things we can still find plenty for you to do! There is always someone who needs a willing pair of hands.

Spending part of your gap year volunteering in Africa will be the experience of a lifetime for you and will change the lives of the people you come to help. There is nothing more positive you could be doing with your time.

Our job is to get you to the place you want to go, doing the things you want to do. You’ve probably got questions so do get in touch. This is a one-to-one service so please make use of it.

Many people conidering gap year volunteering or some kind of volunteer working holiday – regardless of their age – will look around for free volunteer work in Africa. The challenge is the word “free”. What they will find is that this kind of opportunity simply doesn’t exist – unless you are a highly qualified medical professional perhaps, and then you will be working for Medicins Sans Frontieres or another international disaster relief agency.

The truth is that while African volunteer organizations would love to have you help them, there is so much that has to be paid for!

Whether it’s African lions or other wildlife, medical assistance for HIV sufferers or education for orphan children, supplies cost money. When they are trying to make the most of every penny, you can’t really expect it to be going to volunteers, can you?

Here’s another view. If you volunteer to help teach African children in Cape Town, for example, you will pay around 1800.00 US dollars for a whole month. It would cost you more than that to stay in a half-decent motel in Seattle, Philadelphia or Dallas – and they wouldn’t feed you!

You can do the same sums from UK sterling, Euros or Australia dollars and London, Paris or Sydney (Yes I know Canberra is the capital but everyone knows Sydney!). Whatever way you look at it, volunteering in Africa is not expensive and, quite frankly, you just cannot make a comparison.

And yes, you have flights to add to that cost – like you’ve got flights to add if you live in London and want to visit New York

The other important thing is what happens to your money. Well for a start, you get fed three meals a day. Then there’s your accommodation which, on several volunteer projects, is practically on the beach!

After that, any left over goes to those valuable supplies. Not just day-to-day necessities but long term projects that will change the futures of some of the poorest people in the world. This isn’t a question of hand-outs, it’s about building infrastructure so they can help themselves.

Unfortunately we have heard some horror stories. People left at the airport, people asked to pay for food or even building supplies. No responsible volunteer organization in Africa would ever treat you like this – you are too valubale to us as a person… and as an ambassador for what we are doing.

If you have questions, ask. If you don’t receive an answer that satisfies you the first time, or you don’t have all the detail you want, ask some more – that’s what we are here for.

We wish we could offer free volunteer work placements but we think you can see that it just isn’t practical. For most people who volunteer in Africa it’s not a money thing anyway. You could just make a donation but we would rather have you here, hands on, enjoying the experience and making a huge and very positive impact on other people’s lives. Apart from that, the memories and life-long friendships you make can’t be bought at any price.

Following the success of David Youlden’s ITV series about our lions conservation and rehabilitation at Antelope Park (Wednesday nights, 7.00pm, ITV1), our wildlife volunteers in Africa are in the news again!

This time it’s 18 year old volunteer Ivan Troev writing about his experiences in an upcoming edition of the popular travel magazine RealTravel.

Our people on the ground in Africa are already calling 2010 a “roaring success” (sorry about the pun) and such positive exposure for such an important venture can only add to the benefits for the most important characters in this story – the African lions themselves!

Obviously we can’t give you a lot of the content of the magazine, but one of Ivan’s quotes was “I came to realize that, like us, lions are intelligent, sentient creatures, capable of feeling, caring and loving others… for me, actually seeing and interacting with these amazing creatures is more than simply a volunteering experience… a world without lions simply wouldn’t be worth living in…”

We couldn’t agree more!

Current lion conservation volunteering options are Antelope Park, Victoria Falls or Livingstone. As you can imagine, recent publicity has made these exciting volunteering opportunities very popular so we suggest you get in touch soon!

Volunteers for our project giving pre-school teaching and community assistance in Zanzibar are in for a treat with our new accommodation at The Grand Bungalows, Jambiani.

This is a very popular project (not surprising given the beauty and mystique of Zanzibar) and the old accommodation was full to bursting. The solution was a move just down the road to the new, more spacious bungalows you can see in the background of this shot.

If any enticement was needed, this is the back yard where our volunteers eat breakfast. Looks good, doesn’t it! The sea is literally on your doorstep.

Rooms are furnished with comfortable bunk beds and you will usually room with 2 or 3 others. There are en suite bathrooms but we have to admit that a particularity of Zanzibar is that there is no hot water for showers – there never is but it’s not a problem in these temperatures!

Mosquito nets and ceiling fans are provided for your comfort. although you may wish to sleep outside on beach recliners on really hot evenings. The night skies are something to see too!

Almost everything here is done for you. Our chef cooks for you, house keeping and laundry is done for you, bedding is provided, the only thing we suggest you bring is a towel.

Sounds more like a luxury holiday than African volunteering but never fear, we will be making you work for your keep! Not a bad place to get out of bed though, or to return to after a busy day, is it.

The Grand Bungalows is already almost full until the end of March and demand shows no signs of slowing down. If helping teach and assisting with important community projects appeals to you please check details here and get in touch soon.

Are you getting the chance to keep up with the TV programmes on Antelope Park and the lion conservation and rehabilitation project run by David Youlden?

Last night’s was fascinating and showed just how volunteers like you are involved in all aspects of this vital work – including carrying a big metal crate with a grumpy 18 month old lion inside!

I should explain, in case you missed it, that this was two lions arriving at Antelope Park from our other facility at Victoria Falls. They were transferred because they are at an age where the huge enclosure at the park gives them more opportunity to get used to big wide-open wild Africa!

Victoria Falls is just as involving and perhaps more “up-close and personal” in some ways, because the enclosures are smaller and a bit more intimate for the early rehabilitation, but Antelope Park is entirely fenced so offers greater freedom for near adult lions.

Of course a near adult lion is a considerable size and weight, and while you can be involved in lion walks over some distance, to get from Victoria Falls means temporarily crating up our two juveniles so that everyone – and particularly the lions – are safe during the transfer.

On arrival at Antelope Park the lion cages are swiftly man-handled to the initial enclosures by as many volunteers as are available. The aim is to be as quick as possible to reduce animal stress to a minimum. Sometimes one of the occupants can be a little grumpy though, so the main instruction is to keep your hands clear of any holes from which a claw might poke!

As usual, everything went smoothly and our two new guests were safely installed. If you want to now what happens next you can watch next week’s programme (Wednesday night, 7.00pm, ITV1) or better yet, come and help us!

Current lion conservation volunteering options are Antelope Park, Victoria Falls or Livingstone. The series is very popular and has brought lots of inquiries so we suggest you get in touch soon!

Teen volunteering in Africa is a popular idea. Victoria Falls, for example, is arguably the adventure capital of the world – bungee jumping, white-water rafting, lions walks, etc – a host of adrenalin inspired activities.

On the other hand, and as part of the same trip, you can do volunteer work with lions, photographing African wildlife, teaching and nursing support with orphans, any number of things that will make a real difference to people’s lives. Everything you do will have a positive impact. For young people who want excitement and adventure but who also want to give something back, there’s probably nowhere to compare with Africa.

But quite often the TV is filled with different kinds of images. War, rioting, racially motivated attacks. Not to mention the reputation of some African cities as just plain dangerous places to be.

It is, quite rightly, a concern. Not only for a teen volunteering in Africa but also for parents and family who can, understandably, have a very negative vision of what’s going on.

So what’s the truth behind the headlines? Is volunteering in Africa safe?

Sadly we have heard stories of one gap year organization leaving a teen volunteer at the airport in Africa with nothing more than instructions to make their own way to the project. A dreadful scenario, particularly as this person had never been to Africa before. At Coltgap we would never do that. We meet every volunteer (of whatever age) at the airport.

In fact we instruct people not to find their own way to us, not to get a taxi, not to walk, not to accept the help of strangers. The safety of our volunteers is an absolute priority and a member of project staff always collects you from the airport and takes you to your accommodation.

We completely understand parental concerns – we’re parents too!

If you look through our volunteer options you’ll note we don’t take anyone under 17 – and quite often 18 – so really we’re working with young adults. Still, we’re as happy to discuss things with parents as we are with potential volunteers themselves. Although we don’t publish a phone number on the blog that doesn’t mean we don’t want to talk to you. If you or any member of your family wants to talk to someone just drop us a note with your number and we’ll give you a call.

But what about the general safety of a teen volunteering in Africa?

Well we’re not going to deny that there are parts of Nairobi, Cape Town or any other large African city that are less safe than we might like. Just like there are dangerous parts of London, New York, Paris, Munich…

But it’s a problem of cities, not of Africa, and if you are aware of it then common sense tells you to be careful. We don’t leave it to common sense though because sometimes when we’re on vacation we’re not as sensible as we ought to be (which is as true of people in their forties and fifties as it is of teen volunteers!).

Volunteers are not only met at the airport they are taken care of all the time. Each day a member of staff will take you to your volunteer project and collect you. Other volunteer leaders will be with you through the day. There’s an initial induction chat about your project when you arrive and regular briefings. Accommodation is always in a secure area.

But it’s not a prison and we are not guards.

You are volunteering but you are also going to want to relax and let your hair down. Don’t we all! If you are volunteering in Cape Town we expect that you’ll want to visit the city at night, just as you would any major cosmopolitan, multi-cultural city anywhere in the world. Same for Nairobi or wherever else you go.

We’ll always advise you which areas to avoid and things not to do – like never changing currency in the street for example. You might get a tempting rate… or you might be being set up for a mugging!

Bottom line? Nowhere in the world is absolutely safe. Sadly bad things happen in your own town, not just Africa. At Coltgap we have an enviable reputation and an absolute commitment to volunteer safety. Any teen volunteering in Africa with us is as safe as they would be at home.

When you go to volunteer in Africa you’ll need some vaccinations. Africa isn’t a particularly dangerous place  but diseases which have been wiped out or brought under control in a lot of countries can still be found and it is only sensible to protect yourself.

Which bug is where can change, and even within the same country certain areas are clear and others are considered at risk. How do you know? Simple. Ask your local medical practitioner which shots for Africa you need and, if in doubt, check with your embassy in the country you intend to travel to.

Some people, quite understandably, have concerns about the whole African immunisation issue. It would be a shame if it put people off because it’s really a simple matter. Get in touch with your local health professional six weeks or so before departure and everything will be fine.

It’s true that some people decide to travel without the proper vaccinations for Africa but we have to advise that this is a serious mistake.

The right jabs will take no more than a couple of hours of your time. If you catch any of Africa’s less pleasant diseases you will certainly end up being very sick indeed and some of them can threaten your life. Get a jab and you’ll be protected. Be safe and have fun!

So which African travel immunisations are recommended?

As we’ve said, you need to consult an appropriately qualified professional. Don’t take the word of people on the internet – however well intentioned – because information on a blog or web page can be out of date by the time you travel.

In general you will probably want shots for Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Polio, Cholera, Hepatitis A and B and Typhoid although you may have already been vaccinated against some of these. Always check though to be sure.

One well-known African disease that we haven’t mentioned so far is Malaria. Almost everyone has heard of it because it’s often featured in the movies! Well you’ll be pleased to know you don’t need a shot for this one, just some tablets. There are a number of these available and they have to be started some time before you travel in order to be effective.

Don’t be tempted to order online – although they may seem cheap. You never know what you are getting and some have been withdrawn from use because of side effects. Even among those still available, Larium has been associated with hallucinations and Doxycyclene has been reported to give bad sun reactions – not something you want in Africa! As always, discuss things with your medical practitioner.

Your African travel immunisations are important to your health so do you really want to take short cuts or cheap options? While we have a great deal of experience of Africa to share with you it means little in this case. Medical advances and changing conditions in the country you are traveling to mean you should always consult a suitably qualified professional.

African volunteer organizations want you fit and well so they can get the best out of you, and you can get the best from an incredible experience. The last thing you want is to be spending weeks in a sick bed – especially when your first objective as a volunteer might well have been to help other people in theirs!