We recognise that not everyone has a lovely boss who will allow them to take several weeks or a couple of months off work to come and volunteer with us. So we also have a very popular 'One Day Volunteering' Programme. What is this? Exactly what it says on the tin! It is an opportunity to volunteer with Soft Power Education for just one day! In 2008 alone, over 1000 individuals spent one day with us and donated over $25,000!
Jinja is a popular stop off for Overland Trucks and many of the passengers from these trucks spend a day with us getting a taster of volunteering. Many of these one dayers end up coming back and spending weeks or even months with us. However, it is not just the Overland passengers that this is open to.. if you are travelling independently and don't have time to stop for a week but would still like to help then you too can spend just one day with us.
What is the One Day Volunteering Programme?
Our Volunteer Coordinator, Kibii, meets every morning at the NRE bar at Bujagali. This is where the one day volunteers meet him. He gives a brief chat about Soft Power Education - who we are, what we do, what you will do as a volunteer etc. From there you'll visit one of our Pre Schools either walking up to Kyabirwa Pre School or jumping on the Soft Power Truck down to Buwenda Pre School. There you will hear the children long before you see them as 120 orphans and children from very poor families start chanting "Mzungu, mzungu!" (white person!). We will allow you plenty of time at the pre school to interact with the children, chat to the teachers and take photos before whisking you through the village up to The Amagezi Education Centre.
This incredible centre welcomes children from our partner schools to come and experience hands on, interactive learning. You will have plenty of time to walk around the centre and see lessons in progress (during term time). On the same site as the Amagezi Education Centre you'll also find our Arts Centre and the Soft Power Health Clinic. The Arts Centre has cards, pots and prints for sale so make sure to bring a little bit of cash with you!
Then everyone jumps on the back of one of trucks and heads out to the school we are working on at that point in time. This is part of our on going School Refurbishment Programme and that's what you'll be helping us with. We'll either get you painting or helping builders working towards our goal of refurbishing and improving the Government Primary Schools in this area to give the children a better life through education.
You'll have a quick break at lunch time when the school will provide a delicious local lunch and do a little more work before you all get back on the truck and we take you back to Bujagali. During term time the children will be at school even when we are working on their schools. We try to disrupt them as little as possible but inevitably they are very curious to talk to these funny people painting their school! When schools are on holidays there are also plenty of children around and more often than not they want to help you with the painting!
What do I need to bring?
The most important thing to remember is your sense of humour! Apart from that, wear some clothes you won't mind getting some paint on, bring a camera, a hat, plenty of sun screen and some drinking water.
Do I need to pay?
If you are coming as part of an Overland Tour then chat to your tour leader or driver as many of the companies make a donation on your behalf. If they don't then we do suggest that everyone makes a donation and the average donation is around $25. If you want to donate more then that is absolutely fine too! This money helps us to fund the transport, paint and brushes you will use whilst volunteering as well as helping us fund our other ongoing projects. We also have Soft Power T-shirts for sale and for every tshirt we sell to a volunteer then one of the children from the pre schools also gets a t-shirt - as they are beautifully modelling below!
How successful is this programme?
Very! Last year alone (2008) we had 902 people spend the day with us and they donated over $26,880. Since 1999 we have seen over 7000 people spend time with us and through their hard work and donations we have to date worked on 34 Primary Schools. Without the enthusiasm and hard work these volunteers put into our programme we would not have achieved as much as we have in such a short space of time.
Furthermore, the vast majority of our 'one dayers' either decide to return to spend longer with us or tell their friends about us. Many of our incredibly inspiring fundraisers are people who just spent one day here but fell in love with both Uganda and Soft Power Education. Take a look at the Great Fundraising pages to see just what people get up to to raise money for us!
How can I spend the day with Soft Power Education?
If you are coming to Jinja as part of an overland trip then just make sure to tell your tour leader that you 100% definitely absolutely must spend the day volunteering! They will contact us and arrange the day depending on when you will be in Jinja.
If you are travelling independently and would like to help out then send an email to volunteering@softpowereducation.com for more information.
If you are already in Jinja then you just need to get yourself up to the NRE campsite at Bujagali and find our volunteer coordinator Kibii - he's the one normally covered in paint and everyone knows him!