Volunteer Service Programs in Uganda

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This article has been submitted by a GrownUps member. GrownUps accepts no liability for its content and the views and information contained within are not necessarily those of the GrownUps website.

BoHU is a small community based charity aiming to help the lives of rural Ugandans through a number of privately financed development projects and Volunteers.

Work together with us to really make a difference.

Read on to find out about BoHU and how to volunteer and change your life forever

Uganda described by the late great Winston Churchill as the Pearl of Africa certainly lives up to its name. Set by the world’s second largest body of fresh water, Lake Victoria it is a green and fertile land.

Recent history records despots such as Idi Amin who decimated the country and introduced a reign of terror into what was one of the old colonial Empires finest assets, but nowadays Uganda is basically a very safe and peaceful country.

There are insurgents in the North of Uganda led by a minority who want independence; they however cause no problems in the rest of the country where people are genuinely open and friendly.

To volunteer here is a life changing experience which you will never forget, to Volunteer with an organization Called BoHU ( Beacon of Hope Uganda) Is certainly not only going to put something into a desperately poor community, but also give you and adventure of a lifetime.

BoHU is led by an extremely charismatic young man called Isaac Ssamba he founded and set up the organization to help his own people to escape poverty and to help enable people who live deep in rural areas. Few if any of the major charities venture into these areas so with BoHU you will adventure into remote areas and do varied and interesting work.

The BoHU motto is ‘Caring for those in need through capacity building’

A Typical 4 weeks program would read something like this:
-Be met at Entebbe airport By Isaac himself and taken to the BoHU house in Mukono, a busy town some 40 kilometers from the capital Kampala here you would stay in a western style house in a comfortable bed .

- The facilities would be a little different to those you are used to in that you will have to use a latrine not a WC and the ’shower’ facilities consisting of jerry cans of water and some plastic bowls.

- You will however be well fed and the welcome will be greater than any you have known before, and this house will be your base for your stay.

- From here you will visit some of the BoHU projects such as The Hope Children’s Village (An Orphanage school project) at a village called Gomba. To do this you will probably use Isaac’s car or local transport and you will go by bush taxi known as a Matatu and Boda Boda and this will just be the start of your adventure.

- You may camp overnight or stay in a local house, and during your stay you may be asked to join in a debate at the school, check on some of the many Income Generating Initiatives BoHU has there, or even work on the 1 acres of land that we are now developing to enable the school to become self supporting. You may also be asked to inspect one or some of the wells that BoHU has installed in the village and do not be at all surprised if anything at all crops up, this is Africa and you just never know You will also get to meet many of the locals and certainly learn a great deal about Rural African life.

- The school at present supports 130 orphans and is at the moment totally supported by BoHU which puts a huge strain on its resources part of your donation goes to keeping the school as well as feeding and housing you, here you can actually see your money an action as we also give the orphans a meal every day. Sadly for some of these orphans this is the only meal they will get, your donations here will make a genuine difference

- Another activity that you will certainly take part in will be to help at one of the remote projects BoHU runs, here you will certainly be going well off the beaten track into some of the very remote areas. In this case you will go by car, you may even have to push it some of the way, into some of the more remote villages, some are only accessible by what looks like a footpath and probably the vehicle you are in will be one of the very few that ever goes that way. Do not be surprised here if some of the children seem a little afraid of you as you may well be the first white person that they have seen.

- Here once more you make a contribution by helping with the administration of the projects, work with sick people-binding wounds , dispensing the drugs the nurse has prescribed, helping at seminars from those about HIV awareness to just demonstrating how important it is to wash hands. Once again you can actually see for yourself just how much help you are to a really remote community and just how little other help they receive.
- Here again you will generally camp although sometime we get offered a stay in a village house

Working with BoHU shows just how working together with us you can make a difference you can not only help some of the poorest people in the world you also get to have an adventure of a lifetime. BoHU was founded in 2006 by Isaac Ssamba a charismatic young Ugandan with a vision to help those least able to help themselves. Despite limited funds Isaac has built BoHU into an organization with multiple projects including the following:
• A Primary School Teaching 130 Village Orphans & Adult Evening Classes
• A team 20 Counselors Providing Support To Aids Affected Communities
• Funded Numerous Projects To Enable Sustainable Small Community Based Commerce
• Built 3 Wells Providing Clean Water to 4500 Plus People Helping To Eliminate Cholera, Typhoid & Dysentery. This is saving lives.
• Established A Trade Training Centre For Teenagers Unable To Afford Schooling

Volunteer with BoHU
BoHU is supported by a network of Volunteers that visit the projects and provide help and support. Volunteering is a great experience which makes a positive impact on the lives of all parties involved.

Visit Beacon of Hope Uganda
Visit Beacon of Hope Uganda and volunteer your skills whilst contributing to the projects. BoHU has hosted many volunteers over the past few years and offers and exceptional experience at grass roots level.

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