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VOLUNTEERS
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Volunteers and members of the village community are working side-by-side to construct the school:
No previous experience or special skills are needed, as volunteers are assisted by a site supervisor, parents and other community members. The construction is overseen by a qualified and experienced builder.
On Monday morning, volunteers are paddled by a member of staff across the river to the village, where they spend time with the teachers and students and meet the building site supervisor. Manual labour occupies the rest of the working week! Working hours vary from season to season, but an early start each day ensures that most of the physical work is done when it's cooler. On Saturday, volunteers return to Livingstone, unless they're spending more time at the project. For those staying longer than a week, weekends are free for visits to Livingstone, other places of interest nearby or for enjoying island life at the camp. Volunteers are encouraged to enjoy local activities in their time off: paddling a makoro (dug-out canoe); sampling the local brew; learning about the flora and fauna; playing football when the local team is practising; African drumming; and lying in a hammock with a good book...or with a friend who has read one! 2009 PROGRAMME: The building programme will continue from March to October 2009. Applications can be accepted now for next year.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROJECT
TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS The spectacular Victoria Falls, one of the Natural Wonders of the World, are only an hour's drive from the project. Livingstone offers one of the best white-water rafting experiences in the world, as well as 100-metre bungee-jumping / gorge-swing combo from the bridge across the gorge, microlite flights over the Falls and more. Botswana's Chobe National Park is an hour in the other direction from the project, with magnificent herds of elephants and the opportunity for safaris in the African bush. Click Regional Activities for details. Please note that prices quoted for activities can change, so check them nearer your date of arrival.
ACCOMMODATION Volunteers stay in small thatched huts by the river on Bovu Island, a friendly camp run by Jungle Junction, just opposite the village and school. Each hut accommodates two volunteers and is furnished with two single beds with bedding and mosquito nets. Showers and flush toilets are shared by all guests on the island. The reed-walled showers are heated by firewood and have been described as "the best showers in Africa"! The thatched bar overlooking the Zambezi is a wonderful place to relax after a hard day’s work, especially when there’s a hat party going on! 
MEALS All food is freshly prepared and served at Bovu Island’s restaurant. Three tasty meals a day are provided for volunteers while they’re working on the project: a choice of breakfasts ("English or Continental"); light and nutritious lunches; and hearty evening meals such as beef stew, chicken korma, and Mexican chilli. Traditional Zambian meals are served from time to time and vegetarian food is available on request.
PROJECT FEE for 2008* One week: US$ 210 (approx. £105) One month: US$ 840 (approx. £420) There is no administration fee. This is a community project initiated and run by the parents and teachers of the schoolchildren. The co-ordinator, Evelyn Roe, does not receive payment for assisting the community with fund-raising or recruiting volunteers. Although a weekly project fee is given here, it is hoped that volunteers will stay for longer. For 2009, the project will run on a monthly programme. The project fee includes
PROJECT DONATION / FUND-RAISING Volunteers should bring a cash donation to help purchase cement, fuel for transporting local materials and wood for the children’s furniture. They may contribute whatever they can afford or fund-raise before they arrive at the project. A suggested amount is US$50-$100 / £25-£50* per week *For 2009, the project fee will increase and more than 50% of that fee will go directly to the community school. The project Fee excludes
The co-ordinator, Evelyn Roe, comes from the Highlands of Scotland and has been living and working in Zambia as a volunteer since 2002. She was a secondary school teacher in Botswana for 10 years and has taught biology up to A-Level in Britain. Currently, she is working on several botanical research projects in the area through the North-West Naturalists' Society of Zambia (a local NGO), as well as facilitating the development of Nandavu Community School. Volunteers receive full orientation on arrival at the project to make them feel at home and to give them details of the weekly programme. Throughout their stay on Bovu Island, they receive support from Evelyn or another member of the team. Volunteers are picked up at their accommodation in Livingstone or at Livingstone International Airport if coming straight to the project. The drive from town takes about an hour in a pick-up truck and then there’s a short river crossing in a makoro to Bovu Island, where volunteers stay during their participation in the project.
WHAT TO BRING In addition to all the usual things (passport, visa, tickets, money, insurance, mobile phone, personal items, etc.):
There is a solar-powered facility for recharging batteries, but for only a few hours a day in sunny weather. It’s better to bring spare batteries. Contact us for a more detailed list of clothing suitable for different times of the year and for a description of what Livingstone has to offer, in terms of shops and facilities. Livingstone has very good private medical facilities and a fully-equipped ambulance that can reach the project within an hour from the time of an emergency call. Volunteers should inform the co-ordinator of any allergies or medical conditions when applying for a place on the programme, and they should bring an adequate supply of any medication required regularly. Apply for a place on the programme or find out more information through the volunteer co-ordinator, Evelyn Roe communityschool@junglejunction.info; mobile tel. no: +260 (0) 976 903 209. |
CURRENT PROJECT: Building Nandavu Community School, near Livingstone, Zambia 
WEEKLY PROGRAMME, 2008: On a Sunday, volunteers are picked up in Livingstone and brought to Jungle Junction's Bovu Island, where they stay while participating in the project. They receive orientation on the island and have the rest of the day to settle in. 
VOLUNTEER SUPPORT AND CO-ORDINATION 
GETTING HERE 
Cash for the project fee and donation to the programme. ATMs take VISA cards in Livingstone; banks and bureaux de change take all the usual credit cards, but payment on the island is NOT possible by credit card.