Uganda Village Project

Check back soon for 2010 program dates!

Program Website: http://www.ugandavillageproject.org/volunteer.htm
Program Location: Iganga District, Uganda
Program Duration: June 1 - August 1, 2009
Program Cost: All volunteers must pay a program fee of $1,400 ($1,200 plus a $200 refundable deposit) which includes a donation towards your project and the organization, as well as the funds necessary for your basic expenses while in Uganda. You are not obligated to pay the program fee if you are accepted unless you choose to attend the program. Airfare not included.
Program Eligibility: Must be age 18 or older, students or professionals. Past volunteers have included pre-medical, medical, pre-law, law, anthropology, agriculture, public health, and pharmacy students. Volunteers should be passionate about global health and development issues, and excited to learn and observe in rural, resource-limited settings.
Program Description: The 2009 summer projects will consist of 5 groups of 4 volunteers each. All groups will be working on the new Healthy Villages initiative, which incorporates elements of all ongoing projects. There will be opportunities for touring local and regional medical facilities such as district hospitals, government health centers, and health centers run by non-governmental organizations. This project will involve a village needs assessment using participatory community meetings, and then an action plan based on that needs assessment for each village.
Each group will focus on the specific health needs of the village in which it is working. Volunteers will work with community members and the District Health Office on healthcare issues such as health centre capacity building, immunizations, nutrition, family planning, eye health, obstetric fistula awareness and prevention, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and malaria prevention. These issues will be identified and addressed according to the Healthy Villages plan which has been newly developed in partnership with the district health officials.
In 2009, the opportunity will be available for interested volunteers to visit a partner hospital that conducts fistula repair surgery for the women referred from the villages. This repair camp is planned for late July/early August. There will also be opportunities for shadowing Ugandan health professionals and healthcare workers in the clinics for anyone in any project who desires to learn more about the delivery of healthcare in Uganda. There will also be opportunities to visit an orphanage in the Iganga district and to learn more about the issues facing orphans in sub-Saharan Africa for volunteers in any project who have a special interest.