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Uganda Village Project charges a simple program fee that will cover your project-related expenses while you volunteer with us, plus a modest required fundraising amount. This program fee is based on the fixed costs of staying in Iganga such as lodging and project-related transport, and as such will be set on a project-by-project basis. Program fees in 2012 is $2000 plus a $500 refundable deposit for all international project attendees, which we have found is similar to or less than other organizations offering comparable opportunities.

We have found that those who wish to fundraise for their program fee can do so, all it takes is motivation and a little bit of effort. Please realize that we feel fundraising for our project is an important obligation and hence it is a built-in part of your project fee upon acceptance to this project, as part of our effort to obtain high-quality interns who want to join us for the right reasons. We believe that our project cost is an excellent deal for volunteers who are looking for an amazing and meaningful experience in Africa.

Here is a sample budget to adjust according to your needs:
Program fee: $2000, plus $500 to be refunded on successful completion of the program
Airfare: $1600-$2200 depending on your depature airport and dates
Travel Items, mosquito net, money belt, permethrin spray, etc.: $100
Immunizations, if you do not have them, vary depending on your travel clinic:
Hepatitis A (series of 2) $50-$130
Yellow Fever $75-$100
Typhoid Oral $30-60
Antimalarial $20-$300 (varies based on which medication you choose)
Spending money for trips, souvenirs, and eating out: $200-$500 (more if going on safari)

Travel insurance (required to participate): $25-$100 depending on level of coverage

Volunteers can easily spend more than this if they take tourist trips to western Uganda or Kenya, eat out often, buy specialty groceries, etc., but can also spend less (which is always more difficult). The price of living in Uganda is extremely cheap if you live like a Ugandan, and just fairly cheap if you live like a tourist. Many volunteers have fundraised a percentage, if not the majority of these costs, on their own from family, friends, travel grants, and local charitable organizations.

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Each volunteer will be responsible for his or her own tourism costs, such as going out to dinner, specialty foods, and safaris. There will be additional transportation costs if you do not arrive or depart at the same time as the other interns. The group will be doing fundraising to help cover their costs, and volunteers are welcome to fundraise themselves using our presentation materials located on this site, as well as our fundraising guide. You will be able to obtain money in Uganda via local ATMs, or by cash advance on your credit card or Western Union transfer if necessary.

What is the $2000 program fee for? What is the refundable $500 deposit for?

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After you are accepted to the project, we require payment of a $2000 program fee to reserve your position in the project, as well as $500 deposit which is refundable after successful completion of the project. Note that you will be required to decide whether you are participating in the trip within two weeks of being notified of your acceptance to the project. At that time, you will be required to send your $500 deposit. The deposit will be applied to the program fee upon your departure for Uganda. In the event that you must cancel your trip, we will use the money towards our programs in Uganda. If there are extenuating circumstances, you can discuss them with the internships coordinator and in rare cases you may receive a refund of your deposit. In general, we need to be certain that our volunteers have a commitment to making the trip, since we put a significant amount of work into selecting volunteers from a very competitive pool, orienting and educating volunteers pre-trip, clearing volunteers with the local government, securing housing, and other project administration issues. We hold on to the $500 refundable portion of the fee to help ensure the success and stability of our volunteer teams until the completion of the project (any teammate who abandons the team will forfeit the refund).

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For more information on our programs, please read through the information on this website, particularly our “Healthy Villages” program.

What are the living arrangements in Uganda?

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Please note that the villages in which we work do not have running water, and many will not have electricity. The most common setup is to have latrines near the house, a shower area where you can bathe with a basin and heated water, and possibly a generator for occasional electrical appliance use such as phone charging.

What is it like in the villages in Iganga district?

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The Iganga district is a district of rolling hills and farmland near the source of the Nile, which provides electricity for Uganda and several other countries. However, there is no electricity in most of the villages in Iganga, or running water. Cooking is over a small coal stove, water must be boiled before drinking, showers are taken with a basin of water, and laundry must be scrubbed with soap and hung out to dry. If this doesn’t sound like your kind of thing, you probably shouldn’t apply. However, a visit to Uganda can change your life, and we hope that you will be inspired by what you see there. Most of the residents of the district are subsistence farmers, some do farming for export or sales, some are small business owners who run village shops that sell dry goods, charcoal, meats, or other products. Travel is via bicycle taxi, motorcycle taxi, or mataatu (minivan taxi). There are very few wild animals in the district, the ‘wildlife’ you will see is chickens, cows, goats, and pigs.

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Summertime, when our intern teams are there, is the ‘wet season’, and it rains fairly often. It is sunny almost every day, though, and quite warm, about 85-90 degrees. You are not far from the Equator in Uganda. Most women wear dresses or long skirts, but long pants and even shorts are acceptable on foreigners, though they are frowned upon by Ugandan traditional culture. Most men wear collared shirts if they can, Ugandans seem to pride themselves on dressing well, especially when going to town.

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The staple foods of the people in the villages of Iganga are potatoes, “matooke”, rice, and posho. All these are basically flavorless starches. There may also be boiled greens, and everyone eats mangos and papayas from the trees. Ugandans use a LOT of cooking oil when they can, and their main seasoning is curry powder. Chicken is available, but cow and goat meat particularly are more plentiful. They also take tea at almost every meal, either black of “African” milk tea. Sometimes freshly squeezed passionfruit juice is available. There are more ‘exotic’ foods available in town, from pasta to peanut butter to Cadbury chocolate.

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Over our more than 5 years of running projects in rural Iganga, we have had few safety-related incidents, and we hope to keep it that way. There have been a few incidents of petty theft in the village, such as of small bills, or a pair of shoes. There have been a few incidents of theft of more valuable items in town, such as digital cameras left in hotel rooms. We recommend the use of lockboxes for valuable items that will be left in an unprotected area. The major risk of travel to Uganda, as with many other developing countries, is in travel on the roads. Uganda Village Project takes steps to try to minimize the safety risks involved with motor vehicle travel in Uganda.

What does the project provide for volunteers?
Uganda Village Project has spent years getting to know the Iganga District and its needs in order to design effective and high-quality volunteer opportunities in collaboration with our local partners and host communities. As such we have identified various educational opportunities and local needs in conjunction with the partner organizations which we support. We believe that we provide a high-quality, transformative and fun volunteer experience which is also meaningful for those who participate. We will be providing training for the team leaders, arranging orientations for accepted volunteers, preparing for the project on the ground in Uganda, materials and funds needed for the project, volunteer manuals and other important documents such as a Luganda/Lusoga dictionary, price guide so you don’t get taken advantage of by the barter system, lists of important phone numbers and contacts, fundraising guide, securing and reserving a place for volunteers to stay, assisting in the hunt for as low-priced a plane ticket as we can find, besides support while in Uganda and a great experience! Activities outside of the project and obtaining such items as vaccinations, visas, and insurance are the responsibility of the volunteers.

What about health issues? What if I get sick?

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