The All Out Children's Fund currently supports over 100 orphaned children to attend school.
Accommodation in Botswana
Family Home in Maun
The project is located in the town of Maun. This is a safari town that serves a wide rural region and is a tourist hub being the gateway to the Okavango delta.
Project setting
The project is located in the town of Maun. This is a safari town that serves a wide rural region and is a tourist hub being the gateway to the Okavango delta. Maun has a number of lodges and camps on it’s outskirts with a reasonable supply of shops, cafés and restaurants and a growing number of people resident within (particularly immigrants from the surrounding rural areas in search of jobs). There are a number of day care centers for children as well as more formal schools.
Accommodation & meals
Our main volunteer accommodation in Maun is with host families living inside or on the outskirts of the town. The conditions at each house vary but you will have your own room (often sharing with another volunteer) and most are relatively simple modern houses on the dusty outskirts of Maun. They have electricity and running water and you will be provided with a bed, mattress and pillow, but should bring your own sleeping bag. You will generally eat supper and breakfast with your host family and they will provide you with food for a packed lunch as well, which you will usually take with you to your placement.
For your orientation you will stay with the rest of the volunteers arriving with you at a camp on the outskirts of Maun. Here you will be accommodated in safari style dome tents with two people per tent. Tent, stretcher bed, mattress, and pillow are provided but again you will need to bring your sleeping bag. The camp is on the edge of the Okavango delta and is well equipped with clean toilets, hot water showers, a restaurant and well stocked bar.
Getting there & departing
If you are travelling from abroad it is usually easiest to fly into the region and usually the cheapest is to fly into Johannesburg in South Africa. From there we recommend you take a connecting flight to Maun international airport in Botswana (takes about 2 hours).
You will be given an ‘International Arrival/Departure form’ on your flight – please fill this in on the plane before landing (it is sensible to make sure you have a pen on the flight with you). When you are filling in the Arrival/Departure form please remember that volunteering with All Out counts as ‘tourism’ for immigration purposes. This is because you have raised your own funds to join the project as an experience.
Occasionally your luggage may get delayed en route although this is not very common. In such cases your bags will usually arrive on the next flight (or two) so it is wise to bring with you, in your hand luggage, one spare change of clothes and a wash bag. It never hurts to be too prepared!
When you arrive at Maun International Airport, your first stop will be at the Immigrations Desk where you will have to hand them your passport and your Arrival/Departure form that you would have filled out on your flight. Your passport is stamped/endorsed by the Immigration Officer and he/she will issue you with a visa. Please ask for a standard tourist visa for the duration of your stay (up to 3 months are allowed).
You will then enter the baggage reclaim area to collect your luggage. Once you have your luggage make your way to the exit (signposted in English). There you will be met by one of our staff (holding a sign and usually wearing a T-shirt with the All Out logo) and brought to the camp for your orientation. Also, for your destination details please write down Audi camp.
An ace 8 weeks, thanks to some awesome new friends and a hell of a lot of laughter. Definately would volunteer again and recommend it to friends back home.
Kaye Stenner(02/02/2009)
Assitant Social Projects Coordinator, Swazila
Sidumo Lukhele is a born Swazi, who has a passion for youth work. He has worked for various organizations; Manzini Youth Care's street kids program and AMICAALL Manzini as a social centre supervisor before joining All Out Africa's social projects in 2011.
Swaziland
In January 2012 All Out Africa will launch a new volunteer/travel combination programme: the Whale Shark and Kruger Volunteer Adventure.
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