How Volunteering In Africa Changed My Perception of the Continent

I had one of the greatest experiences volunteering in Port Elizabeth, South Africa at African Dawn Wildlife. I have been asked so many questions on how I got involved and there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer which I’m going to share with you!

It is incredibly important to me to give back to not only the world, but to our people. I also think it’s important for African Americans to give back, especially to our motherland. We need more Black American volunteers in Africa – period. It doesn’t matter if you volunteer to help wildlife, schools, or the environment, we need to start showing up for our people. Besides, we probably have generations of ancestors there that we might not even know about!

My first volunteer experience was at African Dawn Wildlife Sanctuary, a fairly large wild animal rehabilitation and sanctuary. I found them through Gap360, which is a company ran by travel experts to help provide affordable gap year travel opportunities to travelers across the globe. They have a wide range of countries, and they have paid and volunteer opportunities. I love wildlife and had always said that it was something I wanted to do. So, on my tour to visit Tanzania and Ghana, I added a two week volunteer stay with African Dawn Wildlife Sanctuary.

WHY VOLUNTEER?

I don’t know what it is, but some Black Americans feel as if Africa can’t be touched and that they can’t get there. I have even noticed when I ask Black people that have never traveled outside America, where they would go, a lot of their first responses are not Africa. Why? White America has made us believe that we cannot get there. It’s too much money. It’s poor. It’s too far. Excuses, excuses. There are so many affordable ways to get to Africa! It’s definitely not poor, the long flights are actually relaxing (to be honest) and when you step off that plane, the long ride will be all worth it! I promise!

Volunteering from Black Americans alone is important for so many reasons. The amount of gratitude and mindfulness that comes from volunteering is incredible. Words cannot explain how fulfilled you will be. Some volunteers come to Africa to share their skills. There are so many different programs out there; education, child care, healthcare, wildlife, women and men empowerment, and environmental conservation. If you are a teacher, lover of animals, or want to spend some time picking up trash from the beach, you can do this!

I am simply exhausted with the ,white savior mentality. Voluntourism (the merging of volunteer and tourism) trips have become independently problematic because the very basis that these trips rely on white savior attitudes. Africa has a horrible history of caucasian people arriving and ripping locals from their families and homes, leaving them in pure poverty in a lot of places. Yes, some of the white people that are volunteering do genuinely want to help, but we have no way of knowing who is legit or who is self-serving.

These voluntourism trips are put together by organizations who prioritize providing satisfaction to their customers, not those they are meant to really help. Most of their customers are driven to take these trips to create an experience for themselves. It’s more of a vacation that is self rewarding.

This absolutely compromises the quality of the volunteer work being performed for the communities that are being visited! Nowadays, everything is a social media post with life constantly being documented, from vacations to personal moments in the home. So, of course when these people go on these trips, they are basically giving free advertisement to these companies.

Working in places like African Dawn is a bit different because you are working with wild life, but it almost says the same thing. Endangered species are being rehabilitated and need all the help they can get, but are you volunteering so you can show all your friends that you are hanging out with cheetahs or are you there to make sure those cheetahs get the help they need with the organization? It kind of reminds me of giving a homeless person money on the streets and then recording a video and sharing it on social media. Why?

Also, it just isn’t a good look that we aren’t the people going back to Africa and helping our people. It’s already a bad look that it looks like Africa relies on Western help (which they don’t) but help from us (Black American) just makes sense seeing as we have more of a connection.

Since the colonial era, Africa has been viewed as this blank space onto which white egos can conveniently be projected (Cole, 1). As Teju Cole brilliantly states in his article in the Atlantic, Africa is seen as this liberated space in which the usual rules do not apply: a nobody from America or Europe can go to Africa and become a godlike savior or, at the very least, have his or her emotional needs satisfied.

The amount of love I received from our people was freeing, refreshing and made me feel right at home. Everyone there called me sister. They were more than welcoming as they asked me all kinds of questions about America. To be honest, between me and them, we were both acting like crazy fans of celebrities because I was asking just as many questions. I met a few people from Ghana and Tanzania that I still talk to till this day.

How many white volunteers and tourist can really say that? The locals (in my experience) actually feel better being connected with us than them and despite what you may hear they feel about Black American’s, they prefer to get the real deal about us from us than the whites. One man I talked to didn’t even realize there were Black lawyers and doctors in America. I was so shocked and I began to tell him about all the great stuff Black Americans invented and how every rich Black person isn’t a celebrity or sports star. Do you think they would learn this from a white person? Maybe. I also encountered a South African waiter while I was waiting at the airport who said usually the people he serves are old white people and it was refreshing to meet someone who was young and Black. He asked me what I was doing and I said I had just got done volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary. I began to tell him how I did it. He thought it was amazing and said he wished he saw more Black people like me. I agree. Black Americans need to feel this experience. They need us just as much as we need them.

Types of Volunteer Programs

There are a great deal of Volunteer programs but these are the ones I would recommend for Black Americans or any Black person of African descent. These companies at least monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their projects and have tangible proof to support it. They work together with local communities and value the input of natives to best identify what areas need the most volunteer assistance. Last but not least, of course the cost matters a great deal! Most of these programs are pretty affordable and you have paid for meals and bedding. Just be careful to read the fine print!

GAP360

Gap 360 was the third party volunteer organization finder that I used to find African Dawn Wildlife and many other wildlife volunteer organizations. They offer over 200 trips in over 50 destinations and may have added more since I traveled in 2019 and 2020. Gap 360 is 100% independent and not part of a larger business, unlike some other gap year providers, and they have a connection to a variety of volunteer companies. Whether you want to work with wild animals or volunteer with kids in school, they have multiple types of jobs. Not only do they provide volunteering but if you were looking for paid travel work, group tours, learning and language trips, or just some fun around the world excursions, they coordinate that as well.

Most of their travelers are British, so the majority of pictures on the site are of white people. Many are also in school or recent graduates. When I was there, I was the oldest and only Black American there. Most were either from France, Europe or South Africa. There was another Black person there and she was French. The language barrier between us was real, but we somehow made it work and became friends; along with another young French speaking woman.

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GoEco

GoEco was actually my first choice over Gap360 because of the amazing reviews, but you have to get in where you fit in. When I say this I mean cost, availability, and the type of programs they have at the time you want them. This organization is known for being a top notch eco tourism company that thoroughly screens all its volunteer projects. They have affordable programs for sure, for example, if I chose to volunteer in South Africa at the Marine Big 5 Conservation, it would cost me approximately $1,300 USD. This includes, sleeping quarters, meals, transportation (not from airport), and emergencies. Everything else you would have to figure out on your own. Usually this is Flights, visas, travel insurance, snacks, and telephone communication. There are way cheaper programs than this, though, just pick your choice!

Black Girls Travel Too

Black Girls Travel Too specializes in voluntourism, a type of program where you volunteer while you are “going on holiday” or “taking a vacation” per say. Founder, Danny Rivers Mitchell, started this some years back after she had her first experience in 2014 in Guatemala. Like a lot of us Americans, she got her interest from those commercials that advertised feeding children for 50 cents a day in other countries. She had even sponsored a child for three months. The company works side by side with locals with the goal in mind to “leave a destination better than we found it.”

To learn more about volunteering or traveling with other Black women on their next tour, contact them directly.

,Habitat For Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that helps with local and global communities. They focus on building affordable and livable housing, and have hundreds of volunteers. If you are someone that likes to build, wants to learn how to build, or have skills in building homes, this would be a great opportunity to help revamp cities and homes across Africa.

There are all types of volunteering opportunities with Habitat for Humanity. You can host a company volunteer event, do long-term service via Habitat Americorps, short term living abroad while volunteering, and other short term local living opportunities! Habitat for Humanity has made major changes throughout the world and can’t do it without their wonderful volunteers. Check them out and see if it’s something you are interested in!

African Impact

African Impact has several destinations to volunteer as well as types of volunteer opportunities, but my favorite is the African Impact’s Girl Empowerment Project. This volunteer program focuses on supporting, educating, and encouraging adolescent girls as they grow into adulthood as young women. They bring local boys and men to the forefront, educating them on many things including the negative impact on male/female stereotypes. If this isn’t for you, try the animal wildlife, environmental work, or whenever they have combination projects like Christmas special volunteering.

Not only can we change the outlook of Africa and our fellow brothers and sisters, but we can offer so much to them as well as them to us. There are way too many volunteer programs out there for us not to take advantage of them. Aren’t you tired of looking at pictures and seeing the very types of people that destroyed Africa smile and take pictures for their social media and company tax write offs? Aren’t you tired of feeling helpless as if you can’t do anything? Tired of portraying Africa as poor and helpless when you know our people are the total opposite? I vowed when I went to Africa I wouldn’t dare take any poverty looking pictures, and honestly I didn’t have to! I rarely saw it where I was. You know what I did see? Beautiful people, beaches, buildings with advertisements of people that looked like me, huge malls and movie theaters, historical sites of Africa’s rich history, and so much more!

Whether you want to volunteer in a medical facility in Ghana or build a house in Zambia, Africa welcomes you brotha and sista! Pick your favorite volunteer trip(s) to Africa and leave your meaningful mark not only on the world but what we know is truly home. Africa is made up of 54 countries, pick one and go!

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