Our blogs are written by our volunteers in each country to give you a flavour of what life is like on our programmes. Filter by Country, Programme and Subject/Theme to find out more.
Medson Sanga, a young person living in Mpanga, Mufindi and a member of the community’s environmental committee, will soon be overseeing a project aimed at planting 150,000 new trees in the village.
December 13, 2018
Raleigh's International Citizen Service (ICS) wash volunteers are working with community members in Koudi, Gorkha, to cope up with scarcity of water in the community. They are doing different sessions on awareness raising, training and helping in community development.
December 11, 2018
Exchange for Campaigns, Empowerment and Leadership (ExCEL) is a programme funded by NOREC, which sees a group of volunteers from the Raleigh National Societies of Nepal, Nicaragua, and Tanzania come together to design and develop environmental campaigns. These campaigns will empower rural communities in adapting to the impact of a changing climate through changes in their behaviours and raising awareness of the issues involved. The volunteers have successfully completed the first part of the project in Tanzania, where they identified community behaviours which will need to change in order to adapt to effects of climate change. These specifically relate to community energy use, forest management, and agricultural practices. They are now in Nepal for the second part of the project, where they will be identifying further climate change adaptive behaviours in the Nepali context.
Here is a report from Vivek, a participant in the project, as they began the second part in Nepal.
The United Nations’ International Volunteer Day is celebrated annually on 5th December. This year, the event focuses on volunteer efforts that strengthen the resilience of communities in the face of natural disasters, economic stresses and political shocks.
We look at how volunteers from Tanzania and from abroad have been supporting aspiring entrepreneurs in setting up small businesses in order to overcome economic challenges and create opportunities for young people in rural areas.
Raleigh's work is delivered though teams of volunteers, who give the programme its energy, inspiration and bring a whole lot of fun. To celebrate International Volunteer Day, two of our Expedition volunteers have written about their time volunteering in Nepal. Anna-Maria is an international volunteer from Edinburgh, in the UK, and Sudhir is a host country volunteer from Bhaktapur, Nepal.
December 5, 2018
On 5th December we observe International Volunteers Day which celebrates the work and achievements of volunteers and organisations around the world. Here we find out about the amazing work of our volunteers in Costa Rica and how their efforts are helping create a more sustainable future.
“There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer. With it beats the spirit of service, generosity and compassion... and the health and the wellbeing of the community, country and our world”, Kobi Yamada
Raleigh International Citizen Service (ICS) livelihoods volunteers are working with community members in Kisedi, Makwanpur to show how sustainable farming practices and crop diversification will allow them to increase their income and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Volunteers have been delivering awareness raising sessions and training, developing resources and community infrastructure, undertaking needs assessments and action research and promoting active global citizenship. Here an ICS volunteer team reflect on life in the community and the work that they have undertaken so far on the programme.
December 4, 2018
In recognition of World AIDS day, we talk to Christina Chrispine Ngogolo, an advocate for HIV positive people in Mkamba village, Kilombero, where one of Raleigh Tanzania’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects is taking place.
With the involvement of youth being crucial to improving education and reducing the stigma around HIV, Christina hopes that Raleigh’s WASH project is a step in the right direction for mobilising the community to act on issues that traditionally have been taboo.
Mojkumari Joshi lives in Sanobadhera, a small village in the Gorkha area, where she has lived all of her life. The availability of water in this region is scarce, especially during the dry season where many water sources dry up. Each community in Gorkha owns its own water source, so when one does not produce enough water, the village are forced to look elsewhere, sometimes having to heavily ration their own supplies or even pay for water.
Raleigh have been working on a WASH (water and sanitation hygiene) project in this community for two months, building a storage tank to act as a backup supply of water, as well as a central handwashing station to reduce the distance community members need to walk to access water.
Raleigh volunteers in Costa Rica are heading out to start work on their final projects. The groups will be taking on the youth leadership element of their Expedition, supporting park rangers to maintain one of Costa Rica's national parks, and helping an indigenous community to construct a kindergarten to provide care and education for young children.
December 2, 2018
