Why Volunteer or Intern With FSD Jinja Uganda

We have been providing hands-on international development and cultural immersion experiences to students and professionals since 2007. Our internship and volunteer programs provide opportunities for participants to build their international development practice and strengthen their graduate school applications. Participants work directly with members of grassroots host-communities in Uganda to design and support development projects which reflect community priorities. The careful training, planning and support that goes into volunteering and interning with FSD leads to sustainable community-driven change.

Learn

Our hands-on training programs teach you the practical skills, development issues, and cultural competencies necessary to successfully carry out collaborative community-driven projects.

Work

You will be placed with partner organizations or with FSD communities that optimally match your interests, skills and objectives. These organizations and communities are directed by professional leaders who collaborate with you on your project work.

Live

Rather than working and living as a group, you will have the opportunity to live with a host family and work with partner organizations or with FSD communities to ensure cultural immersion. Other accomodation options adre available for alternative preferences

Internship/Volunteer Categories

We offer participants practical experience in applying sustainable development approaches to support locally managed grassroots groups and organizations working to improve the welfare of marginalized communities in Uganda. The ultimate goal is to support interns or volunteers as they learn how to achieve sustainable development objectives in a cross-cultural setting, while producing positive outcomes for local communities. You can choose an internship or volunteer opportunity that is either focused on implementing a Community based development project or Community based participatory research project.

Community Based Development Project

Community Based Development projects provide an opportunity for you to directly work with local community to implement a project from a development sector that you choose to center your internship

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Community Based Participatory Research

Community-Based Participatory Research provides you an opportunity to work alongside community groups to research and discover challenges affecting their development. You can choose from any development sector we work in to focus your research.

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Program Highlights

Certificate Award

Upon completion of the program, you will be awarded a certificate attesting your participation in the program and the impact of your work on Ugandan communities. This will provide evidence of practical experience to enhance your resume.

Sustainable project Implementation

You will engage in a cross-cultural experience focused on finding solutions to key development issues, while working hands-on with communities to implement sustainable development projects.

Generating New Knowledge

The program provides an opportunity to generate knowledge about grassroots development priorities, challenges, assets, opportunities and innovations for appropriate interventions

Development sectors of choice

You will work side-by-side with a community-based organization specializing in one or more of the following development sectors: Health, Youth and Education, Women's Empowerment, Microfinance, Human Rights, Environment

Designing Outreach activities

You will design outreach campaigns promoting community mobilization, sensitization, and health education; develop community resource centers; train community leaders to organize informal events which provide information and health resources.

Retreats and Excursions

You will learn more about Ugandan culture and widen your scope of adventure by working and living in Uganda. You will also participate in organized group/individual excursions and retreats that allow you to relax with peers.

Program Impact

Don't just take our word for it. Get insight on how the program has had a sustainable impact on Ugandan communities and how participants' knowledge of international development has increased.

Alumni Experiences

I am so impressed with this program. It was an absolute pleasure being a part of this project and working with FSD and KORD. The best parts of this project were working with a community in Uganda and learning about the culture. To see a community come together and invest time and labor to revitalize something like the community water source is a pure source of inspiration.

I truly enjoyed partaking int this internship. It taught me a myriad of skills that I hope to implement in the future international development endeavors. Despite the unforseen circumstances that occured, it taught me a valuable lesson about learning how to be flexible and adaptable

Through this experience, I was able to gain a deeper appreciation for community-centered development. It is important for any developmental project, in any part of the world, to be centered around community wants and needs. This awareness was mirrored in FSD and KORD’s approach to the Buyala Village water rehabilitation project from the very beginning.

I have learned so much from my participation in the FSD Jinja Uganda Virtual Internship program. I will always remember this experience as my first time abroad, even if it was over zoom! Being virtual had its difficulties, but I was still able to learn about Uganda’s culture, see some beautiful sights such as the Nile River at sunset, and meet some of the greatest people.

Through this internship, I was able to experience the culture and language of Uganda while also helping the under served communities there. One aspect of the internship I really enjoyed was that we constantly interacted with the community and our supervisor, Maurine, was very helpful in keeping us in the loop and making sure we understood the community.

Volunteer or Intern with us for 4 to 52 weeks

Whether In-person or Virtual you can Volunteer or Intern with any of our partner organizations or directly support our capacity-building projects in different sectors. This will provide you with the enriched training and experience you need for future international development work.

PROGRAM START DATES

WINTER	SPRING	SUMMER 1	Summer 2	FALL
January 21, 2023	March 11, 2023	May 20, 2023	June 20, 2023	September 9, 2023

Start your application today

Our Partners

We partner with local and international development agencies and learning institutions to ensure that our participants acquire a learning experience that will enable them to further their career objectives in international development, while creating lasting impact on Ugandan communities. We welcome all development partners who are willing to join our efforts to empower underserved communities with sustainable solutions and train future leaders in grassroots development strategies

Our Partners