S.A.L.V.E. International 

S.A.L.V.E. (Support and Love via Education) International is a UK and Ugandan partnership charity supporting children to stop living on the streets in Uganda. They do this through support, love, family reunification and education. Once they have resettled a child home to their relatives, they then support the child through education and offer their support to the family through business empowerment or permaculture farming training. So far, they have resettled over 700 children home and are supporting over 130 children to study in school who would not otherwise afford to do so.

S.A.L.V.E. run a variety of programmes that would welcome students with different skills to get involved - from addiction, to sustainable farming, from social enterprise to inclusive education to name a few. Whilst many are run in Uganda, there are also opportunities available in Manchester and also remote volunteering roles you can do from home!

Their Uganda based opportunities vary depending on your skills, experience and interests. These include:

  • Family Business Empowerment Training and support
  • Education in Street Outreach, especially in our Drop-in Centres (boys and girls)
  • Education in our Halfway Homes
  • Drug Rehabilitation social work
  • Sustainable Agriculture project
  • Monitoring and Evaluation, Data analysis and Administration
  • Communications work

Manchester based and remote volunteering opportunities will vary throughout the year depending on demand and whether positions are filled. These include: fundraising; running equality campaign activities; video editing; graphic design; copy editing and a social enterprise challenge. 

  • Any University of Manchester student, including final years and post-graduates.

  • Placements in Uganda are available all year long and S.A.L.V.E. are flexible in supporting volunteers throughout the year. These placements are usually 4 weeks long.
  • For students interested in a summer placement, S.A.L.V.E. would begin recruitment from September to December and then begin the fundraising from January right up until departure.
  • As S.A.L.V.E. are based in Manchester, they are flexible to student volunteers and can suit dates around availability. They usually begin training in March for the project work and begin to prepare students for life in Uganda.
  • Once accepted onto a placement, students are kept up to date with all of the information required (for example, visa, flights etc.).
  • The UK team are available to offer support with all things related to pre-departure (including vaccinations and travel insurance).
  • Volunteers will receive training from the UK team in Manchester and the training will cover working with vulnerable children, their work in Jinja, fundraising support and learning about life in Uganda and the Ugandan culture.
  • Volunteers are picked up from the airport by one of the organisation's trusted drivers and are driven to their chosen accommodation in Jinja where they will stay for the duration of the project.
  • In-country support is headed up by S.A.L.V.E.'s Ugandan Director. Students will be assigned to a particular programme of work and given a key support person, as well have the support of the full Ugandan team as needed. The UK team is also in regular contact with the volunteers during the placement.
  • All volunteers will take part in training in the first week which will include learning more about the relevant department programme of work, learning more about working with the vulnerable children/young people S.A.L.V.E. support and introducing volunteers to the Ugandan team.
  • Volunteers will live at S.A.L.V.E.'s recommended guesthouse in Jinja or in another accommodation choice they choose for themselves.
  • Volunteers are able to travel in their free time and see the sites of Jinja, including the River Nile.
  • Please note these costs are all estimates and may slightly vary depending on the chosen dates and the exchange rate at the time. 

  • Flights £500 - £800, visa £40, travel insurance £40 (all approx.) plus the cost of anti-malaria tablets and any vaccinations.
  • Travel to and from the airport to Jinja, between £40 - £60 each way.
  • The project costs in country anticipating £3 per day for transport and lunch, this will vary depending on the area of work.
  • Volunteers can live cheaply at S.A.L.V.E.'s recommended guesthouse in Jinja. This costs between £5-15 a night depending on the accommodation chosen i.e. shared room or ensuite etc. The guesthouse has cooking facilities and breakfast is provided.
  • The cost of dinner in a Western restaurant is approx. £7 and a traditional Ugandan meal is roughly £1.
  • On top of the above there is a £500 fundraising target which goes towards S.A.L.V.E to support their work. Volunteers will be supported with their fundraising from S.A.L.V.E.'s UK team who have lots of experience with fundraising. 
  • Volunteers should also factor in some costs for activities in their free time, for example up to £150-£200 whilst on a month long placement (extra travelling and tourist activities like a safari can be more expensive).
  • All volunteers can apply via the Volunteer Hub. Once S.A.L.V.E. have received an application of interest, they will invite students for a telephone interview/meeting at their office where they can discuss an applicant's skills and experience and what they hope to achieve by volunteering with S.A.L.V.E.

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