Volunteer with primates and children Africa 2010

Volunteering with chimpanzees and children

Yebo Uganda 13th-27th July 2010

Applications are now open

Yebo will be working in Uganda in April 2010 with primate keepers at a chimpanzee sanctuary,  observing chimpanzees directly, learning about their behaviour, communication, feelings and emotions, relating this to humans and then applying this to the children you will be working with.

Along side the staff and primate keepers in Uganda you will be working with children who have emotional and social disadvantages from various traumas and difficult life experiences such as victims of war and abuse, as well as local schools.  Our aim is to relate human feelings and behaviour to that of primates (our closest relative) enabling the children to express their feelings and family situations in a safe and non-intrusive environment.

Primate based communication activities allow children to use creative skills to express their feelings with art, role play and music activities. They will have the opportunity to learn about the behaviour similarities between us and them and the traumatic experiences that many of them have in common with primates to give them self esteem, build self confidence and aid communication and relationship building along with a therapeutic benefit. We also use communication aids such as primate faced feelings boards. The activities also aim to give a subtle educational message to the children about primates in Africa.  Yebo will also aim to produce a book of children’s  ‘primate feelings’ to be published in the UK raising awareness for child support organisations and primate education throughout Africa.

Yebo aims to also support the animal sanctuaries and conservation projects in the local area using education and awareness.  The children will work with volunteers at the sanctuaries. The volunteers will be working alongside the primate keepers observing and learning about the individual chimpanzee stories, behaviour and trauma, although children and volunteers will not have hands on contact with chimpanzees .  This is due to conservation aspects and the safety of you and chimpanzees who are susceptible to illness such as coughs and colds that is passed onto them through humans. As we are staying within a sanctuary we will be observing and learning about the chimpanzees in their care, learning about behaviour, feelings and traumatic experiences that the primates have gone through that may have caused them psychological trauma.  Again this also aims to have a further conservation and educational message.

Activities such as puppet making, art work, drama plays, costume making, music, creating instruments and tree planting are just a few activities that volunteers and workers will be able to get involved in with the children working hands on with them.

Your skills and interests will always be matched to what you enjoy or are interested in so we are able to help and support the children and organisations as best we can.

Volunteers will stay within U.W.E.C (the Ugandan wildlife education centre) This is a secured area and volunteers will eat and live here for 2 weeks.

“Chimpanzees are 98.7% like humans. They get sad,happy,jealous, angry and they can even be very stubborn. Sometimes you forget they are not completely human

Training

The training that we provide students in Africa focuses on the following;

• Play therapy with children
• working with children with disabilities
• Working with children who have suffered abuse
• Primate behaviour and conservation
• Music therapy
• Activity planning
• Activity coordinating
• Project coordinating
  

Some of the students interested in this project are looking at taking the 2 weeks to gain experience on the above, working hands on with the children we support and gaining experience in observing wildlife, primarily primates at African sanctuaries and focusing one of their assignments on these subjects.  Many of them are seeing this experience as a real benefit to future careers.

Download our information pack for volunteers now that details the following;

• Life as a volunteer

• Yebo Activities

• Supporting children in Africa

• African culture

• African primates/wildlife work

• Traveling in Africa/ information

click here to download

1st-14th August 2010 prices

£695

All prices include the following;

• accommodation on site
• Food (3 meals a day)
• Car transport to projects during the day (but not to and from airport)
• Volunteer training on the above subjects
• Project materials
• CRB checks
• Entrance to sanctuaries (but not safaris)
• Food and transport for children in the project
• Donations to the sanctuaries and children’s homes
• Extra materials such as necessary stationary and books needed to support volunteers

The 2 week project costs £695 whic includes all of the above.  Please note that prices DO NOT include flights

It does not include flight prices

If you are a professional from a children’s hospice or special needs school please contact us about your skills for individual prices.

To apply now fill in our application form above or for more information please email our  team  at;

info@yeboyes.org

Please note that prices do not include flight tickets.

The following video was taken at Ngamba Island Chimpanzee sanctuary and U.W.E.C in Uganda and aims to show the similarities between primates and humans.