Category: Life of a Volunteer
Our Stories:
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Elie’s Offline Anguish at Lake Bunyonyi
On 20/12/2025 Elie Cirhuza set foot on Ugandan soil again, four months after his first stay on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi. Passionate about tourism and cultural diversity in the region, this Congolese Friendship Camper returned as a volunteer with us. Elie was driven by the desire to improve his English and sharpen his multimedia…
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Milan vs. Bunyonyi: Not A Bad Start!
This is Milan, a student of UC Leuven-Limburg, who arrived at Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi last month. Like others before him, he’s doing a 6-month internship that’s part of the “Global Citizenship and Development” course. We first sent Milan to a 2-day canoe tour with a friendly group of World Insight travellers from Austria and…
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Volunteer’s Dilemma: Cause, Cash or the Girl?
Stay in Africa to help, or return to Europe for paid work (and a girlfriend who misses you badly)? A dilemma that many a volunteer has faced before … but usually not just a few days after their arrival! Last month, that happened to Sifis Sareidakis, 25, a Greek computer analyst turned supply chain planner.…
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Omushomesa’s Inspiration
There’s Polona from Slovenia who likely doesn’t even know she has a namesake in Uganda! This volunteer stayed with us at Lake Bunyonyi from December 2007 to March 2008 … and in addition to all the good work she did, she also happened to inspire an omushomesa! Omushomesa? A literal translation is “teacher”, but in…
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Partnership with Batwa “Pygmies”: Not the Easiest but Highly Impactful
Volunteering with Batwa “Pygmies”? Not the easiest thing in the world, yet potentially highly impactful! Londoner Edd had selected it from our long list of projects that had been waiting for the right person — and that’s how he found himself in a dugout with two Batwa delegates. The destination: BirdNest Resort, Lake Bunyonyi. There,…
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Shattered Expectations
Anjni and Kalpa’s expectations were shattered within 24 hours. Rwanda greeted them with a neat airport, helpful and friendly officials, smooth roads, cleanliness, and no hassle whatsoever. Even people’s traditional attire wasn’t far from their own Indian heritage! The sisters live in Australia and America but they were born in Kenya, and they thought Rwanda would resemble their motherland much more…
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Crazy: Burundi, Rwanda & Uganda’s Gorillas in Three Days
The collapsing swimming platform at Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi has been rebuilt from scratch, courtesy of Wheeling2help! This volunteer organisation brings groups of Greeks and Cypriots to several countries, eager to make positive community impact. After several contributions to Bufuka Primary School — a new kitchen with school meals tops the list — they added…
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Shiv’s Colourful Week in Rwanda & Uganda
Londoner Shiv loves music. He straight away sat in front of our tour minibus and took full advantage of the Bluetooth connection, playing mostly American hip hop and some R&B. That was the soundtrack of his one week in Rwanda and Uganda. His trip’s first upcountry destination was Musanze where he was to teach GHE…
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Into the Snow and Ice of Africa
Looking for something very cool as a special add-on to your trip in the Gorilla Highlands region? A week-long trip to the magnificent Rwenzori mountains in western Uganda, bordering DR Congo, can be it! If you seek a physical challenge and thick slice of adventure, go conquer Mount Margherita at 5,109 m/16,795 ft — the…