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Internship as part of your studies or
Volunteer with us
Contributions made by volunteers and interns are vital to our operations. You are welcome to join the association in Finland as well as partake in fieldwork in Zimbabwe. Come and do your part by offering your skills and time for a better future for orphans! Working towards a meaningful goal fosters your well-being as well. Interested? Read our brochure (in Finnish!) and do not hesitate to contact us!
Donate Your Skills in Finland
You can contribute to the association’s activities also in Finland. Help is most needed for administrative work, such as in marketing, communications and fundraising tasks. Maintenance of the FB and our website, the design, and implementation of private and corporate fundraising, and the design and implementation of the association brochures and other publications. Occasionally there are responsibilities open in various coordination tasks such as event organizing.
Fieldwork takes you to the core of our operations
In Zimbabwe, you can be intimately involved in the implementation of our activities supporting children and youth. This experience offers you a new, broader perspective on life and will catch the sincere joy of the children. The main place for work is the Dzikwa operations and activity center in the Dzivarasekwa district of Harare. Operations are led by our partner organization Dzikwa Trust Fund, which employs a small number of recruited staff. Finnish founders and project leaders Seppo Ainamo and Oili Wuolle spend about half of the year in Zimbabwe.
We aim to provide volunteering and internship opportunities that match the interests, and strengths of each. Work can include, for example, assisting in updating children’s information pages, conducting home visits and interviews, clarifying the need for social support, photography, teaching (especially in math and English), creating workshops and activity clubs, and healthcare. Communication-related contributions are also welcomed in form of writing articles, blogs, and web pages, as well as office work and fundraising. Playing with children, organizing ball games and recreational activities can also be part of the work description. By your skill and interest, you can be involved, for example, in organizing music, dance, theater, arts, and crafts, or arranging nature tours and environmental awareness events. Help is also needed in the forest and agriculture efforts and in the kitchen.
Travel costs and Living expenses
The activities of our association are based on volunteering. The “pay” for volunteers is a warm happy feeling and a sense of doing meaningful work while growing professionally and as a person. The cost of a working consists of airfares, insurance, housing and other maintenance expenses in Zimbabwe. The employee is responsible for these costs themselves. Prices, for example, for HKI-HRE-HKI flight tickets vary between 800 and 1300 € depending on the airline and the time.
Housing is arranged either at Dzikwa’s house in Dzivarasekwa, right next to the activity center (one triple room reserved for visitors), outside Dzivarasekwa at a hotel, hostel or other B & B location or at the Oili’s and Seppo’s home. The arrangement can be housing + full board, or mere housing, whereby the visitor is responsible for his / her own food. Costs vary between 15 – 30 € / person / day depending on the arrangements (special diets can incur extra costs). Accommodation includes bed linen, towels, and laundry. Harare’s travel expenses are included in the price, as well as the local carrier SIM-card and basic internet connections.
Work period of at least one month
A meaningful time for field work is at least 4 weeks. Since we can only attend a limited number of guests at a time, we hope that you will contact us preferably 6 months and a minimum of 3 months in advance by email or by calling Oili Wuolle. We ask you to attach a motivation letter and your CV when approaching us through email. Seppo and Oili meet every volunteer and internship student personally in Finland.
Internship contract
The students who come to Zimbabwe for work placement as part of their studies are responsible for having their school accept the placement, and that the necessary papers have been cleared and signed in time. A separate agreement is signed between Dzikwa and the student, as well as on the student’s housing costs and the cost of living, the method of payment and the timetable for payments.
Volunteer Manual
Are you becoming a volunteer or a trainee for field work? Check out the Volunteer Manual ! (Only in Finnish at the moment!)
Stories of volunteers and trainees (in Finnish)
Read recent stories from the links below:
- @HarkkaZimbassa – Kolmen joensuulaisen sairaanhoitajaopiskelijan perhehoitotyön harkka Afrikassa 11/21 – 2/22.
- Afrikan tähteä etsimässä: Sosionomiopiskelijat Anna, Laura ja Veera Metropolian Ammattikorkeakoulusta, Helsingistä, halusivat kokea jotain uutta ja paeta Suomen pakkasia, joten he lähtivät suorittamaan toisen työharjoittelunsa Zimbabween. Opiskelijat kertovat työharjoittelukokemustensa lisäksi myös seikkailuistaan muualla Afrikassa. Afrikan tähteä metsästäessämme matkan varrelta voi löytyä niin timantteja kuin rosvojakin!
- Long way home: Kaksi elämänjanoista sosionomiopiskelijaa Metropoliasta lähtivät hakemaan Zimbabwesta uusia tarinoita kerrottavaksi ja kokemuksia jaettavaksi työharjoittelun merkeissä syyskuussa 2014.
- Satu Zimbabwessa: Tuore ylioppilas Satu lähti toteuttamaan haavettaan vapaaehtoistyöstä ja samalla tapaamaan kummilastaan elo-lokakuussa 2014.
- Ruwa discovering the world: A volunteer ponders small and big life experiences in Dzikwa and Zimbabwe (August-November 2014).
- Kaiken maailman unelmat: Seinäjoen lukion KOMPPI-hankkeessa tutkitaan suomalaisten ja zimbabwelaisten nuorten tulevaisuuden haaveita. Blogissa kerrotaan ryhmän matkasta Zimbabween ja “Tulevaisuuden unelmat”- työpajoista paikallisen lukion opiskelijoille.
- Sata päivää Zimbabwessa: Metropolian Elinan ja IIsan oma blogi 3kk työharjoittelusta orpolastemme parissa toukokuun lopusta elokuun loppuun 2014.
- The Great Zimbabwean Expedition: Espoon yhteislyseon lukion kaksi opettajaa ja neljä opiskelijaa vierailivat Zimbabwessa ja Dzikwan toimintakeskuksessa opetusministeriön rahoittamana. Hankkeen tarkoituksena oli tutustua hyväntekeväisyysjärjestöjen toimintaan sekä tavata koulun oma kummilapsi, Blessing.
