Go Volunteer AfricaRecensioni 

Hello there,
i was searching for opportunities to volunteer and this organization offered a cheap solution.
Although they said it's free, i had to pay a "non refundable placement-deposit". A small trick, because deposits are typically something you get back. Way better phrasing would be: "processing fee".
The ~120$ were still cheaper than any other organization i found so i went ahead.
So i got proper instructions on how to prepare for this trip, which vaccines to get and where to appy for visa :-). Once i got there it started relativly nice: i got into a group with 3 other volunteers and we got placed into a stay 20km from our volunteering-site in Mukono-Uganda.
The host was initially a women working for a woman-empowernment organization "kyampisiwomen". When i got there, that changed all of the sudden to some guys organization "ssamba". So they work hand in hand i guess. Both of them have dot-org websites so you can find them.
Anyways the apartments were nice. On site though we got into a really poor situation. It was a primary school with 3 small teaching rooms, with a few teachers and an obese director who rarely showed up and some kids, which were mostly nice. So usually the days were not very structured and we were given alot of freedom. Daily, the host picked us up in the morning, then we did something and later we drove back in the evening.
So ~3 out of 4 weeks passed and the host said she ran out of money to be able to drive us there. We were supposed to figure out the 20km travel ourselves, she said we should ride "boda-boda", meaning riding motorbikes with inofficial chauffers without helmets to get there. I refused and did nothing. I did not show up for 2 days because i did not want to ride boda and the guy hosting the host kicked me out without warning. I started arguing he should offer a better solution than motorbikes but he refused. From the real host reffered to by the program, no more answers. She was hiding behind this guys statements... These motorbikes are dangerous! I saw myself a dead guy who smashed his head on the streets of africa.
So i went on paying the suite myself for one more week and then leaving.

In November 2023 I spent about a month in Tanzania as a volunteer for the Rafikisana Foundation.
I got a nice room with a shower at the volunteers house, where also good, typical meals were provided for those staying over.

Together with his wife, the headmaster of the school I was assigned to, took good care of me.
They took me from and to the airport, regularly invited me to a restaurant or bar and, most importantly, agreed with me on what I should do at the school site.

I opted for the set-up of a reading class, a dedicated room for the kids to have a separate session, at their specific level, to improve their English reading and writing skills.
The kids really liked it, being away from their classroom and getting the full attention of a teacher! :-)

On the weekends I also got the occasion to visit the country as a tourist: we walked to the Kilimanjaro waterfalls, visited a Masaai village, went on safari and even flew to Zanzibar!

I can strongly recommend this to other possible volunteers: it's a perfect combination of adventure and giving back to society!

I really did have such an amazing trip in Tanzania with Go Volunteer Africa and would absolutely recommend it to anyone. I chose them primarily as they were the cheapest organisation I found, but honestly they cut no corners.

Go Volunteer Africa were very helpful with my questions beforehand and managed to get me sorted even though I only enquired 3 weeks before my departure date! Everything needed was given to me in writing which was a comfort and was very accurate information.

The pre-departure support from Paul and his local team was so useful. Arrival was very easy on my part and the volunteer house in Dar-es-Salaam is perfect! I settled in so quickly as all the in-country Go Volunteer Africa staff were so lovely and helpful as well as the other volunteers being amazing.

I spent 4 weeks in Tanzania and I wish I had gone earlier and stayed longer as the experience just gets more enjoyable as you get to know the other volunteers and the staff. The accommodation is relatively basic - there was no Wi-Fi while I was there (not always the case) and the showers aren't consistently warm - but it was extremely social, comfortable and I wouldn't change anything major.

The staff in-country are fantastic and there is always someone available to chat to and ask any questions or reports any concerns. I did a Childcare and Urban Farming placements and a member of local staff escorted us on the first day to show us the journey and introduce us to projects staff.

I made some great friends in the time I was there, as we spent loads of time together in the house and on the weekend trips. All I can say is the more you put in, the more you get out of your experience.

I would definitely recommend this experience if you're willing to be spontaneous and settle into the 'pole pole' lifestyle in Tanzania :) I also think that going in June/July time is perfect as there are always other volunteers around and the weather isn't too hot.

It's difficult to describe how it's so enjoyable but it is definitely worth doing through Go Volunteer Africa. Go Volunteer Africa will totally look after you, so go with a totally open mind and you'll have a trip you will not forget.

It's a SCAM!! They are not repassing the money you pay to the organization they send you!! It's just horrible!

Really, don't go volunteer with this organization! Although the places they sent us are great places with loving caring people, they are not repassing the money you pay!! Not only, they will charge you almost 3 times what they are suposedly to repass to the centers (so they keep much more than their fees). In both places I went to volunteer with them, I found out they simply did not repass any money!! And they simply dont answer the MANY emails when I asked about it. Also, after you make the payment to them their comunication just becomes horrible! Find another serious organization! Really! They dont deserve our money or resources!

Do NOT travel with this company.

This summer I flew out to Sénégal to volunteer teaching in a school for 4 weeks. I am a teacher in the UK, and so I thought that my skills would be greatly appreciated.

Prior to going, I received very little information about my placement. Despite this, I was still really excited to go and just thought that the level of communication was normal for a company in Africa.

When I arrived at my host’s home, I was surprised to find that the school term had just finished and that no children would be attending classes for 3 weeks, apart from 1 day a week for a couple of hours.

Immediately this seemed wrong. The primary reason why I decided to embark on this trip was to have an impact through volunteering yet there was hardly any opportunity for me to do this.

I am incredibly frustrated by this situation. My frustrations do not lie with my host (who has been very welcoming) but with Go Volunteers Africa as I was misled and missold an experience that was not possible given the time of year. My program fee certainly did not reflect the experience that I received whatsoever.

No where does it state on the GVA website information regarding term times in each country. I applied 3 months prior to departing which would have given them ample time to advise when schools are open, and given that I did apply for a teaching volunteer program, one would assume that schools would be open.

Even after applying, no one from Go Volunteers Africa explained the dates of terms for schools, which would have been the right and decent thing to do.

This demonstrates a clear lack of communication and a purposeful lack of honesty and transparency. They saw no issue with accepting my money despite knowing that they would be unable to fulfil their promise of an impactful volunteering experience.

This has caused me a great deal of stress and after one week of being in Sénégal, I rearranged my flights so that I could return home and not waste any more of my time.

I discussed this issue openly with my host, who was very understanding. My host also informed me that she contacted GVA on April 26th to inform them that their school term would finish on 3rd July, therefore there was no reasonable explanation for GVA’s choice to accept me on to the program.

Since I voiced my frustrations to GVA, I have received no further communication from them, they have gone silent. In recent weeks, I have been in contact with my host again who has also told me that she has not received money for 4 volunteers who stayed with her not money for airport transfers, which GVA claim they pay for. This demonstrates poor ethics and poor business practices.

I am most frustrated by the lack of honesty, transparency and communication by GVA. The choice to facilitate this trip despite knowing the situation shows how little Go Volunteer Africa care about their volunteers, sending them to a country on a different continent where they are unable to take part in any volunteering, leaving them isolated and stranded.

In addition, this highlights the sheer greed of Go Volunteers Africa, who are clearly only interested accepting money from well-intentioned, willing volunteers, with little care for their experience.

I have been disgusted by the minimal amount of accountability that GVA have refused to accept in being responsible for this awful experience.

In hope that no one else has the same unfortunate experience as me, I shall be contacting an international consumer group who can share my experience on a global platform.

Scam organization. Everything seem legit on there website and platforms. Attractive programs and great reviews. But after making payments which was confirmed by Beatrice Naigaga. They went mute and stopped responding. Wrote to them on Facebook, same reaction. Eventually they blocked me on all platforms. Terrible experience. I wonder how they haven’t been taken down yet.

Great experience in Uganda, loads of projects and we met many other medical volunteers. We worked with Mukono General Hospital, the experience was hands on.

November 2022 my wife and I contacted Go Volunteer Africa to volunteer for two weeks in Kenya at the LUMO Conservancy park in March/April 2023.
The organization (Go Volunteer Africa) looked good online and the contact generally went smoothly.
We were in contact with Paul and he arranged our transfer from the airport, our stay in Nairobi to bridge our onward journey to Mwatate and our stay at the LUMO park where we would be doing our volunteer work.
We transferred a total amount of 1680 euros to Go Volunteer Africa, which they would transfer to LUMO.
Overall, the trip went smoothly and we ended up in the right location.
Almost a week after our stay at the LUMO park, we were called to the director’s office with the news that Paul/Go Volunteer Africa still had not transferred the amount of 1680,- and that he no longer responded to e-mails or answered to the phone number that is included on Google.
The director of the LUMO park and us sent Paul many emails asking if he wanted to book the money onto their account as soon as possible. In the evening we got an angry response from Paul that he was not a scam and that it just took a few days longer. (He said he transferred it 4 days before.)
We waited for a few more days until a week had passed after he "transferred the money’’, but still pushed him a little into the right direction by still sending him e-mails.
We have tried to contact the organization (Go Volunteer Africa) on all fronts (think: Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, E-mail, calling), but after Paul's last angry email, we received no response.
In the end, both the park and my husband and I were scammed enormously, and we never saw anything of the 1680 euros ever again.
We, of course, had to transfer the money to the park where we were, or our stay would have to be terminated early.
Because we were both victims of Go Volunteer Africa, we handled it well together, but my wife and I (+ LUMO) were scammed enormously.
To this day we have not heard anything from Paul/Go Volunteer Africa.

This is therefore a warning to all people who think the organization is acting in the right way, because they are NOT!
Please be careful not to collaborate/book a trip through Go Volunteer Africa.
They are not legit.