Uganda

In the sixth year of our initiative to develop and promote a stunning region shared by Uganda and Rwanda, our objectives are:

• to position the term “Gorilla Highlands” as a universally accepted name for the region
• to expand the perception of the region beyond mountain gorillas
• to establish the region as a destination by itself (instead of a short stop-over during a tour in East Africa)
• to promote the region as an essential bucket list item

Edirisa and the Gorilla Highlands initiative have been longlisted in the “Best innovation by a tour operator” category of the World Responsible Tourism Award.

There is nobody with a tourism degree on the Gorilla Highlands Team, nor has anybody worked in the tourism industry beforehand. Our decision to enter this business was purely pragmatic. We noticed negative long-term effects of charity and looked for something smarter. We were enchanted with our region’s natural and cultural beauty. We felt that the best way to change people’s perception of Africa was to bring them here. We saw that Ugandans were perfect for tourism work: English-speaking, incredibly hospitable, with genuine smiles that no money can buy and so profoundly relaxed that they could cure stress through osmosis.

Gorilla Highlands volunteering and internship is primarily about multimedia but there are numerous other possibilities. Our preferred way of working is in small teams mixing East African and international volunteers, fostering cultural exchange.

Qualifications: interest and experience in working Multimedia, media production, production, organizational, improvement, accounting, business development, cooking, swimming instruction. This are called Special Volunteers.  

Time of work: working for a minimum of 40 hours a week as Edirisa staff members

The main tasks are in the field of multimedia, graphic design, organizational and business development, accounting. Some of the work will be as well to support the local primary school by doing workshops and swimming classes.

Learn from Africa (LFA) is the orientation introducing volunteers to all sides of our region, with an emphasis on the rural communities of the Bakiga and Batwa “Pygmy” groups. LFA begins in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on any pre-agreed Saturday.

Location: Gorilla Highlands volunteers are based at Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi, southwestern Uganda; on assignment they may also be sent to other areas in Uganda and Rwanda.

Mehr Infos zum Projekt findest Du hier: About Edirisa and Gorilla Highlands