Internships in Livingstone, Zambia

My internship was a highly valuable and enriching experience that combined practical work with meaningful learning. It allowed me to apply theoretical knowledge in a real-world context while developing new skills and confidence. The supportive environment and hands-on responsibilities made the experience both personally and professionally rewarding.

The experience was extremely valuable to understand the healthcare system in Zambia. However, there was much less public health work than expected--only working with patients in the mornings with not enough focus on most severe cases and no public health education. Recommend if interested in healthcare and community building vs public health.

I was a virtual intern at Baobuyu Learning Center. I was able to help write curricula and design lesson plans for their Girl Power class. The entire experience was greatly rewarding and I hope to continue to pursue this work in the future.

While the overall experience was incredible and a once in a lifetime experience, working alone in Livingstone was extremely isolating and challenging. Would recommend to those that have experienced a lot of solo travel. This type of experience is definitely what you make of it, and can be an absolutely amazing opportunity. The support before I left for Zambia was fantastic. This internship has helped prepare me for some of my course material in the next year, as well as helped me work on my professional skills. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Livingstone by myself. My trips to a crocodile park, Victoria Falls, and an art gallery were some of my favourites. A lot of the tasks, while useful to the organisation, were quite basic and there wasn't much learning about how an NGO is run. At times I felt like I was paying to be an assistant or office worker for a month. The only positive thing about doing said tasks were that they were helpful to the organisation.

I chose to do 50% out on project and 50% of office work, which I think was the best decision to immerse myself in the Zambian culture while also gaining some essential work experience in the management of a nonprofit.

I do not have a single bad thing to say about my 9 week internship with Free Haven. Anyone who is interested in NGO management or the general behind the scenes of running an NGO would benefit greatly from working with Free Haven. From admin tasks, to social media, and teaching I got to try and experience everything. The Team was incredible and I am sure I will be back in the near future.

This has been one of the best experiences of my life. I will remember and cherish every single moment spent in Zambia. It has been a humbling experience to see how the people of Zambia are alwasy happy, welcoming and warm even after all the hardships and struggles. Also the staff at African Impact is amazing. They made me feel right at home. :)

Going into this internship I had no idea what to expect and what the outcome might be. I hoped it would help me find and solidify what I want to do as a career but also expose me to many different opportunities and open new doors for places to explore around the world. Interning at Baobuyu did it all and more! I was able to work in collaboration with other interns and our supervisor on daily tasks and activities with our community programs but I was also given a tremendous support to start my own initiatives and projects. While I was there I started my own club and facilitated a fundraising campaign all on my own. Now that I am reflecting on my time with Baobuyu I am cherishing everything we were able to accomplish, create, learn, and grow together during this time. I know I will take everything I have learned into the future with me as I move forward and will always remember how I was able to find my passion and a new home across the world. I am forever grateful.

I had a wonderful time working with roots and my placement organization. I was walked through the interview process and enjoyed how well heard I was. My interests, schedule, and goals were taken into account at every turn. I felt supported during my stay and the accommodations were very nice. My whole experience was so pleasant that I decided to come back after my internship and I'll be staying here for the rest of the year! My life has been changed for the better because of this experience.

I had an amazing time during my internship at Baobuyu! Tammy is such an inspiration and I feel really lucky I got to spend time working with her. She always keeps things interesting and theres always something going on. There was never a dull moment throughout my two months. The teachers at the school were also so welcoming and so curious and ready to learn. I had so much fun working with them. They are often making jokes and laughing and being silly which created a really fun work environment. The people of Zambia are so kind and welcoming I had an amazing time getting to know locals and learning more about the country and culture. Livingstone especially is such a wonderful area to be in and I am so happy I got to have that experience. I will definitely have to visit again someday.

When I decided to travel to South Africa, Cape Town, I didn't know what to expect - but I knew that a unique experience was waiting for me. I arrived here during the lockdown. Nevertheless, after a short time I had the opportunity to get to know the culture, locals, nature and life here. After a short time I knew that this place is my home. I feel so connected to the nature and people here. Every day brings magical moments of rainbows in the ocean waves, butterflies landing on me, waterfalls, nature sounds, powerful storms, laughing children, pure forests, breathtaking views, etc. Once I let myself accept that Cape Town is a place that is neither fast nor perfectly organized, but very slow and quiet, I was able to surrender to the flow and let each day come to me full of curiosity. I made a new family, wonderful friends and unique experiences here and was also able to learn a lot about myself, life here and the different cultures that come together in this country. I am deeply grateful and already looking forward to my return.

My internship with Greenpop gave me incredible knowledge and experience in the effects of urban greening in cities. My role as an intern was very hands-on as well as administrative. I was able to take part in numerous workshops and planting days that were organized by Greenpop, meaning my work was very dynamic. Not only did I have my office tasks, but I was also able to have very social facilitation experiences, and on top of that, a lot of physical work in planting and preparing gardens for fynbos planting days. The work taught me amazing skills in how programmes are planned, and how it takes so many different elements within an organization for these events to happen. The work that Greenpop does as an organization is something really wonderful to be a part of, and I am so grateful that I was able to help and be a part of their mission in making this world a little more green for everyone.

In general, I can conclude this was an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life. I would definitely recommend an internship at ZAWS and even though it might sound cheesy, I would not have traded this experience for all the money in the world. Doing something with your skills in an organization that really needs it, and seeing that what you do really makes a difference, gives you a feeling of satisfaction you will never have experienced before. That, and a setting that is very rough, but also very beautiful, makes this internship worthwhile. If you love animals and you are keen on doing a marketing and communications internship in Africa – look no further.

I thoroughly enjoyed this internship and learnt a lot about health challenges in different contexts. There was a lot of freedom to shape the internship into what I was interested in or what I wanted to pursue with the right support to make it happen. The staff are great and really lovely to work with, the challenges you face from a working environment perspective are very different to back home and give a good development opportunity.

My 4 weeks in Livingstone with African impact has been one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. During my time here, I was able to ultilise my public health knowledge and skills that I have gained from my studies back at home and be able to apply them to real life public health situations. I came to understand some of the barriers to successful program intervention through talking to the local caregivers in addition to conducting various interviews with nurses, community members etc. I have learnt so much on this trip and got a taste of global health advocacy. Would 100% recommend this internship, you will not regret it!

Having completed my first year of my Masters in Public Health, I found this internship with African impact very hands on, practical and rewarding. Being able to create my own project/intervention to target local community health issues was an amazing experience where I was able to implement the skills that I have gained during university. I really enjoyed the variety of activities we were able to participate in, including project, after project and on the weekends. If I were not able to do the public health internship, I believe I would have really enjoyed doing the medical volunteering or even girls impact. All round the experience exceeded my expectations and has left a huge impact on my life.

Literally can't recommend this project enough!! I stayed for a month and I wish I was here so much longer. I thought the project would be working with girls only, but we also worked with a boys club and two women's group. The Girls Impact Project itself is so important and focuses on so many vital topics like GBV, HIV, self confidence, body confidence etc and I don't think they would really have a chance to learn about these important topics otherwise. Volunteer life outside of the project is also great, there are always activities planned and the volunteer house is within a hostel so there is a bar and a pool, as well as loads of places to chill out. The staff also couldn't be any friendlier!

I was here for four weeks in total, and it was a great experience! I met lots of new people, saw lots of things, and learned about the work of a lot of local NGOs. This is something that I would definitely recommend.

My month at African Impact has been amazing, I have made the best friends I could have imagined. I also really valued the public health experience that i have gained as a result of this internship, interviewing NGOs/doctors/nurses has really changed my perspective. In addition I learned so much from the other interns that I was working with.

I've had an amazing month with African Impact. The Zambian community has been such a delight to work with and I have only good memories of the people that live. It's been a life changing experience and I have gained so much for my Public Health work and also life long friends.