What makes your organization easy to market to potential participants?
Amani Hostel has partnered with local organizations in all destinations where we operate and all are flexible and help tailor volunteering placement and travel services for each specific volunteer. Our partner organizations will work with you and do everything they can to ensure your volunteer experience is what you want, not simply what you are given.
We are known for our quality.
Accommodations: we arrange lodging during the course of your project, either with carefully selected local host families or in volunteer housing at the project sites.
Meals: all of our projects include meals prepared by host families, project staff, or on a rotating basis by the volunteers themselves.
Transportation: whether it’s arranging airport pick-up or providing transportation to project sites, we make sure you get where you need to be on time.
Project Training: while none of our projects require special skills or previous experience, all programs have orientations and /or training courses to help familiarize you with your volunteer work.
Our staff photo after climbed Mount Kilimanjaro
Describe a typical day of volunteering at Amani Hostel.
A volunteer’s work day on this project will generally last between four and six hours and while we ask all volunteers to be flexible in this regard, a typical daily schedule is likely to go something like this:
7:00 AM Breakfast at the volunteer house
7:30 AM Bus to your project site
8:45 AM Pre-start meeting with project supervisor
9:00 AM Volunteering duties start
A tea break and lunch break will be fitted in during the day, but often the timing of breaks will change based on the needs of the local staff and number of volunteers on hand.
3:00 PM Volunteering duties end
3:15 PM Debrief with project supervisor
3:30 PM Bus back to the accommodation
During the evenings, volunteers are free to explore the local area, check out the multitude of local restaurants, bars and cafes, or relax with the other volunteers.
What is your organization's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
To develop a culture of volunteerism where individual volunteers become positive change catalysts. To build a nation where both the extremes of our society, the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ work together to make a beautiful world to live in. To provide developing countries around the world with significant volunteer programs that both aid the neediest communities and forge a lasting bond between those volunteering and those they have helped
Co-Director for Amani Hostel
What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?
Why choose Amani hostel?
Amani hostel offers customized program placements and provides one-on-one personalized experiences. We cater to the individual looking for a unique volunteer travel experience. Knowing that people often have a limited time frame, we offer both short and long term placements, ranging from one week to three months.
We know that people like choices. For our programs you get to choose where you go, when, and for how long. We do not have fixed start dates; however, we recommend you arrive in-country on a Saturday or Sunday, if possible.
Is volunteering abroad for me?
Only you can answer this question. Volunteering in another country can be both challenging and rewarding. Our programs are not summer camps. You will not have every minute of every work day planned for you.
You must be an inventive, self-starter who can handle situations where schedules are occasionally non-existent and resources are scarce. Flexibility and patience are the keys to having a satisfying experience.
Developing countries, in particular, are not as obsessed with time as the US or Europe. Often schedules are ignored or appointments begin later than arranged. NGOs, international nonprofits and volunteer organizations are almost always understaffed.
If you are willing and able to accept this, volunteering abroad can lead to an unlimited feeling of personal satisfaction.
Why should I pay to volunteer?
You are not paying for your volunteer work; you are making a financial contribution to support the hundreds of communities in need where our programs are based. Donations help to stimulate the local economies with hosting jobs, with new constructions at local schools and orphanages, and with much needed medical supplies to rural clinics.
Amani hostel works tirelessly year-round to support our volunteers, and also to serve the local communities where we are based. As a nonreligious, non-government agency, we receive 100% of our funding from the volunteer program donations.
Do most Volunteers Fundraise?
Yes! We know the cost of volunteering abroad can be extremely daunting. There are transportation costs, program fees, visa/vaccinations expenses to consider, and then your everyday living costs while you’re away.
After you submit your application and $350 USD deposit, we will email you a fundraising guideline with helpful information.
Is there an age requirement?
We accept volunteers 17 years and older. We do not have a maximum age limit in place, as an increasing number of volunteers are retirees. As long as you are physically and mentally healthy with an open mind, you shouldn’t have any problems participating in our programs.
*Children traveling with their parents must be 12 years and older.
International volunteers on the field.
How is your company handling Covid protocols? What should participants know about your Covid readiness? How are you assisting participants with navigating the new travel landscape?
Amani Hostel has implemented the following protocol:
- Local regulations include mask-wearing, hand sanitizer at entry, body temperature taken at entry, social distancing.
- We are disinfecting surfaces multiple times per day for public areas and classrooms.
- Communication on-site: through in-person meetings and posters in high visibility areas at each institute.
- Amani Hostel has a Response Team that monitors official communications daily.
Daily, Amani Hostel monitors ongoing and evolving risks in each country including crime, terrorism, political instability, civil unrest, natural disasters, and public health matters. We rely on a variety of tools and resources for identifying and assessing the actual or potential risk to students and staff.
What does one gain from travel?
Travelers can gain first-hand work experience. Being involved with any organization will endow you with great work experience. If you help in the administration side of things then you will no doubt learn loads about people, planning, and the running of an organization.
If you physically help with various projects it’s a brilliant way to get on-the-job experience, interacting with people or animals you may be interested to work with in your career at some stage.
