Many student travel providers offer programs for high school students based on a “voluntourism” model. Voluntourism is a system in which volunteering and tourism are combined to create a vacation-like experience under the visage of meaningful work. There are a lot of negative aspects to the concept of voluntourism, and you can learn about our concerns with these programs in another blog post here.

If, like us, you are interested in global change but you share the same concerns about this "voluntourism" model, our program was created for you.

As someone whose job is to welcome students to the beautiful city of Kampala, Uganda in the heart of East Africa, I’ve noticed one common shock that newcomers experience when adjusting to life here: most people are surprised that there is so much amazing food!

During a study and intern semester abroad, meeting new people will be unavoidable. Going to a different part of the world in more than just a tourist capacity will enable you to really learn what it’s like to live in another country- and that means making some personal connections along the way as well.

After years of being shaped by Western expectations of the workplace, working in an East African office can seem jarring by comparison. That isn’t to say there aren’t exceptions but it’s likely you’ll face these differences in other aspects of your daily life in East Africa.

With that said, the focus of this article isn’t about ‘coping’ with or changing the way things are. Rather, it’s important to gain an understanding of context, to challenge our own views, and to learn from the experience.

In today’s competitive job market, experience is almost required to land a position in any field nowadays (apart from an academic degree). With an increase in unemployment for recent graduates, students should take on the opportunity to intern during their studies. Keep reading to find out 6 reasons why you should intern abroad!

Kampala is a bustling city of never ending movement. At first, traffic hour in Kampala can seem like an chaotic swirl of people, cars, and motorcycles. But the more acquainted you get with the roads of Kampala, the more you will be able to see the harmonious pattern to the traffic here, reavealing a paradoxical system of organized chaos.   

So, you arrive in a new country and everything feels completely different. At first this is extremely exciting – the possibility of meeting new friends, trying new food, traveling, and learning. But over some time things start to feel different and you find that the initial euphoria is starting to wear off. You even feel a bit agitated and isolated, maybe a bit homesick. What happened to your original state of excitement and comfort?! Two words: Culture Shock.

Podcasts are a great way to learn about new information and trends within topics of International Development. Here is a list of the top ten to check out: