African Impact Reviews 16

I went to South Africa. It was like being at a camp for JR highschool kids. I'm 59 and there were kids up drinking and having sex all night in my room. I complained and finally they gave me my own room. Nonetheless I was punished for the behavior of these juveniles all of whom were very rude to me. I wasted time and money on this travel when all I was hoping for was a nice time and to learn about preservation while giving back. It is not or adults so my advice would be stay away if your over 30. NOT RECOMMENDED

Great organisation! I have been a volunteer with them twice for 10 weeks and enjoyed every aspect of it. Of course I can only vouch for the base I went to (Zanzibar), but feel like the organisation is authentically working toward the sustainable development goals of the UN. Communication, coordination and the overall work before, during and after my stays have been amazing. Can only recommend!

My experience in Zambia in a children&sports project was amazing. I've enjoyed every single little thing of my two weeks staying: the people, the children, the culture, all the things we managed to do and to visit.
Just a point to be improved on the daily schedule: the timing for breakfast and lunch. If I'm supposed to leave for the project at 8AM, breakfast cannot be served at 7:45, come on!
Despite this, I really suggest this kind of experience!

Had a wonderful experience on the Mara predator programme.I miss it everyday and will hopefully return .The accommodation and food where good .The staff were a pleasure to get to know.Dan our guide was exceptional dealing with many difficulties with a smile on his face.He made the experience all the better with his local knowledge of the Masai culture and outstanding ability to trace wildlife.I have been on many safaris and he is by far the bestguide.The project was interesting and to see the wildlife living alongside the local Masai fascinating.I have no hesitation to recommend the project.

Avoid the Maasai Mara African Impact program. I signed up for a 4 week conservation and research trip in the Maasai Mara in Kenya. The trip promised contributions to vital research with Big Cat and Elephant programs. When I arrived it was clear that there was no serious research going on, no one with research experience in charge of the project, dysfunctional administration and serious communication issues (very poor English) the staff member who was leading the volunteers, so any chance to learn more about conservation was lost. The location where volunteers were housed and fed was located an hour or more on a rough road to the "research areas" where 1 km game drives (approx 20 minutes) collected data maybe four times a week. Waste of fuel and time. Food at facility was not good - plain spaghetti, white rice, ugali and potatoes with little fresh vegetables and minimal fruit. The program directors know of the weaknesses to the program - the driver/guide with little English has been getting complaints for months according to other participants. Not a few leave early. I stayed two of the four weeks I had booked and even though I made the issues very clear, and they were acknowledged, I lost every penny I spent on the remaining two weeks. The voucher they offered for a future trip was basically the discount they offer repeat volunteers. African Impact is a wholesaler of volunteer programs, so they have no investment in the fulfillment of the program. Avoid them and book direct if possible.

This is definitely the best volunteer company I have worked with. The staff are all really friendly and approachable and all are dedicated to helping the volunteers and the locals we work with in Zambia. The project is well run and organised. There are also evening activities you can join in with, the accommodation in livingstone is lovely and even has a pool and a bar! The meals are really tasty and a lovely variety.

Zanzibar Teaching:

The programme was completely overcrowded with volunteers. A large number of Italian volunteers had just arrived as I did. Ironically I was asked earlier in the year by an African Impact representative to switch my dates as they had overbooked - and I really felt that it was exactly that - overbooked. I understand that the organisation makes the majority of its funds during peak season in order to cover costs for the rest of the year however, that is at the expense of volunteers who worked very hard to save up the money to come- and It’s not cheap!
Below are some examples of the overcrowding and its impacts;

⁃ A ratio of 3 teachers to 1 student in some cases (my advanced English class). I wouldn’t say I taught much. The first week I observed and the second week there was three of us with one student. The third week was exams.
⁃ Not enough chairs at dinner
⁃ Too many teachers at one point to even attend women’s classes - half were asked to stay at base and carry out jobs? (Not really what I signed up for)
⁃ Barely enough space to sit at the local meal.
⁃ not enough bikes for all teachers ...only to name a few examples.

◦ A large proportion of the Italian university students I shared my time with, in my opinion, had poor English. A lot of tension rose within the camp as the students insisted in speaking in Italian for the entire 3 weeks. This disrupted the dynamic of the camp and ultimately put a dampener on my time there. It often felt like I was sitting in a canteen at a university in Italy feeling left out of the conversation. It was very frustrating, and this was the general feeling among the rest of the non-Italian volunteers also.

◦ The nursery I have to say was chaotic! It was very difficult to navigate the classes without a school representative who could speak Swahili and help control the class. As a teacher, if we ever have guests coming into our classrooms we would remain in the room to assist with classroom management. Sometimes we had a teacher but not all of the time.

◦ Overall my time in Zanzibar was great but I would be hesitant to recommend this program to others, particularly qualified teachers and anyone over the age of thirty. I wouldn’t recommend booking during peak summer months either. The morale at camp was poor as a result of the divide between the Italian students and the rest of the base.
◦ The evenings felt long and quiet after school as the camp is a bit isolated. I found myself counting down the days until I was leaving and in fact I left 4 days early.

Main points: the program was completely over-booked and bad morale at camp due to language barriers.

Accommodation - bunk beds, cold showers and no air conditioning. The base isn’t close to any bars really, so after dark you have to get a taxi.

I came for a 2/12 placement in October 23 to volunteer as an experienced community doctor.

FIRSTLY.
The African Impact (AI) set up in Livingstone is not geared up to serious medical experience, despite online assurances, so it was disappointing that I was expected to be involved in the other projects (teaching/girl impact) that were being run, to pad out my days.

If this had been made clear, prior to my booking, I definitely would not have come with AI to do medical volunteering. Both the website and the program manager need to be much more specific about the work on offer to volunteers and what they will be expected to do, prior to booking.

(I discussed this with the Livingstone base manger a couple of weeks into my placement but was not met with much understanding or enthusiasm to change.)

The medical placement was pretty chaotic, with needless visits to the same area each week, that were purely for the benefit of the volunteers, instead of spaced planned visits based around patient’s needs. It was also disappointing that the AI medical organiser was often 'in abstentia' and hardly ever came out with us. We were left with local guides.
The care offered to patients did not address the main issues that affect the people who live in this society, and frankly it was playing at volunteering. The older volunteers were in agreement that it could be much better run.

Clinic attendance was not very organised either. It could have been so much more beneficial for the clinics and the patients if there were all day placements rather than the couple of hours to suit AI.

The girl impact/teaching placements were interesting as a 'one off', but not as a regular to keep medical volunteers occupied in the afternoon whilst the ‘volunteer organisers’ stayed at the base. This was frequently pointed out to the organisers and ignored! Why ask for comments/feedback if it is discounted?

SECONDLY
The accommodation was adequate … just ... but it did not justify the large fees charged per volunteer per stay.
• The beds are uncomfortable. Mattresses are being replaced gradually but they are in very poor condition.
• There is no air conditioning, and the supply of fans was inadequate when the house was full.
• The windows don’t shut, leaving mosquito ingress at night inevitable, which was overcome by stuffing loo roll into every crevice. Why aren’t there nets over the windows? Malaria is endemic after all, and they are not expensive.
• The bathroom facilities were pretty poor with intermittent hot water ( the base manger joked ‘why do you need hot water?’), broken shower heads that were not mended in TEN weeks and intermittent plumbing issues.
• The pool is marketed as a bonus and, whilst it is a great item to have, it was constantly dirty and not well kept. 14 floating dead frogs one day, from the nighttime, was horrific.
• The Wi-Fi was truly appalling (not good enough for the price) so many people can’t contact home on arrival. They have to buy a data SIM card which is inconvenient to have any sensible access to the internet as one of the UK AI managers found out. A bit of market research indicates it is not that costly either - 350 ZKW per month for a good supply.
• The food served up was monotonous high carb, low protein dishes. Not a great example of a balanced diet! Fine for a bit, if you like that sort of thing, but not for several months and certainly not healthy.

Thirdly, there are too many under-worked ‘volunteer organisers' employed at this site and not enough thought, in terms of program integration that benefits the community. Coming back from projects, to be confronted with staff who appear to spent the day at the base chatting, on their phones, listening to music or doing a bit of admin is very demoralising. When volunteers are put down for ‘office’ duties themselves they can observe this directly adn it gives the impression that the projects are run for the benefit of AI staff and not as a voluntary support system for Livingstone.

I feel that this project is run for young people who want to come for a couple of weeks to tick a box and leave feeling good about themselves.

The staff, whilst perfectly nice, are certainly not professional. Staff appear to be having great fun themselves most of the time, rather than providing a good service to volunteers and the local people. Yes, they are supportive in terms of social things to do, but they also appear happy to propagate the volunteer work as it is. Attention to constructive feedback is paid lip service only. It feels very much as if this is a commercial enterprise especailly when requested to raise money for them.

A professional approach and fun are not mutually exclusive. It’s a shame AI are unable to achieve this for everyone. I would definitely volunteer with a more serious medical organisation for a good experience.

My experience with African Impact was truly enriching. I fully intend to repeat it next year!
Our guide Sam is extremely knowledgeable and always ready to go the extra mile.
All the staff at the Camp were approachable and friendly, they really made me feel at home.
Just one point, I think the project might be titled Wildlife Monitoring rather than Big Cat Monitoring. I enjoyed the daily structure and all the activities. I loved the opportunity I was given to teach English lessons to the bright and enthusiastic children at the local school, thanks to their excellent teacher Mary.Thanks are due too to Liz our co-ordinator who is so passionate about the future of the Maasai Mara.

Wauu what a great experience with African Impact.
I spend 3 weeks at Elefant & Big cat project in Masaii Mara, Naboshio concervation project.
The accomodation in the rents are very good, main building with dining room, kitchen (absolutely lovely staff) and to just hang out was so good not to mention the food (very nice yet simple). I can`t praise Eric the driver enough. He is so kind and knowledgeable and he share it all.
So many game drives, seen ALL the animals, removed unwanting plants, visited a primary school, interacting with the students at the project and last but not least counting animals for various Scientific Projects.
The Coordinator was unfortunately not very commited to the job, a bit disappointed.
But I thoroghly enjoyed my time in the Concervancy

I had the most wonderful time doing my wildlife research internship with African Impact. Not only did I learn an absolute ton about the African bush, I also learned some amazing life lessons while I was there. Next to that there is just something amazing about living out in the African bush and seeing hippo's in the river everyday, while elephants come and visit the camp every now and then.

The staff is absolutely wonderful, you can bug them with a million questions and they are happy to help. The entire vibe in camp is a fantastic and I can't recommend joining enough!

Overall an absolute wonderfull experience, that I would 100% do again.

Ever since I was little, I always wanted to go to Africa and help with conservation or help culturally. Well, in September 2022 that dream came true. After researching many websites and initially going to sign up with another organization which I am glad I hadn’t (not to name and was told in person during my trip the horror stories someone had with them and bad website reviews), I contacted African Impact. My first contact was a phone conversation with Bernelle who explained any questions I had. I felt comfortable with her because her approach was to inform and not try to sell a package. I signed up and was passed on to Cindy who was also extremely helpful. Cindy passed me to Jane, the program coordinator at the camp who answered all remaining questions. Lincoln coordinated all travel arrangements. All questions were answered by email within the next day.

I flew from Canada with a layover in Cairo before heading to Nairobi. Egypt Airlines left one of my bags at the airport so this was missing when I arrived at the Nairobi airport. At the airport, I was greeted by John, my driver to the Brackenhurst Hotel about 45 minutes away. I thought he would have left for the pick-up at 5AM and I was stuck filling out a form for the lost baggage until 6:00. Brackenhurst is a resort hotel with exceptional service and I stayed there the first night. I contacted Lincoln about the lost bag and he informed me that he will take care of it. The bag did arrive in our camp a few days later.

The next day, we (six of us) drove about six hours to our camp. We were greeted by Jane, the camp staff, and other volunteers. Jane gave us an overview of what we will be doing each day and will coordinate all weekend activities. I stayed in a tent while others stayed in shared dorms. Meals were served three times a day and between 12 and 4PM there was warm water for showers. The thing everyone missed the most was flushed toilets. The toilets were cleaned daily. So were the tents and any clothes that needed washing (except you need to wash your own underwear).

Typically, depending on the day we started the day with game drives between 6:30AM and 7:30AM. It was truly an amazing experience. All the guides went to guiding school and can answer any questions you may have about the wildlife, unlike a tourist guide who knows little about them only to drive you around. The guides stayed in camp and we built personal relationships with them. They were all Maasai and can answer questions about their people and culture. There were two vehicles that carried 12 volunteers from our camp. Everyone took turns recording data about the lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, gazelles, vultures, birds of prey, and other wildlife. The data is collected for various conservation programs to better understand the population density, habitats, migration, and other information of the wildlife in Naboisho Conservancy. There are 17 conservancies in the area and Naboisho is the only one that does wildlife research. The most exciting part was the late afternoon game drives when the lions were most active. We had close looks at lions, leopards, and cheetahs that were only a few feet from the vehicle. Other activities included pulling invasive weeds, and teaching school-age children conservation.

Weekends were our free time and Jane coordinated any activity we may want such as a drive in the Maasai Mara, a hot air balloon, a visit to a Maasai village, a drive to see the endangered black rhino, and a few others.

From the time I first contacted Africa Impact, my arrival at the airport, my stay at the Brackenhurst Hotel, the experience at the Naboisho Conservancy, to the last drive back to the Nairobi Airport for my departure back home, everything was worry free, and the staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful.

Would I join African Impact again? Definitely, 100%. Contact them directly, don’t go through another organization. If you care about wildlife and making a difference, this is your chance.

I had a great 2 weeks in the Big Cat Conservation project from meeting great people from all over the world and the sightings were unbelievable. You stay in nice tents in a conservation called Naboshio by Maasai Mara, the Camp accommodation had the basic needs and a little building for the kitchen a communal area. The only issue was the electricity went off at about 10 30pm 11pm every night as they dont have one and rely on near by camp.The staff were great but I have to praise one member Patrick, he went above and beyond for me and the people in our safari truck by getting us great sightings on most of our game drives. Not only would he engage with us all in the truck but would also make a effort to get to know us all back at camp and we all enjoyed his company. We have exchanged deatils as i hope to see him in the future. I hope he gets the recognition he deserves as he was brilliant.

i had received a glowing report from another volunteer at the Big Cat Masai Mara project but nothing could have prepared me for experiencing this incredible total immersion in the life of the african savanna. From dawn until dusk, you are living inside a National Geographic movie, observing and counting animals and their predators for scientific projects. This is padded out by apparently really useful work in the community, such as removing foreign, harmful vegetation, repairing rain damage, visiting schools and workplaces to promote cultural exchange. the staff were so kind and knowledgeable and the food was excellent.

I took part in the teaching program for 4 weeks. The volunteer coordinators were very helpful and knowledgeable. I really felt like a made a difference in my time there.

What an amazing trip I had with African Impact in Kruger. I Volunteer on the conservation project and had the most amazing time. The African Impact team were just brilliant. I learned so much about wildlife and the Africa Bush. My favorite thing was doing the bush walks. The camp is very comfortable and the food was ok too. I really hope I can do this again.