SHORT TERM IMPACT WITH LONG TERM RESULTS
Are you thinking about volunteering abroad, but can only commit to a couple of weeks? We know life can be busy. Setting aside months to go abroad and support community development isn’t always realistic. But it’s hard to know if a short volunteer trip in Uganda for instance, is worth it. Can you really make a difference in that time? The short answer is: yes, you can!
Making a real impact is very important to us. It’s at the heart of everything we do. It’s also why we have specific structures in place to ensure that short-term volunteers can have long-term impact.
Our initiatives are founded on management plans, a specialized database for tracking our work, and annual impact reports. In this way, we ensure you’re always building on the work of the past, and preparing for contributions by future volunteers. We also offer several one-week volunteer trips. These have been carefully selected by our staff. They know that with the structures we have in place, you can still make an impact in just a week.
Long-term, sustainable goals for short-term volunteer work
One of the most important ways we make sure you contribute to long-term impact during your short-term volunteer opportunity is by setting sustainable, long-term goals. All of our project goals fall in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
What’s more, we don’t just come up with these goals on our own. We work closely with local community leaders and our amazing staff on the ground who really know the situation at our different placements. They’re able to guide us on what is needed at each placement. From there, we develop our goals and come up with plans for the small, yet tangible, steps we can take towards fulfilling them.
Specially developed management plans
We also have tailored management plans for projects like Medicine, Childcare, and Conservation. These plans help us work towards achieving our long-term goals.
Having a plan means we can ensure our work, and your work as a volunteer, achieves specific end goals.
You may not see a tangible difference during your short volunteer trip. You can be assured that we are taking great strides forward together. Each of our initiatives builds on previous work and takes us one step closer to reaching our goals.
The Avella Impact Database
But how can we be sure we’re really making a difference if we don’t measure our work? We can’t. That’s why we’ve developed our own specialized tool to track the achievements of all our volunteers and projects around the world. This tool is the Avella Impact Database.
As a volunteer, you might find yourself working with the database. You’ll input data after a community healthcare outreach or tick off early childhood development checklist items as you work with children. With our staff and volunteers consistently updating the database, we can start to build a picture of the progress we’re making.
For example, we can monitor the numeracy levels of a specific child’s profile. We can see whether the child is improving and gauge what’s working and what isn’t. This way, we can tailor the way we work with this specific child. Elsewhere, thanks to patient profiles, we can also monitor changes in community groups’ vital signs, such a blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and BMI levels, among others.
The database is completely secure and anonymous. We want to make sure we monitor and evaluate without compromising the privacy of the people we work with.
Our annual Global Impact Report
Every year (beginning 2023), we shall release the Avella Impact Report. This document is a compilation of the major achievements of the previous year. It’s the perfect way for us to reflect on the work our volunteers have done. It’s also an opportunity for you to see the bigger picture of your contribution.
You might have planted 50 trees during your project, but with so many other volunteers contributing to reforestation initiatives around the country and region, you’ll be able to see how your 50 trees contributed to the overall 52,700 trees planted that year! Without you, and the hundreds of volunteers like you, this amazing achievement could never have happened.
The impact a short-term volunteer opportunity has on you
The impact of our projects extends beyond the difference we make in local communities. As a volunteer, you’ll find your life deeply impacted too, even if you only spend one week volunteering in Uganda. Whether it’s through career growth, cultural exploration, boosted confidence and deeper compassion, or all of the above!
On projects like Medicine, Law & Human Rights, and Journalism, you’ll get practical career experience while helping out. You’ll shadow professionals and make your CV stand out.
But it’s not only these projects that will have a profound impact on you. All of our projects focus on deepening your understanding of different people and cultures. We help you hone skills like teamwork and perseverance. Helping others also grows your compassion.
You’ll find you’ll want to keep making a difference after you get back home. And with a taste for travel, you might want to keep exploring the world, meeting new people, and building connections across continents and countries.
Want to know more?
We’d be happy to talk about which projects you can do and where you can go on short notice. Our staff are ready to answer your questions, big or small.