Information for Volunteers

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Helps International (HINT), Cameroon. There are a number of volunteer opportunities to help build individual & community skills, create employment opportunities and place a smile on many faces through our 5 major operation areas:

• Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs)
• Health
• Education
• Economic Development
• Community Development

Your participation will help us get to the point where we can approach and collaborate with the international development community in a more effective way.

We accept volunteers with a wide range of skills and a strong belief in the value of sustainability and who are willing to make a long-lasting contribution in the work we are doing. Volunteers will bring the most value in their organizational skills, reliability, project and people management, and basic enthusiasm. Each volunteer will be provided with ‘SMART’ objectives upon arrival. At this point, our work depends largely on volunteer support and involvement plus their generous financial support to kick-start some of our projects or replicate sustainable ones.

Volunteer Location

Currently, all of our projects are taking place in the town of Buea in the South West Province of Cameroon. You can learn more about the historic town of Buea on Wikipedia Volunteers will be accommodated at home, usually living with an assigned caretaker and his/her family. Security and cleanliness are of prime importance to us when deciding where to place volunteers.

Examples of projects you could be working on:

• Teach Computer Education to students at one of our partner Schools or train IT Instructors for these schools
• Write funding proposals for some of our projects and help with fundraising.
• Organize fundraising activities for our projects including contacting and following up donors. This can be excellent for online volunteers who do not or cannot leave their home countries to Cameroon.
• Coordinate shipment of computers and other equipment such as medical suppliers and the distribution and installation in schools and community centers.
• Teach Computer Basics (MS Window, Internet, Emailing, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Access, MS PowerPoint) at one of our partner scholls in Buea or at our Community IT Centres
• Teach Web Design or Networking, or Computer repairs and maintenance, Desktop publishing or Photo Editing to about 10 students in class for 3 hours a day.
• Serve at our Community IT Training Centre as Office Secretary, Cyber attendant, IT Instructor or IT Technician.
• Run HIV/AIDS sensitization seminars in schools, prisons and at Community Groups, etc
• Train HIV/AIDS Educators at our Centre, in schools, prisons, at Community Groups, etc
• Participate in a medical outreach as part of a team.
• Train young social entrepreneurs in basic business set up and management skills.
• Identify needy orphans especially those orphaned by AIDS in targeted communities for subsequent support.
• And there can be other opportunities…

Volunteer Requirements

Volunteers with HINT are required to:

• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Be available for a minimum of one week.
• Be able to speak English fluently. Ability to speak French will further ease communication because Cameroon is a bilingual country.
• Be able to mentally adjust to new culture and way of life.

When do we recruit volunteers?

You can volunteer at any time throughout the year. Volunteers can stay from a period of 1 week to 12 months.

Cost to Volunteers

HINT asks for a contribution of USD 10 per day per volunteer. We require that each volunteer pays the sum of USD 300 to cover living expenses for the first month and AIRPORT PICKUP BEFORE arrival in Buea. The remainder is paid upon arrival in Buea. This can be easily done via our PayPal account. The monthly fee covers:

• Airport pick-up and drop off.
• Accommodation (Home stay with a family, a room of your own, shared baths with other volunteers or you may have a bath of your own depending on number of volunteers present), water, electricity, Phone use (at home and in the office), documentation, etc
• Breakfast, Lunch and a snack for dinner. In our culture, lunch is the heavy meal while most people may just eat a snack or some fruits for dinner. Tea and Coffee is available at all times.
• Internet Access at our head office
• Administration and communication fee
• If you need to, you can convert currency at www.xe.com/ucc.

This fee does not cover:

• Your flight ticket to Douala International Airport and back
• Cost of visa processing in your country and visa renewal in Cameroon (if need be).
• Personal sightseeing & photography in Cameroon.
• Insurance (Health), if necessary
• Departure tax of XAF 10,000 ($20) per person at the Airport
• Bottled water (Tap water in Buea is pure and quite healthy)
• Beverages and entertainment
• Any other related personal cost

Basically you can get by on US$20 per week for your miscellaneous expenses or US$ 30 per week if you do not want to live on a tight budget.

About Cameroon and Buea

• Learn more about Buea where you will do most of your volunteer work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buea
• Learn more about Cameroon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon
• This is a very informative book about Cameroon on eBay: Cameroon by Ben West (Good for volunteers).
• Buy books about Cameroon on Amazon.com

Application Process

Fill out our online application form.