A number of volunteer programmes in Namibia offer a variety of programmes focused on wildlife conservation, health care, the environment and teaching.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) offers programmes to volunteers as working guests, interns and zookeepers. The volunteers cover the costs of training, accommodation and meals. The goal with these programmes is to build a local capacity and to provide opportunities to the citizens of the countries in which they operate.

Volunteers at Harnas participate in daily activities such as food preparation, feeding, caretaking, fence patrol, research on rehabilitating animals and animal walks. Harnas gives volunteers the opportunity to make a difference in the animals’ lives, ideally to live a life free of human disturbance.

Volunteer being groomed. Image: Naankuse

The Namib Desert Environmental- Education Trust (NaDEET) is a non-profit organisation that provides environmental education for Namibians. This includes not only increasing awareness and knowledge, but also increasing eco-friendly attitudes and skills. NaDEET addresses environmental issues through experimental learning and has signed an agreement with the US Peace Corps to host a volunteer for two years through the community health programme.

N/a’an ku sê offers four different volunteer programmes, ranging from health care and teaching to conservation. Volunteers can offer their services- to provide primary health care for the San/Bushman community or assist the teacher at the Clever Cubs School, which provides education to the San/Bushman children. Wildlife conservation duties include feeding and caring for baboons, farm animals and large carnivores.

Cheeta

Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) runs an elephant conservation and volunteer project aimed at reducing elephant-human conflict in Namibia’s southern Kunene Region. Volunteers construct protection walls around water points and join the EHRA trackers on weeklong ele-phant patrols.