Graduate Students | Volunteer Opportunity | Hope Speaks
Hope Speaks offers a state of the art Clinical Fellowship program to graduates seeking to expand the scope of their studies and experiences. While you get a once in a lifetime experience, Hope Speaks is able to increase their services to hard to reach communities and individuals through our Fellowship program.
Our Clinical Fellowship program includes hands-on experience working in both our outreach programs and our private clinic setting. CFs will have the opportunity to partner with Ugandan SLPs to gain a unique perspective and approach to speech therapy in a global setting while receiving supervision and mentorship from an ASHA-certified SLP.
- Patient Evaluations
- Creation and implementation of treatment plans
- Community Outreach and Education
- Familiarization with reporting tools such as Fusion
- Clinical Supervision as per ASHA requirements
- Day-to-day program needs
On the weekends, CFs get to enjoy the best of what Uganda has to offer - safaris, a trip to the source of the Nile River, cultural experiences and more.
- Applicants must be graduates from an ASHA accredited program
- Must be able to commit to a minimum of ten months in Uganda
- Pass background checks and clearances
- Complete a pre-trip course that includes cultural preparedness and child protection training
- Sign and adhere to Hope Speaks’ Code of Conduct for the duration of your CFY
- Be able to fully or partially fund your fellowship whether privately or through fundraising
- Please email deb@joinhopespeaks.org for more information regarding partial funding.
- Airfare
- Western style lodging with 24/7 security
- 2 Meals a day
- Transportation to and from CF related activities
- Travel insurance
- Wifi (at lodging and clinic)
- Laundry
- A donation to Hope Speaks programming
- Processing and application fees
Not Included (But available at an additional cost)
- 2-3 day Safari
- Tourist and Cultural Activities
The cost of each of the 3-week trips for 2025 will be $5000 for May/June trips and $5300 (possibly more due to increase in flights) for July/August trips. This includes: Airfare, lodging in a beautiful guest house with 24/7 security, 2 meals/day, ground transportation while in country (either Hope Speaks vehicle or taxi with Hope Speaks staff), health insurance while in country, WIFI internet, laundry, utilities, a donation to Hope Speaks programming, and processing fees.
Not included in the cost: Immunizations prior to travel to Uganda, the $55 Ugandan visa (online prior to trip), phone data, possible meals out to eat, snacks, souvenirs, personal expenses, and excursions (safari and other optional outings depending on what you would like to do). If you need more information on any more of this, please don't hesitate to ask.
*A non-refundable $100 deposit is required after your application is approved and before a background check is run to secure your trip reservation.
PLEASE NOTE: Hope Speaks is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All money that you raise for your trip is through donation to Hope Speaks and is non-refundable. Hope Speaks is legally unable to issue refunds of tax-deductible donations if your trip is canceled.
Thank you for your interest in serving with Hope Speaks! We look forward to hearing from you!
If you have any further questions, please feel free to let us know.
Hope Speaks has flexible dates available for 2025 to accommodate for the growing demand for CF positions. Please express your dates of availability on your application form, or contact us for more information.
- For Undergraduate students YOU MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY an SLP or supervising professor in order to serve with us. They must travel with you to Uganda. No unaccompanied undergraduate students will be able to serve with us by themselves. (new policy from clinical committee)
- Custom travel dates are available between September 2025 and May 2026
- If our scheduled summer trip dates do not work with your personal, work, or school schedule, we are very flexible and will try to make other arrangements so that you are able to serve with Hope Speaks when it works best for you.
- For professionals who can only volunteer for 2 weeks, the cost is $4300. Volunteers coming for 2-week trips ideally should be able to arrive on the arrival dates listed above so that team training and orientation activities are all done together with the team at the beginning.
- If you would like to join us for longer than 3 weeks, the cost is $5000 for initial 3 weeks for the May/June trips or $5300 for the July/August trips + $90/day for every additional day beyond the 3 weeks.
- If you stay longer than 3 months, the daily rate is reduced to $85/day, plus the cost of your flight and a donation to Hope Speaks for programming
- If you would like to complete your CFY with us, please request additional information from our U.S. volunteer coordinator, Deb Bratt
When it was discovered that no one in Uganda, even the wealthy, had consistent access to high quality speech and language therapy services, Hope Speaks developed their One for Two model. Under this plan, services were expanded to include paying clients. Funds collected support the organization and subsidize therapy for families who are not able to afford it.
