Professional | Volunteer Opportunity
Looking to use your professional skills in a unique setting? Hope Speaks has openings for professional volunteers in the following categories:
- Speech and Language Pathologist/Therapists
- Medical Professionals
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Nutritionists
- Social Workers
- Media & Communications
- Special Needs Educators
- Administration
Through the valuable work of skilled professional volunteers, Hope Speaks is able to increase our services to hard to reach communities and individuals.
To qualify for our skilled professional volunteer program:
- Hold nationally-recognized accreditation/certification in your professional field
- Provide 2 references from previous work or volunteer experiences
- Be willing to commit to a minimum of 10 days in Uganda
- Pass police 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 trip
While volunteers would typically be expected to cover the full costs of their trip, Hope Speaks is willing to negotiate financial options with long term volunteers (those who stay for 3 MONTH period or more). If you require financial assistance, please include that on your application form, or email deb@joinhopespeaks.org.
- Airfare
- Western style lodging with 24/7 security
- 2 Meals a day
- Transportation to and from volunteer 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
For the following trips, the first date is the date you will arrive in Uganda.The last date is the date you would fly out of Uganda. For planning purposes, you will be leaving the day before the first date, and returning the day after the last date.
Hope Speaks has several pre-set dates for internship trips in the coming year. They are:
- May 17- June 7, 2024
If approval is given, a $100 non-refundable deposit must be made and a background check passed. Once that is done, you will need $2000 in your fundraising account page before we can book your flights. The balance of $3000 will be due 6 weeks before you leave. (Deadline for this trip is Feb 17, 2024) - June 14- July 5, 2024 (Full))
If approval is given, a $100 non-refundable deposit must be made and a background check passed. Once that is done, you will need $2000 in your fundraising account page before we can book your flights. The balance of $3000 will be due May 31.. (Deadline for this trip is March 14, 2024) - July 12- August 2, 2024
If approval is given, a $100 non-refundable deposit must be made and a background check passed. We then will need $2200 (or more) raised/paid, so we can book your flights. The later we book the flights, the higher the flight costs. (You pay difference above $2200). The balance of $3100 will be due by the end of June. (Deadline for this trip is March 31, 2024)
Our Mission
When the professionals at Hope Speaks realized that no one in Uganda, even those who can afford it, actually has consistent access to high quality speech and language therapy, they developed their innovative One for Two model. By expanding services to paying clients, Hope Speaks can reach more families and communities in Uganda.
The One for Two model, in which funds received by paying clients are used to provide speech therapy services for two children in poverty, helps sustain the mission of Hope Speaks: Inspiring hope and raising voices of people with disabilities through therapy, advocacy, and social services.
Where We Work
People in Uganda face many challenges: Lack of education, high rates of poverty and life threatening illnesses, unclean water, and much more. These factors have resulted in an increase in disabilities throughout the country. Volunteers work in seven locations, from the capital city of Kampala to remote villages, to provide services where they would otherwise not be offered.
These include:
- Kampala School For The Physically Handicapped
- International Schools
- Dawn Childrens Centre
- Mukisa Foundation
- Mercy Childcare Ministry
- Angels Center For Children With Special Needs
- Katanga Slum
How to Contribute to Hope Speaks?
You can help in many ways. Volunteers work with parents to give them the tools they need to understand their child's strengths and challenges. They work with teachers and caregivers on speech therapy interventions that they can use daily to foster speech and language development in the children they work with.
Volunteers also mentor Ugandan speech therapy interns as they gain the important clinical experience needed to become competent speech therapists in Uganda or elsewhere. If you are a certified speech therapist, please help us fulfill our mission by volunteering for Hope Speaks. If you are not a speech therapist, please consider volunteering in another capacity, such as photography or marketing, or make a donation, which will help us to further expand our outreach.
