Village Community Volunteering

The program takes place in the remote village of Kerewan Samba Sira. It is a type of trip that allows for strong involvement in the local community, as you live and work together with members of the local community and members of non-governmental organizations who are fighting against high levels of poverty.

The team you will be working with consists of Gambian volunteers who are educated and highly committed to the development of the local community, environmental protection, and sports activities. They are also very hospitable and make every effort to ensure that our volunteers feel exceptionally comfortable with them.

Depending on their weekly schedule, you will participate in various activities.

Partner Organisation

The community of Kerewan Samba Sira

Location

Kerewan Samba Sira, The Gambia

Schedule

activities are scheduled throughout the entire day

Type of Travel

Study Visit / Voluntary Work / Group Expedition

Availability

Open year-round

Duration

Minimum 2 weeks; maximum duration is not limited.

About the Community of Kerewan Samba Sira

Kerewan Samba Sira is a small rural community in The Gambia, located in the inland part of the country, in one of its traditional villages. Most residents make their living through agriculture and livestock farming, as their main sources of income include the cultivation of peanuts, rice, and sorghum, as well as the raising of goats, sheep, and cattle. The village is organized in a traditional way – with a strong role played by family and village elders who maintain order and participate in collective decision-making.

Life in Kerewan Samba Sira is closely connected to the community: villagers cooperate in agricultural work, help one another with house construction, and support each other during holidays or special events. Children attend the nearby primary school, while for further education they often need to travel to larger towns.

Numerous projects have been carried out in the village, including the installation of solar street lights, a cotton revitalization project, the establishment of an ethnographic museum, and the promotion of sustainable tourism.

The residents are characterized by strong mutual bonds, hospitality, and a deep connection to nature and tradition, all of which give village life a unique character.

Why your help matters

Your contribution is essential for maintaining ecological balance and protecting wildlife species. Through your daily efforts, you will assist in caring for orphaned and injured animals, maintaining visitor trails, and raising awareness about the importance of nature conservation.

Your presence helps the project cover daily tasks more effectively and expand its environmental activities. At the same time, your support improves working conditions for local rangers and animal caretakers.

Role overview (what you’ll do) — under staff supervision

This is a unique experience in a very remote village, where life moves at a slow pace and resources are extremely limited. The task of the volunteers is to build two mud huts together with the local villagers. These huts will provide an additional source of income for the locals and the wider community. Many travelers seek an authentic African experience, and the villagers in this community will certainly ensure that all guests have a pleasant and memorable stay in this distant village, which faces high levels of financial poverty and severely limited resources. The work can be quite demanding, as it is very hot in the village.


You will take part in planting fruit and forest trees, reforestation, and garden maintenance. You will join the work on pineapple, banana, and cotton plantations, where you will assist with seasonal harvesting, weeding, and watering the fields. You will contribute to the preparation and use of natural fertilizers and help explore ways to preserve and store crops. In addition, you will participate in cleaning the surroundings and in activities addressing the challenges of improper waste disposal — all with the goal of creating a healthier and more sustainable environment.

As a volunteer, you will take part in upgrading the museum in the village of Kerewan Samba Sira, which showcases the stories and artifacts of two tribes — the Fula and the Mandinka — who live together in harmony and each have their own chief. Your task will be to improve the existing museum exhibition: you will conduct additional ethnographic research, collect objects, photographs, and stories, verify the accuracy and appropriateness of the descriptions, suggest better arrangements of the exhibits, and ensure that the research findings are properly documented and presented to visitors.

In addition, you will be actively involved in the development of sustainable tourism, working together with villagers, local schools, and partners to find ways to create authentic tourism products that attract travelers seeking peace, a connection with nature, and traditional village life.

An important part of your work will also be supporting local guides and workshop facilitators — helping them develop price lists, improve their system of guiding and organization, and offering practical training for workshops such as weaving, spinning, cotton production, dairy product preparation, calabash decoration, tree planting, and other traditional or environmental practices.

Your primary task is to assist teachers in conducting lessons. You will work together with the school’s teaching team and help prepare daily lessons for the students, following the annual curriculum. You will support the preparation of teaching materials, help maintain a quiet learning environment, observe children during class, care for them, play with them during breaks, and—most importantly—show them the love and attention every child needs.

The activities you will carry out together with the teachers in the kindergarten/school include sports games, outdoor board games, playing musical instruments, singing sessions, learning letters and numbers, and introductions to basic English. In short, these are all activities that can be conducted with the equipment and materials available at the institution. Your creativity, adaptability, and originality in designing new activities for children of different ages are highly valued.

Volunteers are encouraged to prepare one activity per day (lasting approximately one hour), which they will lead independently, with the support of the teaching team. Another important role of volunteers is supporting children who struggle with understanding the lesson content and providing individual assistance during classes led by the teachers.

You will join volunteer groups in their daily work and document their activities either through photography or video. In addition, you will explore the country together with them in a different way — through close contact with the local community, in a responsible and sustainable manner, and in places that are otherwise hidden from most visitors.

The photos and promotional videos created from these experiences will be used on our social media and website to raise public awareness about our activities and projects, as well as to help break stereotypes and reduce misunderstandings about unfamiliar cultures.

Volunteers will work alongside community members to carry out sports/football activities and develop new recreational programs for the children in the village. The work includes implementing sports programs in the rural school and assisting local sports coaches during afternoon training sessions. Another goal is to encourage girls to become interested in participating in sports activities. These programs can have a positive impact on a child’s development and future.

In close cooperation with the local community, you will also work to identify and develop sustainable solutions for providing sports activities in an environment where resources are limited.

Who we’re looking for

Volunteering in Kerewan Samba Sira is suitable for anyone who:

  • wants an authentic African experience and daily contact with real village life,

  • longs for a deep connection with the local community,

  • is seeking an escape from modern civilization and a slower, more peaceful pace of life,

  • is ready to give up certain comforts in order to experience the modest, yet sincere and rich hospitality of the villagers.

What Does the First Day — and the Following Days — Look Like?

In The Gambia, you will be welcomed by our main team of coordinators. You will spend at least the first night in the Kololi area so that you can get used to the surroundings and acclimate to the new environment. After that, you will travel by taxi or public transport to the village of Kerewan Samba Sira, located nearly 300 km away. There, you will be welcomed by the village chief and the local coordinator, who will escort you to your accommodation. Together with the rest of the team, you will have an introductory meeting where you will agree on the work plan for the entire week.

Afterwards, based on the weekly schedule, you will head out with the team members to your volunteer work and, if you wish, join various initiatives while also getting to know the environment in which you will be living.

How to prepare

Make sure to bring appropriate footwear (hiking shoes are essential for volunteers working in nature and construction), as well as suitable clothing (sportswear and lightweight clothes that must be appropriate for the environment — long or ¾ trousers, not too tight, and short-sleeved shirts). Living conditions with your host community are very modest and not at the level of European standards. Hot water is usually not available, solar power is used only for basic needs, and Wi-Fi is not provided, so we recommend using mobile data through a local SIM card. Don’t forget portable chargers (power banks) and a flashlight. Also make sure to bring a sufficient amount of insect repellent and sun protection, as you will be spending a lot of time outdoors.

You will be staying in a conservative and highly religious community (Islam), so we recommend reading our guide carefully and familiarizing yourself with some of the customs and ways of life in such a community beforehand.

Program Goals

To support the local community in their ongoing projects, improve the quality of life, create employment opportunities, and assist in the development of the village

Fundraising

We encourage every volunteer to contribute to collecting donations. Based on experience, it is possible to raise at least €250 with relatively little effort. Most of the donations will be allocated to the local community in Kerewan Samba Sira for their ongoing projects, while a portion of the collected funds will be used, as needed and according to available resources and judgment, for the ongoing projects of the association Za Otroke Sveta (the career-education center — further construction and maintenance, cultural heritage preservation projects) or for emergency assistance.

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How it works?

Click HERE to learn everything you need to know—in one place—about how volunteering with us works and how to prepare.

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Stories of Our Volunteers

Zala Košir

This can’t be started differently than to say that the experience was amazing, and it truly warmed my heart. If you are thinking of going to The Gambia as a volunteer, don’t wait any longer – just go for it. You won’t regret it. I know I should start at the beginning, so I’ll go back now.

Read more…