Mature Volunteers

Whether you are approaching retirement, already retired or just taking a well deserved break Amanzi Travel welcomes mature volunteers on a wide variety of projects. Having worked hard all your life, now is the time to do the things you have always dreamed about. Whether you want to travel with your children, grandchildren, partner, friend or on your own, Amanzi Travel has a choice of many trips for you.

No qualifications are required for the majority of them, only enthusiasm and a desire to use your life skills, experience and patience, to make a real difference to the people and wildlife in Africa!

It is often found that mature volunteers have the greatest impact on the projects and the communities in which they are based and gain enormous fulfilment and satisfaction from their work.

While volunteering alongside people of all ages is a popular choice for many mature volunteers, Amanzi Travel recognises that some would prefer to work and travel together with people of a similar age. Amanzi Travel can advise you on particular projects and find out the ages of the other volunteers scheduled to be on a particular project at a particular time. Amanzi Travel can also put you in touch with other mature travellers who have previously volunteered or are planning to go.

Amanzi Travel can also offer advice about the climates in particular African countries, the seasonal temperatures and altitudes which may be experienced and any individual concerns you may have. Amanzi Travel are happy to discuss travel insurance and are also able to advise on countries which require more limited injections. Not all African countries require Yellow Fever or even Malaria tablets. Amanzi Travel can also recommend a number of particular locations which have accomodation suitable for couples or for people who prefer private rooms.

If you are 45 years of age or over and the idea of helping on an Volunteer Project appeals to you, please contact us on 0117 904 1924 to find out about our current range of mature volunteer projects. Depending on your individual requirements, Amanzi Travel can also recommend suitable Overland Trips, Adventure Expeditions , and Courses, or even incredible Luxury Safari breaks, that many volunteers choose to do for a couple of days following their project - what better way to see a bit more of Africa before you fly home?

Amanzi Travel can offer a wide variety of short-term or longer-term options, whichever is more suitable to you. For example, there is the 5 day Wildlife Photography Course, the 7 day Kilimanjaro Climb or 2 weeks helping on the Zanzibar Rural Teaching and Community Project; or longer-term projects such as 2 months at the Namibia Wildlife Sanctuary and Bushman Medical Clinic and up to 3 months on the Cape Town Medical and Community Development Project. The options are endless.

"My friend and I were the only 'mature' (post retirement) volunteers in the house, but we really enjoyed working alongside enthusiastic youngsters from all over the world (from Alaska (USA), Tasmania, Canada, Germany, Holland and UK). We both felt rejuvenated by the experience! The Zambians helping us were all extremely friendly and we learnt to live by African time, never rushing, always having time for a laugh and a joke! The children we met on our projects were delightful, even if some of the babies were frightened of our alien white faces. I feel I've had a glimpse of the real Africa - full of colour, music and happiness, in spite of some extreme poverty"

Jane Schollick, UK, 2008 (Zambia Medical and Communtity Development Project)