Simabo works with the street animals of São Vicente, Cape Verde. We rescue and treat injured animals, run neutering and deworming campaigns across the island, keep a clinic and a shelter, and run education programmes in local schools. Every day, things happen here that are worth telling: a dog picked up off the road in the morning is a different animal by the evening.

Thirty percent of that work is financed by private donations. The rest comes from membership cards held by local pet owners, from the hostel we run in Mindelo, and from the volunteers who come to help. All four depend on people out in the world knowing we exist and trusting us. That is what communication does here — it is not decoration on top of the work, it is part of how the work gets paid for.

**Your role is to gather the raw material for it.**

Three things, specifically:

1. Collect visual content. Photos and videos of everyday life at Simabo: going out with our driver to pick up injured animals, neutering and deworming campaigns, consultations and surgery at the clinic, the pharmacy and the warehouse, shelter life, animals waiting for adoption, staff and volunteers at work. Also short interviews: a volunteer describing their experience, a vet explaining a case.
2. Collect stories. Come back from a mission with more than images. How did this animal arrive, and in what condition? What treatment did they need? What is their personality like now? What did the vet actually say, in their own words? How many animals were treated on a campaign day? These notes are what turn a good photo into a blog article or a newsletter feature.
3. Propose content. Draft a caption for a photo you took. Sketch a concept for a Reel. Put together a full post you think would work. Send your ideas along with your material.

**One thing to be clear about before you apply:** you will not be the one publishing. Simabo's Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube channels are run centrally by our Communication Team, so that what you capture reaches a bigger and better-planned audience than a single post would. Your material goes into Simabo's content library and gets used in social posts, newsletters, blog articles, documentaries and fundraising campaigns — often long after you have gone home. If you are looking for a role where you manage the accounts yourself, this is not that role.

**Your final project.** Alongside the day-to-day gathering, every communication volunteer completes at least one finished piece before leaving: either a blog article, written by you and ready to publish, or an edited video: a "Story of [animal name]" piece, a testimonial, a short film about a campaign you took part in. You choose the subject with the Communication Team early in your stay, gather the material yourself, and produce the finished piece with our feedback along the way. The work and the voice are yours. It is a good way to leave something lasting behind, and it is also something you keep: a finished piece for your portfolio, your CV, or just to show people back home.

**What to bring with you.** This is a role where you rely on your own equipment, and we cannot supply it. Please come with a camera and/or a smartphone you can shoot properly with, and a laptop for editing and uploading. Bring a microphone if you plan to do interviews, audio is where most volunteer footage falls down. Bring memory cards, spare batteries and chargers, plus anything else you know you work well with: lights, a gimbal or stick, a GoPro, phone accessories. Material shot without the right kit is usually not usable.

**Who we are looking for.** You do not need to be a professional photographer, filmmaker or writer — curiosity matters far more than experience. What we do need is someone with initiative, because nobody will hand you a shot list every morning. Good English is essential; Portuguese, Italian, French or German are a bonus. You should be comfortable around animals in distress: you will see injured and sick animals, and sometimes animals that do not survive. Basic photo or video editing skills are enough. Finally, you should be willing to hand over all your Simabo material before you leave and to respect our rules on privacy and copyright — what you shoot here belongs to the project.

Note: Once your application is accepted, we send you our full communication handbook before you travel: how to choose and plan your final project, how to hand over your material, what needs approval before it is published, our tone of voice and guidelines, and how the team works day to day.