Footsteps Through
Africa is a non-profit company dedicated to implementing and
supporting community requested education and development projects
around Southern and East Africa, in addition to supporting
pre-existing community projects.
Footsteps Through
Africa funded by Footsteps Tours - our tour operator - which supports
all of our ongoing projects, and funds all of the administration
costs of the non-profit Footsteps Through Africa, ensuring that all
monetary donations go directly towards the cause.
Footsteps Through
Africa was founded by Jo Cooper in Rubuguri, Uganda, in 2015. After
spending many years working as a tour guide and travelling all over
Southern and East Arica, Jo got to know communities in need all over
the continent, but it wasn't until he met Stella that Jo truly
realised the impact an organisation like Footsteps could have. Stella
was a 12-year-old orphaned girl in Uganda, whose dedication to her
education inspired Jo and opened his eyes to how much a little bit of
support can go along way. At the age of 12, Stella had joined a local
singing and dancing group to try to make enough money to put herself
through school. Upon learning this, Jo offered to sponsor her
schooling. The appreciation shown, not just by her, but the entire
community was overwhelming. That was the start of Footsteps Through
Africa’s first project: a student sponsorship program. From then
on, Footsteps has continued to grow.
What we want to
avoid is assuming the priorities of various communities. Instead, we
learn from the local people by living alongside them and getting to
know them, and understanding what would best benefit the people of
each particular community. This experience would then guide our
resources and the nature of our projects.
We also aim to
empower these communities by providing jobs and helping develop
existing community projects.
All of our projects
in Uganda have been requested by the community and are run and
managed by community members. Our volunteers spend time working side
by side with the local people to make our projects as successful as
possible. Whether volunteers are teaching at our Footsteps primary
school, working at the local health clinic, developing our Community
Centre or hosting reading classes and extra lessons at the Footsteps
library, they will be having a direct impact on the lives of the
people that they get to know over their time volunteering.
During volunteers'
time with us, they will have an opportunity to work at each of our
projects in the area before deciding which project they would like to
focus on, where they feel they could personally have the biggest
impact.
Rubuguri is a very
small, rural village in the mountainous Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
The closest town is roughly a 1.5-hour drive away. Volunteers coming
to spend time here should be flexible, open-minded people with a
spirit for adventure! Electricity in the village is very
temperamental, and can be relied upon about half the time. The
tropical climate brings in heavy rainfall and humidity, and the high
altitude brings in cold temperatures during the night. Being
relatively isolated, there is not easy access to bigger shops,
although essentials are available in the village. Visitors will get a
true insight into the village and way of life in Uganda; an
unforgettable and eye-opening experience!
Uganda also has a
huge amount to offer in terms of tourism, and Rubuguri is in the
heart of it all! During volunteers' time with us, they will have free
time allocated to exploring a bit more of the country and getting to
know this beautiful area that hosts one of the largest diversities of
wildlife in Africa. Optional activities include gorilla trekking,
volcano hikes, lake bunyonyi cruises, safaris, to name only a few.
Volunteers are also able to combine their volunteering time with one
of our Footsteps tours through Uganda, which offers 16 exciting days
exploring all that this beautiful country has to offer.