Martin conducting oral hygiene education at Ezulwini NCP.

1. Partnerships and Development: One of my primary responsibilities was to identify and establish partnerships with relevant stakeholders, both local and international, to support the foundation’s mission. I conducted research to identify potential collaborators and communicated with them to explore mutually beneficial opportunities. These partnerships not only provided financial support, but also enabled the organization to expand its reach and impact within the community.
2. Operational Improvement: To help streamline the foundation’s operations, I conducted a thorough assessment of existing processes and identified areas for improvement. After consultation with the team, I proposed a new system for project management, which involved digitalizing certain aspects of data collection and reporting. This helped to enhance efficiency and transparency, facilitating better communication among team members and stakeholders.
3. Community Engagement – Oral Hygiene Education: As part of the foundation’s community outreach efforts, I was involved in an initiative to educate school children about the importance of oral hygiene. Alongside a team of volunteers, I designed interactive and engaging sessions that taught the children proper brushing techniques and oral care habits. Witnessing the children’s enthusiasm and eagerness to adopt healthier habits was incredibly rewarding. This program not only contributed to the children’s well-being but also strengthened the foundation’s ties with the local community.
4. National Kruger Park Visit: During my internship, I had the privilege of visiting the National Kruger Park. This experience was not only a refreshing break, but also an opportunity to witness the significance of wildlife conservation efforts. The park’s vast biodiversity and stunning landscapes left a profound impact on me, highlighting the importance of environmental preservation and sustainable tourism.

The magic of Kruger National Park’s nocturnal wildlife on an adventurous night game drive.

My internship at All Out Africa Foundation was a transformative experience, allowing me to contribute to meaningful projects that positively impacted the community. From fostering partnerships for implementing operational improvements and engaging in educational initiatives, I developed valuable skills and gained insights into the world of nonprofit organizations. Additionally, the visit to the National Kruger Park served as a reminder of the importance of conservation and the need for responsible tourism. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the foundation’s mission and look forward to applying the knowledge and experiences gained from this internship in my future endeavours.

Join the All Out Africa Foundation and make a difference like Martin. Click here to learn more. Together, we can create a brighter future. Special thanks to Martin Le Coulm for sharing his story!

Since 2004, All Out Africa Foundation has developed Six Neighborhood Care Points (NCP’s). For more than 1,000 kids these NCP’s have set a solid foundation for their education and allowed them to speed past their peers once they reached primary school age, and beyond. It has been an amazing journey to watch and be a part of.

As our NCP’s continue to expand their reach and help even more vulnerable children and families, we need to stop and evaluate our successes and our challenges. This is why this year we are calling for special interns to be a part of our Early Childhood Education Internship.

This internship will help us develop and implement a series of evaluation tools to add to our NCP’s. This will help us gage how we are doing, how our kids are learning, how our teachers are teaching and even beyond, tracking our students throughout their studies. If you want to be a part of our NCP history, as well as the foundation of hundreds of kids education, then we encourage you to apply for this unique opportunity!

For more information download our Early Childhood Education Project Brief here: Early Childhood Education Internship Project Overview

If this looks like an internship that you would like to be a part of, email us at bookings@alloutafrica.com with a little bit more about you along with your CV. We would love to meet you and get started!

Please note that this is internship is a PAID experience, in which participates pay a fee to participate. Fee includes cost of accommodation, 3 meals a day and All Out Africa Staff support from qualified personnel.

Why is this of interest? Well, having killed or chased off most large animals (megafauna) from areas that we humans use (most of the planet!), investigating the change this causes is important in understanding the effects we are having on the planet. 

Why bother, you may ask? Did you know that the total mass of all wild animals on earth larger than a rabbit (that’s everything from porcupines to elephants and sting rays to whales) is less than 1/10th the mass of humans & domestic livestock? Did you know we are in the middle of the biggest extinction event since the dinosaurs were wiped of the face of the earth, and it is caused by humans? We are systematically obliterating natural life on earth to feed & house our growing population with an expanding appetite for consumption and if something doesn’t change we will unwittingly “cook the goose that lays the golden eggs” and send ourselves the way of the dinosaurs.

How do we prevent this catastrophe? We need to change mind-sets and actions, and to do this requires many small steps that multiply over time. Imagine a centre that enables field research to understand deeply the mechanisms of biodiversity loss and human induced ecosystem change in one of the most critical regions of high biodiversity and growing human population and development. Imagine this centre creates an ethos of collaboration and acting responsibly towards the environment through training and inspiring future conservationists. You don’t have to imagine it, we’ve already created it and it’s called the Savannah Research Centre(www.savannahresearch.org). Based at this centre working with UNISWA and the University of Florida, All Out Africa is implementing a long term investigation of how we humans are influencing the savannah ecosystem by studying the changes in biodiversity across a range of protected areas and other more intensively used landscapes. We do so by surveying rodents, birds, bats, ungulates, predators and vegetation using consistent methods in a repeated series of permanent sites spread out across the landscape. In the process we are also training and inspiring African and international students who will become future protagonists for the environment and conservation of wildlife. Could this create the change that’s needed to turn the tide on our seeping catastrophe? We certainly hope so!

The workshop held in Kruger was one step in this process, and an exciting one, which hopefully will bear fruit for our planets flailing wildlife.

If you would like to join with our current conservation efforts in Eswatini, check out our Savannah Conservation Project for more information about how you can become a volunteer!

https://alloutafrica.com/volunteer-projects/conservation-projects/savannah-research-and-conservation-volunteer-project/

Written by Kim Roques | All Out Africa Co-Founder

Today we are highlighting Eunice our NCP coordinator, AKA known as “mama” to our volunteers each month. Eunice joined our team a year ago, and has quickly become a part of the All Out Africa family – there is not a day that goes by without a good laugh in our office with her!

What is your favourite thing about your job?

I love being able to help someone who is less fortunate than me, especially when it is a child. Being able to do this everyday, really makes me feel so good.

When was a time you thought to yourself “wow, I love what I do!”

It was fairly early on in my employment by AOA. A volunteer wanted to help one of our vulnerable children, who was also suffering from lack of hearing. I was able to assist him, by organising the donation for a hearing aid for the 8 year old boy. This donation was a HUGE life changer for the child, and enabled him to start school. He is doing so well in school now!

Where is your favourite local hang out?

My two children ( aged 8 & 9 years), LOVE ice cream from KFC. I find myself spending a lot of my time there with them.

When you’re not changing the world, what do you do for fun?

When I’m not at work, i’m cooking my signature, and world famous chilli sauce! I sell this sauce to my community, my colleagues and anyone I meet (it’s spicy!)

When i’m not in the kitchen, I enjoy “chilling” at home. Relaxing with your family is always rewarding.

When you wake up in the morning what do you look forward to most?

I look forward to leading by example. Each day I try to be the best I can be, so each month the volunteers have a great experience!

If you had a super power what would it be?

If I could have a super power, I would choose to be able to be in different places at the same time. There is so much to do and see!

If you were a volunteer with AOA, what program or tour would you sign up for? (and why?)

If I were a volunteer I would do the Marine Research & Whale Shark Conservation project. I grew up swimming and I would love to go scuba diving! It would be so cool to see the depth of the ocean!