VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
“It is not blindly pushing your own agenda that will enrich the world. It is your ability and willingness to understand, appreciate, anticipate, address, serve and support the lives of others that will.”
Practicing compassion. Opening your heart and mind. Challenging yourself. Learning something new. Forging friendships. Transcending boundaries. Exploring unknown cultures and lands. Sharing experiences and knowledge. Spreading kindness…there are myriad reasons why international service-learning trips are meaningful and often life-changing to those who chose to embark on such adventures.
At Visions, we emphasize not just the “service,” but also the “learning.” These are the 2 critical components that define the type of experience you will have if you decide to join us abroad. While we each have ideas, knowledge, experience, etc. to share with our friends abroad, we also have the opportunity and the responsibility to learn from our peers as they share their culture, their work, their experiences, and their lives with us. Our service-learning trips are driven by the idea that we are all equal and that we can help achieve development objectives best when we work together as allies & partners.
Since 2003, Visions has had 306 volunteers join us abroad from countries all over the world – including the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Switzerland, Zambia, Singapore, Qatar, Russia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and India – to participate in service-learning experiences that are both meaningful and impactful to both the volunteer and the community(-ies) with which they work. These international volunteers have been joined locally by hundreds of local volunteers from the host countries where we work – Sri Lanka, India, Ethiopia and Nicaragua – and have carried out all sorts of service activities and work over the years.
Visions Service Trip Opportunity: ETHIOPIA 2024
*itinerary and trip details are subject to change
OVERVIEW
This summer, we are heading back to Ethiopia to work with our local counterparts at Visions Ethiopia in helping to support our ongoing efforts to educate and empower the deaf community in Ethiopia! We will be based out of our Visions Center for the Deaf and Visions Academy - School for the Deaf in Hawassa, capital of the Sidama Region in southern Ethiopia where we will spend 8 nights / 9 days working with deaf children, their families, and the community at-large. At the end of the trip, we will spend 2 nights relaxing and visiting some fascinating sites in and around the nation’s bustling capital Addis Ababa.
Our summer service trips are open to anyone and everyone regardless of your professional background, nationality, age, linguistic proficiencies, abilities/disabilities, and so on. While these trips tend to be quite focused on the service work, we still find plenty of time to immerse ourselves in the culture, make local connections, have fun, learn, and explore!
Visions endeavors to enable equitable inclusion for all and to make reasonable accommodations as it is able to ensure that everyone who wishes to participate in this experience is able to do so equally. If you have any accessibility requirements or requests, please share those details with us.
ITINERARY
July 29, 2024 - Date of arrival into Addis Ababa where we will spend 1 night; individual airport pick-up arrangements will be made for each volunteer depending on your arrival details (hotel: TBD)
July 30, 2024 - Domestic flight to Hawassa in the afternoon where we will be spending the following 8 nights; visit Visions Center for the Deaf and meet with Visions Ethiopia staff and volunteers (hotel: Haile Resort Hawassa or comparable)
July 31 - August 6, 2024 - Conduct service activities with Deaf students, their families, and the community at-large with periodic sightseeing in / around Hawassa throughout
August 7, 2024 - Return domestic flight to Addis Ababa for 2 days of sightseeing & relaxation (hotel: Hilton Addis Ababa, Haile Resort Addis Ababa, or comparable)
August 9, 2024 - Day in Addis Ababa; return international flight home (*typically departing flights are offered only late at night or early morning the following day)
PROGRAM FEE
Your trip program fee of $2200/person includes all of the following:
e-Visa (tourist visa valid for 30 days, single entry; fee is $82)
Double room / shared accommodation for 11 nights at mid-range hotels (*single room accommodation will incur an additional charge)
All meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and bottled water for the duration of the trip itinerary (12 days)
Emergency medical evacuation insurance
All scheduled cultural activities and related entry & guide fees
Roundtrip domestic airfare, including check-in baggage allowance (Addis Ababa —> Hawassa)
Local transportation (either by local trishaws/taxis or by a privately hired vehicle & driver) for the duration of the trip itinerary (12 days)
Essential tips for hotel and restaurant staff, drivers, guides, etc.
Shared expenses related to having Visions Trip Lead with the group throughout our stay and all service programming activities
*The trip program fee does not include the cost of international roundtrip airfare, alcoholic beverages, or any personal shopping.
*Payment plans are available for those who are interested in paying incrementally throughout the year!
APPLY NOW!
To apply, simply fill out the “2024 Visions Volunteer Application & Release” form (link below) and mail us your application to:
Visions Global Empowerment
18800 Von Karman Avenue, Suite A
Irvine, CA 92612
We look forward to having you join us in Ethiopia this summer!!
A brief video overview / introduction to this trip opportunity presented in American Sign Language:
In this brief video below, Visions Board member Mary Grace Hamme in conversation with Visions Ethiopia volunteer (2023) Bonnie Sue Mahnick about Visions' "Deaf Education and Empowerment" annual service opportunity in Ethiopia.