Africa Sustainable Tourism Care Foundation

Are you interested in business and love Africa? If so, the Africa Sustainable Tourism Care Foundation (ASTCF) may be the right overseas experience for you!

Founded in 2014 and stationed in Uganda, ASTCF seeks to empower poor, rural communities and preserve culture through the tourist industry. By teaching villagers marketable skills, ASTCF hopes to reduce the outward migration of indigenous people and to sustain village life.

ASTCF is registered to operate throughout Uganda but is currently only stationed in Kahangi village, near Fort Portal and the Kibale Forest National Park. Through its website at africasustainabletourism.org, they offer opportunities which include vacations, volunteer work, and internships.

Vacations revolve around wildlife viewing and interacting with the locals for a real, hands-on cross-cultural experience. There are five different tours covering chimpanzees, wildlife, culture, gorilla trekking, and  bird watching.

ASTCF’s volunteer work covers extensive areas related to bettering the selected villages. Volunteers can help in sectors like Community Development, Education and Sports, Health and Medical, IT and Computer Programs, Teaching, and Environment and Conservation Management.  To become a volunteer, one must complete a simple application and submit a non-refundable $150 application fee.

The volunteer program’s cost is roughly $150 per week, with the longest stay being eight weeks for $1,200. Extra days cost $22. These prices are only for the program, not airfare, snacks, passport/ visa fees, or daily transportation. An overview of what the program does and does not cover is available here, or under the website’s “Get Involved” tab. There, select the “Volunteer” section and after that the “Volunteer Impact Areas,” which will bring up the available programs. From the program of your choice, click the “Date and Cost” tab to view the program’s time table and prices.

The internship program is covered under volunteering, so it costs the same price but covers different areas. These include Youth Development, Tourism and Hospitality, Non-Profit Management, Micro-Finance, Social Work, International Medical, Teaching and Education, and Coaching and Sports Management. Like the standard volunteer program, the internship program is flexible with start dates but encouraged to begin on the first or third Monday of a month.

You can visit their website here to apply or learn more about the ASTCF volunteer program.

The Africa Sustainable Tourism Care Foundation is partnered with the Ministry of General Labour and Social Development, Idealist.org, Uganda Wildlife Authority,  Uganda Tourism Board, the Association of Uganda Tour Operations, Travel Care Code, Uganda Tourism Association, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, and Volunteer 4 Africa.

For more information and reviews about ASTCF, check out their Facebook page, OneWorld365.org, or GoAbroad.com.

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Christina Van Otterloo is a summer intern for Voy. She is pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in anthropology at Arizona State University. After graduating she hopes to be a cultural journalist, educating all ages about various cultures and lifestyles both abroad and stateside. She enjoys learning about different cultures, studying languages, and listening to others’ experiences. Born in India, she was adopted into a Dutch family and raised in a Dutch community. Growing up in an ethnically-uniform bubble led her to explore cultural diversity through means such as television shows, video games, and books. College provided more cultural insight through friends and classes, which encouraged her to write for the sake of cultural awareness. Christina has traveled to many different states in America as well as China and Canada abroad. Her pastimes revolve around manga and foreign music. She currently resides in Modesto, California.
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