In brief: Jersey Overseas Aid has opened applications for its 2027 international volunteering programme, seeking three teams of eight to twelve islanders to work in Madagascar, Kenya and Nepal. A new pilot project in Madagascar, developed with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, is among the highlights, focusing on conservation work around Lake Alaotra.
Applications Open for JOA’s 2027 Volunteer Programme
Jersey Overseas Aid, the island’s official, publicly funded relief and development agency, launched its 2027 Volunteering Programme at an event held at The Royal Yacht Hotel on Wednesday 30 September. Islanders are now invited to apply to join one of three teams heading to Madagascar, Kenya or Nepal next year.
Channel Eye reports that JOA is looking to recruit teams of eight to twelve volunteers for each destination, with the programme guided by the Global Volunteering Standard to ensure that participation is ethical, responsible and sustainable. Each project is developed in partnership with organisations that understand local community priorities, so that volunteers contribute to needs identified by the communities themselves rather than arriving with their own agenda, however well-intentioned.
Three Projects, Three Continents
The most eye-catching addition to the 2027 programme is a new pilot project in Madagascar, developed in partnership with the Jersey-based Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Durrell has been working in Madagascar for 40 years, and this project will take volunteers to Lake Alaotra, a landscape described as globally important. The lake is home to the Critically Endangered Alaotran gentle lemur and the Endangered Meller’s duck, and also forms part of Madagascar’s most significant rice-producing region and inland fishery. Volunteer activities may include removing invasive plants, managing reforestation areas and working in tree nurseries.
Dan Craven, Volunteer Manager at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said: “Lake Alaotra is a globally important landscape, home to unique wildlife found nowhere else on Earth, while also supporting the livelihoods of thousands of people who depend on its natural resources. This is a unique chance to support community-led conservation efforts and play a part in protecting this remarkable ecosystem for future generations.”
In Nepal, volunteers will work alongside Habitat for Humanity to help construct safe, climate-resilient housing for vulnerable families. In Kenya, the partner organisation is Sand Dams Worldwide, and volunteers will support the construction of a sand dam designed to secure reliable, year-round access to clean water for local communities. Between the three projects, the programme covers conservation, shelter and water security: three of the most pressing challenges facing communities in the developing world.
What JOA Says
Deputy Carolyn Labey, Chair of JOA and Minister for International Development, said the launch event drew considerable interest from islanders. “It was incredibly encouraging to see so many Islanders interested in giving their time, skills and experience to support communities overseas,” she said. “Our Volunteer Programme is built on global solidarity and partnership, offering opportunities for Islanders to work alongside local communities, learn from one another and contribute to locally led development initiatives that create lasting change.”
JOA emphasises that participants will work as part of diverse teams, gaining new skills, broadening their perspectives and developing a deeper understanding of global development and citizenship. The programme’s insistence on locally identified needs is a sensible safeguard against the kind of well-meaning but counterproductive voluntourism that has attracted criticism elsewhere in the development sector.
Source: Channel Eye
