You will be spending your days ministering to the kids, sharing Jesus with them, and assisting the Ugandan staff in feeding and taking care of the children. Ministry opportunities include: working with children, assisting the care of special needs children, teaching, bible lessons, arts and crafts, providing healthcare, helping in school, housework such as cooking and cleaning, and many more opportunities.
As a short-term missionary, you will be living at the Children’s Home and working with our kids and staff on a daily basis. There will be one or two days a week that you will have the opportunity to see Uganda and serve alongside other ministries, we call these outreach days. Some of the things that you might be doing include praying with people, helping at other children’s homes, teaching at local schools, door-to-door evangelism, building projects, work at babies homes, serving with street and slums ministries, praying for the sick, doing community outreach, playing football (soccer) with kids and more. There are many opportunities and you can tell us what your passion is and where you would like to serve. We go grocery shopping each week. It is usually a full-day event. You are more than welcome to go with us to the open market and visit with the Ugandans selling food – this is a great chance to see more of the city, learn about local culture and food, share your faith with Ugandans, as well as stretch your legs.
We are a home, a community, and a family. This means that it is important to work together, intentionally looking for ways to serve each other, respecting differences and teaching each other. We want to provide a united and strong example for the children and for our community, communication and working together is integral for this to happen. In the past few years, volunteers from Europe, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and others have joined us here in Uganda to serve alongside our staff at the home as well as in communities.
This mission trip will particularly suit those with a heart for children’s ministry. This mission trip is not a holiday! It demands a high level of maturity and a certain degree of confidence and independence. You will be joining our Ugandan team. You will be expected to be up for a challenge and be flexible with changes to the schedule. You will be expected to be humble enough to accept unfamiliar cultural situations. Uganda has its own timetable (aka Ugandan time). Things arise that need to be dealt with right away; power goes out, water gets shut off, van breaks down, etc. All these things happen and it means that we have to be flexible.
You will have accommodations at the Children’s Home in Kampala, staying with other volunteers and Ugandan staff. Kampala is a huge city and is very urban. The Children’s Home is located in a safe area. We will always put your safety first. The Children’s Home is in a Western-style home with running water and electricity. Sometimes the water is cut off and sometimes we go without electricity. Space is limited so you will most likely be sharing with others (guys share with guys and girls share with girls) depending on if there are other short-term missionaries here serving with us when you are here. Some of them could only be there for 2 weeks, 2 months or more so there will most likely be some fluctuation in short term volunteers while you are here.
You can be in contact with your family and friends back home. We have wireless Internet at the Children’s home so you can stay in contact. Every once in awhile we might not have electricity but it is usually only for a few hours so it should not hinder you from contacting your family.
We are so excited that you are interested in serving with us in Uganda. We do have positions open throughout the year for anywhere from 1-2 weeks to 3 months. We are able to accept applications that are submitted at any time, but please be aware that it takes time for us to go through them and respond to you. Dates for a short-term mission trips are flexible. This trip is customizable to fit your schedule. We can have a total of 6-8 short-termers staying at the Children’s Home at one time. We can take on short-term missionaries at any time of the year for any period, providing we have room at the Children’s Home.
To apply for a short-term missions trip with Rafiki Africa Ministries:
- Fill out the short-term missions application.
- Have a pastor, Bible study leader, Christian mentor, or ministry leader fill out the pastoral reference form.
- Read, sign, and return the Personal Covenant and Liability Release form.
- Email all filled applications and documents to sara@rafikiministries.org. Printable and online forms available at the bottom of this page.
- Read the Short-Term Information Packet to get more of an idea of what serving with us would look like.
If you apply and are accepted as a short-term missionary, here is a list of what to expect regarding expenses for a mission trip with Rafiki Africa Ministries:
- Airfare costs usually around $1500-$2200 per person (varies depending on when you travel)
- $50 tourist visa per person paid for at the Uganda airport upon arrival
- $300/week to cover all living expenses while in Uganda including transportation, food, housing at the Children’s home, internet use, etc.
- Extra money to cover additional expenses such as souvenirs or gifts for family and friends and a safari if interested
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” (Matthew 9:35-38)