About Us
What we Do.
Global Handprints gives people like you guys, the opportunity to leave your mark on the world through volunteering and travel. In turn, with your support, Global Handprints is able to invest towards our social purpose, enabling projects and communities around the world to evolve and develop.
Our Story.
In 2010, Global Handprints took over from Experience Culture, continuing to provide independent volunteer placements at small, locally established projects in Uganda and India. These days Global Handprints is run as a Social Enterprise with a social mission to inspire people to recognise their potential both at home, within their local community and in a wider, international context; empower them to achieve this and to evolve locally established projects and services to meet the needs of their communities.
With many years of experience in the volunteer sector as well as with community and agricultural development, our team understands the volunteer industry.
We are always available to answer any questions you may have, give advice on our different options and talk to you about the regions and cultures you will be experiencing.
What makes us different?
As a team we are passionate about Africa; the culture, communities, wildlife, landscapes and opportunities it offers. We want to share these with you and hope that you will choose to come back and explore the continent again and again. We believe that volunteer trips should be able to have it all and our Volunteer Road Trips do just that. They enable volunteers to experience and learn about different cultures, get involved in community work at local projects take part in adventure activities and get immersed in cultural traditions.
Global Handprints is a small organisation, run by people who have spent time as volunteers, visited all of our projects, driven the Road Trip routes and slept in the accommodation we use. We only take volunteers to places we have been to and feel comfortable in ourselves. It is our responsibility to ensure volunteers will be safe and feel welcome whether working in a school, socialising at a backpackers or visiting a Sangoma (Zulu traditional healer). We take this very seriously but also make sure we put together placements and Road Trips that are fun and exciting, enabling you to get the most from your time with us.
Whichever way you get involved, Global Handprints believes it is important for volunteers to be able to see the impact their time and passion has on a community and to know exactly where their money is spent. As a Social Enterprise, Global Handprints reinvests at least half of any surpluses towards our social purpose and is transparent about both how we operate and the impact that we have on communities. We feel that the people we work with on the ground should have ownership over how Global Handprints and our volunteers are involved in their projects and their communities. We choose to work with people who want us there, amongst them, and who are as excited as us about the difference we can make as a team.
As an organisation we provide
– Airport collection and drop off
– On the ground transportation to / from projects
– Pre-departure information and welcome pack
– Orientation on arrival
– Clean and safe accommodation
– On site Coordinators and / or Guides for the duration of your placement or Volunteer Road Trip
Global Handprints uses local guides and coordinators while also supporting local businesses to make sure we are giving back to the communities we work in.
Additionally, all food, building materials and project resources are purchased locally and, where possible, we use locally established activities in our Road Trips.
All venues, accommodation and equipment are continually checked and assessed to ensure that health and safety regulations are met.
As an organisation we provide
– Airport collection and drop off
– On the ground transportation to / from projects
– Pre-departure information and welcome pack
– Orientation on arrival
– Clean and safe accommodation
– On site Coordinators and / or Guides for the duration of your placement or Volunteer Road Trip
Global Handprints uses local guides and coordinators while also supporting local businesses to make sure we are giving back to the communities we work in.
Additionally, all food, building materials and project resources are purchased locally and, where possible, we use locally established activities in our Road Trips.
All venues, accommodation and equipment are continually checked and assessed to ensure that health and safety regulations are met.
About Volunteering
Global Handprints believes that volunteering should be a two way street with both the volunteer and the project benefiting from the partnership. Volunteering and voluntouring are about more than just manual labour, they are about sharing ideas, beliefs, skills, strategies, feelings, laughter and building bridges between cultural differences and standards. Community members are often left with new ways to further develop their projects, a renewed inspiration for the work being carried out as well as the belief and knowledge that people all around the world support them. We try to ensure that volunteers leave placements with a new confidence in their professional and personal potential, a belief in the difference they can make and a passion for the community and culture they have become part of.
Meet The Team
Lottie Reeves
Founder
Kevin Wensley
Operations Manager
Recent Posts
Recent Posts
Voluntourism: Becoming A Citizen Of The World
The volunteer industry is a controversial topic with people often focusing on either the positives or negatives of volunteering and voluntourism. As with everything, there is much to consider and, most importantly voluntourism is only beneficial when it is done right.
Who Doesn’t Love A Road Trip?
Driving through a hot and humid Durban, what started off as a meaningless conversation about what we wanted to do in our own lives led to a series of questions; “What if someone wanted to spend their vacation doing good, not just lying on a beach?” “And if they wanted...
14 Ways To Make Your Time in South Africa Amazing
Visiting Africa can seem daunting to many people and it has been said that South Africa is a perfect destination for ‘first timers’ As much as the country is more similar to the western world than elsewhere in Africa, there are still huge cultural differences. It is these that make South Africa the magnificent place that it is.
Trippin’ Tunes
There are so many ingredients that ‘make’ a road trip, the country you are in, the roads you’re traveling, the people you are with and the sites you see. Many of these will be set in stone when you set off, or will come and go as you make your journey. Some you will...
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