Rwanda has a high orphan population which can be emotionally and physically demanding for the volunteer but it also needs to be sensitive to attachments the children will form with adults who care for them. As such, many volunteer work programs in Rwanda look for longer volunteer placements so the children don't have a conveyor belt of adults coming into and out of their lives every few weeks. Makes sense. There are also opportunities to teach in a country where the government commits only 3.07% of all expenditure to education, compared to the world average in 2018 based on 60 countries of 4.16%. Today Rwanda is ranked in 165th place out of 191 countries and territories in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and living standards in 2021.

Please note that many volunteer opportunities in Rwanda were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to the permanent closure of some volunteer opportunities and restrictions on others. Hopefully things are now beginning to return to normal. If you run or know of a volunteer work project in Rwanda let us know by contacting us here. We look forward to hearing from you!