Djibouti, with its population of just under a million people according to 2019 figures, isn't a country many would choose to visit and its lifeline is the presence of the US military base, Camp Lemonnier, not just to bring in investment but also to protect Djibouti from the military
ambitions of its neighbours. Djibouti itself has scant natural resources and its land is so desertified that it is reliant on outside
foodstuffs to feed its population. In fact it can only produce just 5% of its own food needs. It can't even really afford those imports either, with humanitarian
organisations like the Red Cross operating food, water and malnutrition programs to the increasingly drought
stricken country.
Given the small size of its population, outside those
humanitarian programs there is little volunteer work
available in Djibouti, and even Medecins Sans Frontieres has ended its work there. Some have arrived and worked in a
few scattered orphanages only to turn up one day to find
them closed and the children dispersed and there are the
odd pockets of volunteer work often run by nuns and
missionaries but these are discovered on the ground
rather than being better known and advertised. There are some openings in
the education sector for French speakers but under 30%
of all children actually attend school in Djibouti.
Again, such volunteer work as there is, needs to be
found on the ground.
Please note that many volunteer opportunities in Djibouti 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 Djibouti let us know by
contacting us here. We look forward
to hearing from you!
Volunteer Work Djibouti: Red Crescent
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