Namibia Volunteer Trip June 2024

Mobile Smiles are excited to finally announce our second trip to Namibia that will take place 22nd-30th June 2024.

Volunteers will arrive to Windhoek on the weekend of the 22nd June and have a day to rest and settle in. The volunteer work for this trip will consist of an outreach programme in and around the capital Windhoek from Monday-Friday. Accommodation and transport in the city to outreach for the trip are included. In the evenings and the weekend, there will be an opportunity to stay in the hotel and relax, or explore and embrace the local culture. 

The trip cost is £999, excluding flights. Each volunteer will be given a Mobile Smiles scrub top to keep. Hotel stay will include breakfast. Dinner will be optional as we feel there are excellent restaurants in the city that you may wish to explore. There is still the option to have a buffet dinner at the hotel should volunteers wish to have a quiet evening. Following completing the registration form, an email with the charity bank details will be sent to make the £199 deposit towards the trip. Should your application be unsuccessful, this will be refunded.

Namibia offers plenty of natural scenery and options to see wildlife in safaris and game reserves.  One option we would recommend is a game lodge trip that we can help in booking after the week of volunteering. This is located in Omaruru, a town approximately 3 hours drive north of Windhoek. This beautiful, serene private game reserve is the perfect way to unwind after a week of working. To enjoy this additional trip, we would recommend extending your stay to return home on Monday 1st July. The approximate cost for transport and stay is around £500 for this suggested trip. Alternatively, volunteers may choose to plan and book their own excursions or onward trips. 

Outreach work

The work will vary in settings from community centres with dental chairs to basic clinics with a chair for extractions, as well as oral hygiene instruction and for fluoride varnish application for younger children. Each volunteer is expected to bring some material donations ranging from mirrors, probes, extraction forceps and materials such as composites.

Hotel

The Windhoek Country Club is in the heart of Windhoek and is central to most of the outreach centres we will be working in.

There is plenty to do in the hotel to ensure a comfortable stay for the volunteers including:

• Buffet breakfast (included)
• Dinner options include a buffet dinner or a Chinese restaurant
• Swimming pool
• Gym

More information about the hotel can be found here.

Local areas to visit

• Craft Market - for buying local handmade souvenirs 
• Grove Mall - shopping mall close to the hotel with a selection of restaurants and clothing stores should volunteers need to purchase anything during their stay
• Kapana grill - traditional local grilled meat in an open market that we highly recommend trying

Check out this short video here of our trip last September to have a taste of what we got up to! 

Please see the volunteer leaflet here for information regarding this trip. 

As an additional incentive, each volunteer will have 10% off any ball ticket for our second ball this autumn (up to 5 tickets!).