With a minimum stay of six months and the possibility to intern for two years or more, the Africa Volunteer Program is a great way to gain experience in a rapidly expanding organization while working to empower communities across Africa. T ostan encourages applicants, 18 years and older, from anywhere in the world to apply. College/university students, recent graduates, Master's, and Ph.D. candidates are especially welcome. Pla cements are full-time, unpaid, and competitive.

Placements

We are currently placing volunteers in

Senegal

, The Gambia ,

Mauritania

, Guinea Conakry , Guinea Bissau, and

Djibouti.

View our Current Openings page to look at available volunteer position descriptions.

Start Dates

Tostan asks volunteer applicants to respect our desire to welcome and orient new volunteers together, at certain times throughout the year. For this upcoming year, 2010, we plan to welcome new volunteers on:

January 19, 2011: applications due October 1 , 2010

June 10, 2011: applications due March 1, 2011

September 1, 2011 : applications due June 1 , 2011

Application Process
1) Start by reading our Costs & Considerations document .

2) You can then complete and submit our Africa Volunteer Program Application Form . As the form must be completed in one sitting, we suggest that you first write your responses in a Word document, and then cut and paste when you are ready to submit.
After submitting the form, you should see a confirmation message. If you don't, please contact us.

3) Once submitted it, send the following materials to the Volunteer Coordinator
( volunteerafrica@tostan.org ):

- Letter of motivation

- Most current CV or r é sumé

- Short writing sample(s): 1-3 pages, non-fiction, on a development- or Africa-related subject of your choice, possibly from past coursework or a published article. N on-Francophones applying to volunteer in a francophone country, please send one sample in English and another in French. F or Francophones, please send a sample in French and another in English.

4) Once the Volunteer Coordinator has received all of your materials, she will confirm reception of your completed volunteer application.

5) Finally, the Volunteer Coordinator will contact promising candidates with an invitation to interview, approximately two weeks after the application deadline. Final decisions are sent by e-mail two months before the start date.