Short Term Mission and Gap Years for Individuals
If you or you and a couple of friends are looking for a tailor made short or medium term mission or gap year experience in Africa, then this page is for you!
If on the other hand you are looking either to be a part of one of our scheduled group visits or in deed want to take a larger group to Africa, please
click here.
ICY offers short term mission and gap year opportunities with its partners in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
All our African partners are led by Africans on behalf of the African churches. You will be living, working and worshipping with Africans, and so will get the most authentic experience of Africa. You should also be more effective in ministry, and live and work as cheaply as possible, albeit within a safe and healthy environment.
In Kenya and Uganda, individuals or groups of 2-4 people can visit for just a few weeks or stay for a few months or even years. Basically you just join the team of Africans and Westerners, live with the team, and work alongside the team in all they do. We ask you to cover your costs before arrival including airfares, insurances, health care and visas, and then to pay $180 per week for short visits and $375 per month for longer visits. This covers all your accommodation, food, and your work travel and costs around the country. We also have a
program
to help you fund raise to cover the costs of your stay.
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Our East African Partners are:
w Praise Youth Ministries Kenya based in Nairobi, where they work in schools, children’s homes, churches, missions and camps in evangelism and discipleship. They also specialize in training Bible Teachers. visit here
w ICY Uganda is a pioneering youth ministry based in Kampala, working in the remand home, babies and handicapped homes, schools and youth groups across the city and out in the bush. visit here
w Alliance Ministries Tanzania is a schools evangelism ministry based on the Indian Ocean in Dar es Salam. It is a unique partnership of evangelical churches with the most extraordinary of opportunities to share the gospel among young people. visit here
w Summer Short Term Trips click here |
We aim to have between 4-10 at any one time on what we call our Ministry Support Team working alongside the African staff and volunteers, and can pretty much take on visitors at any time for any period, providing we have room in the houses. We also aim to use your gifts to the full so would seek to devise a program to suit you! Basically we try to be as flexible as possible to give you the very best experience we possibly can at the most affordable cost.
You will get the chance to do the touristy things like safaris but we guarantee this isn’t what you will remember the most.
The Background
Praise Youth Ministries Kenya. Alliance Ministries Tanzania and
ICY Uganda are inter-church youth ministries established as African works, and defined and led by an African Board, Leadership and volunteer team. Into this context, it is possible to bring international volunteers and teams, who in turn benefit from being a part of a uniquely African work. However in order to maintain this ethos, it
is necessary for the terms of reference for these teams to be clearly understood. Those coming are coming to serve the indigenous leadership in every aspect of their work, and thus the title: Ministry Support Team. In a culture which is used to serving the West, we aim to bring teams from the west to serve and honor the African church. We aim to demonstrate the love of Christ for the poor and needy through humility and acts of service.
Ultimately the team member is there to serve not only by what he or she does, but also by the way he or she does it. The team member should seek to bring Christ into all situations, and so to bless and encourage the whole team. By learning to do this appropriately and successfully, you will learn and give most during your time in Africa.
The Role Of The MST Member
The ministries are very diverse which allows us to develop a program to suit your skills: Tell us your heart and we will do all we can to fit in.
You will need to get involved in everything the team is doing, and will discover gifts and abilities you never knew you had. We do though like to give you specific responsibilities, which reflect your gifting and aspirations, such as evangelism, children’s work, school’s work, orphan care, camping programs, or Bible teaching. Each team member’s working week will normally revolve around these activities, and you will be expected to be pretty self starting in these activities. Then you will also be expected to muck in and help the others in their roles, and just be team together.
The team member does need to take some responsible for the division of his or her time, but should do so in an accountable manner through weekly meetings with either the line manager or National Director. There is always lots of time in Africa, and to make the most of it the team member will need to be self disciplined, relaxed and flexible.
The Practicalities
Team members can come for as long as they like, but the longer the better and you’d normally find 6-12 months makes the most sense of your time as well as the flight costs out there.
Apart from the costs mentioned above, you will need to raise a little pocket money and perhaps a bit extra for those special occasions such as safaris, but we think you can live quite comfortably on about $20 a week.
| One off costs approx | Dollars | Pounds |
| Flight from UK/US to Kenya/Uganda, approx | $1500 | £500 |
| Insurances | $200 | £150 |
| Visas | $50 | £30 |
| Totals | $1750 | £680 |
| Monthly Costs | Dollars | Pounds |
| Board and lodging per month | $375 | £200 |
| Pocket money per month | $90 | £50 |
| Totals | $465 | £250 |
This means that if you joined the team for three months, the total cost for you coming from the US would be approximately $3135, or from the UK £1430. If you come for 6 months the costs are approximately $4540 from the US and £2180 from the UK.
Going and Staying
You can start and finish any time. You will live in the team house. These houses are safe, and although basic, are clean and good environments to live in. You will though need to be prepared to live in community. For instance, we may need to ask you to share a room with another Ministry Support Team member. However the room would be lockable and your private space.
You will be sent by ICY but on arrival will be wholly accountable to the local leadership. One of the ICY team will though be in regular contact with you to ensure you are doing OK.
Some Dos and Don’ts For MST Members
As already stated we expect team members to respect and adapt to cultural expectations and this includes those of local church. This means smoking, drinking alcohol and wearing what would be seen as inappropriate clothing are all not acceptable for MST Members and failure to be sensitive in these areas would mean you would need to leave the team.
Furthermore at no time and under no circumstances should the team member form any sort of exclusive relationship with a member of the opposite sex, whilst part of the Ministry Support Team. It is simply impossible to differentiate between relationships on a case by case basis, and consequently to protect everyone including the Ministry Support Team member, we ask you to agree in writing before departure that you understand that any such a relationship will be viewed as an implied resignation from the team. At the very least we would ask you to wait until the end of your time with PYM or ICY Uganda before entering into such a relationship, but would in any case counsel strongly against it as cross cultural relationships are extraordinarily complex.
The Balance
You will be given time and space, so that you can be healthy, fresh, and have the opportunity to reflect, pray and unpack what God is saying to you. Whilst reluctant to set hours on what is a ministry rather than a job, we do want you to experience Africa, and catch a wider understanding of the continent, its needs, opportunities and God’s heart for it. We would encourage you to work hard and play hard. To minister to the full but also to go on safari, and experience all you can during your stay.
Our prayer and experience is that you will receive far more than you will give, and your life will never be the same again following your time in Africa
Some Final Thoughts
You will find nothing is predictable in Africa. It is both the charm and frustration of the place. Time has a different meaning and priorities revolve less around tasks and more around people. You may consider yourself a flexible sort of person, and a people’s person but we can guarantee you will find yourself getting frustrated and in the process you will learn a lot about yourself. Be prepared for long waits and
periods of inactivity followed by utter chaos as everything happens at the last minute, Things will happen which will leave you feeling confused, baffled, and out of the loop! You will be challenged to your very core, but will emerge with a new perspective and a world view which will change the rest of your life for the better.
All this though means team is utterly essential. You need to serve one another and together serve the Lord through the ministry as a whole. There is no room to carry those unwilling to serve! You will also need to have a real sense of call to the role. Living in Africa can be tough. You can get sick easily. You’ll miss things you take for granted, and certainly miss loved ones back home. You’ll struggle with culture, relationships and the poverty about you. You’ll struggle with what you’ll learn about yourself. Without a very real call from God to go, you won’t last the pace.
Ultimately you’ll need a strong relationship with God. Africa is a wonderful place where God is moving by His Spirit, but that doesn’t necessarily make it an easy place to live and grow spiritually. Don’t expect to go to Africa to find yourself! You’ll need to go with a disciplined and intimate walk with God. If you do however, you’ll come back with a foundation of faith which will set you up for life.
How To Apply
If you are interested in joining the team or just have some questions, do feel free to email
Colin or Melissa Piper at ICY. You may also like to complete an application form by clicking on the button below. This commits you to nothing but will help Colin and Melissa to see if this role really could be for you. One of them will give you a call and chat through what it means to go to Africa, and if both you and they then want to carry on with the application, we will need to take up references, and your application and references will be sent to the leaders in Africa to see if they can fit you in on the team.
If they can take you, we will then work with you to prepare and send you out. This includes giving you advice on fund raising, answering questions from church or family, help sort practicalities such as flights and insurances, praying for you, and ensure all arrangements are in place for your arrival in Nairobi. We will then also keep in contact with you and be the first point of contact for family, friends and church back home.
So if you are still interested, either:
1. Complete an on line application form by clicking here
2. Email Colin or Melissa Piper
with a question
What to take to Africa click here
Summer Short Term Trips click here
