CCF Volunteer Program

Welcome to the Cheetah Conservation Fund volunteer program website. These pages provide information on how to volunteer with CCF in Namibia and Kenya. We have programs for general volunteers (working guests), student internships (including Masters & Ph.D. students) and zookeepers. To apply, select the relevant program from the menu on the right, and follow the instructions.

All our volunteer programs require a mandatory donation. However, discounted/subsidized fees are available for student interns and zookeepers, and also for Namibian, South African and Kenyan citizens. We charge a fee for volunteering to cover the costs of training and supervising our volunteers, as well as the costs of room and board. Your contribution also ensures the future of our programs.

CCF does not provide funding or scholarships for volunteers, interns or zookeepers. Many of our volunteers are successful in seeking funding through their schools, friends and family, local community, employers or other special programs. If you need information on CCF to complete grant proposals, you can search these pages and also look at our annual and mid-year reports for details.

You can also volunteer from home via one of CCF's office or chapters. Click on this link for information on CCF USA and its chapters. We have many "virtual" volunteers who help us with marketing, administrative, and other tasks from their homes. For our locations outside the USA, click here.

In general, we do not have employment opportunities for the tasks and positions described in these pages. One of CCF's goals is to build capacity locally and provide opportunities for citizens of the countries in which we operate (i.e. Namibia and Kenya). In doing so, we work together with many international institutions to transfer and build skills and knowledge to people in Namibia and Kenya.

Finally, if you do not wish to volunteer, but would like to receive our biannual newsletter, please click here to add your name to our database.

Sincerely,

Volunteer Coordinator
Cheetah Conservation Fund

Email Email the Volunteer Coordinator if you have questions after reviewing this section.

 

Responsible Volunteering

Africa captures the fascination of everyone who is fortunate to visit. In particular when visitors are able to interact with wildlife. Many lodges, game farms and breeding centres offer volunteer opportunities working with wildlife. However, before taking an opportunity to work with or photograph any captive carnivore as a volunteer or visitor, please take an active role in putting an end to the unethical keeping of wild animals by asking the following questions :

  • Where is the cub's mother?
  • Why is the cub not being raised by its mother?
  • What happens to the facility’s cubs when they grow up?
  • If they are released into larger wildlife areas, where are these and can the facility provide documentation to prove a viable and ethical release process?
  • If, and therefore once cubs have been released, do they have the opportunity to live out their natural lives, or are they hunted?
  • If they are sold to game reserves, is their future secure or is this a cover for simply being hunted?
  • If they become part of a breeding programme, for what purpose?
  • What happens to the facility’s surplus animals?