For its first seven years Comfort International had no paid staff and was run by volunteers. Since those days we now have salaried staff but the work our volunteers do has continued to be phenomenal.Â
In every area of the charity volunteers are at the heart of our work. This has the quadruple advantage of greatly reducing our staffing costs which has enabled us to keep sending 100% of designated donations and more than 90% of undesignated donations to the projects in Africa, of tapping into the skills and commitment of such a wide range of talented people, of enabling us to do so much more in terms of activities, sponsorship, monitoring and evaluation, publicity, admin than staff alone could achieve, and of those volunteers being great ambassadors for the charity. The volunteers themselves love what they do because it makes a difference.
Our volunteer team includes people who cover everything from finance to funding applications, sponsorship to social media, and thank yous to Rwandan craft sales. Some work from home, some come into the office. Some are retired, some are students, some give their evenings after work. Some give a few hours a month, some give several days a week. But the great joy is knowing that there are so many people helping Comfort fulfil its mission.Â
Our heart is very much to continue to engage more volunteers and expand our capacity to meet the needs of broken, traumatised and disadvantaged people across the nations we work in. You really can make a difference to people’s lives. We are all a team with many members fulfilling different roles and it is together, and only as a joint staff and volunteer team that we can function effectively in what we do. To find out more about the current opportunities for volunteers, have a look at our “Volunteering” page.Â
So please, for all the reasons and rewards above, consider if you can be part of this – we need you! Below you can hear a little from 2 of our amazing volunteers to encourage you a little.Â
I began Volunteering for Comfort International in 2017 after retiring from my job as a midwife. Having visited Africa a number of times with Comfort International, I wanted to to help in some small way with the work. Seeing the transformation in many people’s lives due to the support they were getting was so amazing.
I was supported from the very first meeting with the office team and encouraged to take on some admin work. Honestly, I can say that Volunteering for Comfort International has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. Working with a great team of dedicated people in the office is brilliant. I feel privileged to be a part of this team and I have learnt so many skills that I thought I would not be able to do.
Fiona, HR and Admin Manager
I was initially asked by my son-in-law Chris Hoskins if I would consider taking on the role of Sponsorship Head for Congo Teachers while I was driving and just before I was about to meet a friend, so I was a bit surprised by the call and unsure whether I’d be up to such a task. Chris assured me I would be and we arranged a call with Callum later in the day. As always with Callum and Chris, they generate such calm and assurance, that you end up saying yes, even when you still feel total panic inside!! However, having gone on a Comfort International trip this summer and having visited some of the schools in Congo, this was one of the things that had a huge impact on me. The dedication of the teachers working in such dire conditions in falling apart schools on no salary is just beyond description.. In our team, we spent time praying with some of the teachers, asking God to help provide for them and to bless them in all their work, as they commit themselves to teach the many children from poor families who are unable to pay school fees. To commit themselves like this and work without pay, I just found so hugely inspirational, as the teachers know that education for the children is key to breaking the cycle of violence in Congo.
Therefore, I feel privileged to help as a volunteer with this work. I still have much to learn
but am very grateful to the staff at Comfort for guiding me and helping me, in particular
Chie McKendrick, who spent a morning with me going over things.Â
I am looking forward to getting to grips with the role more as we move into 2026 and being
the middle person between the teachers and the sponsors is a great privilege, which I hope
to be able to do well.
I would encourage anyone thinking of volunteering with Comfort International to definitely
consider this and use the skills and talents they have to support such valuable and important work.
Ann, DRC Teachers Sponsorship Head
So, please do have a look at our current volunteer vacancies, and if you have some skills and interests that you think would benefit Comfort that we haven’t listed, please get in touch! We can’t wait to hear from you.