WordPress expert wanted: Become part of our success story in The Gambia!

Helping Hands Academy e.V.

Remote Volunteering
Basic German skills
Regularly
Discussed individually
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  • Disabled People
  • Families
  • Kids & Teenagers
  • Women
  • Design
  • Development Cooperation
  • Education & Language Support
  • Health Promotion
  • IT
  • Poverty Reduction

About the volunteering opportunity

The Helping Hands Academy e.V. is committed to the sustainable professionalization of infrastructures in The Gambia. We work according to the motto "Together for a better future" and implement targeted projects where the need is greatest in order to create a dignified basis for the local people.

Our work is diverse and covers crucial areas of life:

  • WASH & Education: our major water, sanitation and hygiene project at St. Francis School is already well advanced and ensures that hundreds of pupils are provided for.

  • Infrastructure & well construction: We are creating long-term access to clean drinking water in communities through targeted well drilling projects.

  • Inclusion & participation: With the Sheikh Jasson Touray project, we specifically support people with disabilities to break down barriers and promote inclusion.

  • Health: With "Sanyang Safe Birth", we are renovating a maternity ward to actively reduce the high neonatal mortality rate.

Why we are looking for you: Although we are already celebrating tangible successes and changing structures on the ground in The Gambia, our digital presence is still an "empty shell". We are looking for a dedicated WordPress expert to help us make this enormous range of our projects visible on our website.

Your Tasks

1. Analysis & reduction (initial phase):

  • Inspection of the installed WordPress templates and deactivation of unneeded demo content, plugins and functions to achieve a lean and fast site.

  • Customization of the header and footer area as well as the menu navigation.

2. Project page creation:

  • Structuring and building four central project pages based on our content:

    • WASH project St. Francis School (infrastructure & hygiene)

    • Well construction projects (drinking water supply)

    • Sheikh Jasson Touray Project (Inclusion & Disability)

    • Sanyang Safe Birth (health & obstetrics)

3. Implementation of core functions:

  • Creation of a clear "About Us" page to introduce the Board and our vision in The Gambia.

  • Integration of a secure donation option (e.g. integration of PayPal buttons or a donation form).

  • Ensuring responsive design (optimal display on smartphones).

4. Long-term support (by arrangement):

  • Selective support with technical issues or major updates.

  • Brief instruction of the board (treasurer) so that simple text adjustments can be carried out independently.

What's needed

For this volunteering opportunity, basic German skills are required.
Technical skills:

  • WordPress expertise: Confident handling of the CMS, especially experience in customizing templates and working with plugins.

  • UX/UI design flair: The ability to sensibly reduce functions ("decluttering") in order to create a clear, user-friendly structure.

  • Responsive design: Ensuring that the site works flawlessly on all end devices (especially mobile devices).

  • Basic knowledge of web security: Secure handling of backups and updates as well as the integration of secure donation interfaces (e.g. PayPal).

Personal requirements:

  • Interest in development cooperation: enthusiasm for our mission in The Gambia - from infrastructure (St. Francis WASH project) to inclusion (Sheikh Jasson Touray project).

  • Reliability & personal responsibility: As we work remotely, an independent way of working and good communication with us as a board member is important.

  • Long-term thinking: We are not looking for a "mayfly", but someone who would like to become a permanent part of the Helping Hands Academy e.V. as an honorary member.

Time required

Regularly
Discussed individually
Time frame of the commitment:

  • Launch phase (Urgent): We would like to "go live" with our new website as soon as possible in order to make our ongoing projects (especially the WASH project at St. Francis School) visible. In the first 2-4 weeks, more intensive support (approx. 4-8 hours per week) would therefore be ideal in order to finalize the basic structure and enter the content.

  • Ongoing operation (flexible): As soon as the site is up and running, the time pressure is over. After that, we only need to provide selective support as required (approx. 1-2 hours per month) to update plugins or make small adjustments.

  • Time flexibility: The work can be done completely remotely and at your own pace. As we are aiming for a long-term collaboration as part of an honorary membership, we are happy to adapt to your rhythm.

Important notice


1. cultural sensitivity & visual language

  • Dignified representation: As we want to improve living conditions in The Gambia (e.g. in the Sheikh Jasson Touray project), it is important to us that the people on the website are always portrayed with dignity and as active shapers of their future - not as mere supplicants.

  • Authenticity: We use real photos of our progress, such as from the WASH project at St. Francis School, to create honest transparency.


2. Data protection & security (GDPR)

  • Data handling: Since we integrate a donation function and report on projects with children and patients (Sanyang Safe Birth), the website must be technically absolutely secure and comply with the GDPR requirements.

  • Carefulness: Responsible handling of the access data to our WordPress backend is a basic requirement.


3. Efficiency instead of perfectionism

  • Focus on impact: We are an association that "helps where the need is greatest". The website must be functional and clear so that the help reaches the people on the ground. "Over-engineering" the site is less important than being ready to collect donations quickly.

Location

This project is location independent.

Helping Hands Academy e.V.

The Helping Hands Academy e.V. is committed to sustainable development in the Gambia by professionalizing existing infrastructures and implementing targeted projects to improve living conditions. True to our motto 'Together for a better future', we help where the need is greatest in order to create a dignified basis for the local people with expertise and commitment.
More about the organisation
Remote Volunteering
Basic German skills
Regularly
Discussed individually
Write message
Remote Volunteering
Basic German skills
Regularly
Discussed individually
Write message