This weekend Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio is coming to you from Paris, France. We’ve already told you how you can restore castles in France and now we’re focusing on the French language. This week’s voluntourism spotlight shows you how to learn French while volunteering in Africa. Check back every Wednesday for more voluntourism opportunities and tune into Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio on Saturday for more information.

Often volunteer travel can be the gateway to a second career working on the ground in developing nations. Did you know that being proficient in French opens up the door to doing significant volunteer work in Africa? Africa has over 30 French-speaking countries and a shortage of French-speaking development professionals.

If your long-term plan is work for organizations like the United Nations, Medecins Sans Frontieres, or The Red Cross in French-speaking Africa and Haiti, the Humanity Exchange has volunteer programs in both Benin and Cameroon, where you can learn French while also giving back.

In Ouidah, Benin, volunteers can work in a variety of community development and educational programs including teaching dance and the arts, working as a public health education or helping to teach at trafficked or vulnerable children.

In Douala, Cameron, volunteers work in community develop, assist local orphanages, provide aid for disabled children, and work as a HIV peer educator.

Since 2009, the Humanity Exchange has given volunteer  on the ground experiences in international development. The organization hosts 50 volunteers a year with a focus on small integrative experiences. The minimum program is two weeks, though most volunteers work on average two to three months.

For more information on the Humanity Exchange visit their website.

By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com