Volunteer in South Africa
VOLUNTEER IN SOUTH AFRICA
International Volunteer HQ's partner organization in South Africa requires volunteers NOW! IVHQ has a wide range of volunteering opportunities available in the surf outreach program, orphanage/childcare programs, sports development, teaching program and arts project in the coastal city of Cape Town.
LOCATION OF SOUTH AFRICA VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
IVHQ has volunteer placements in mainly urban settings, and some placements in rural South African Townships and villages. These projects are based in Muizenberg and Capricorn Township in suburban Cape Town.
START AND DURATION OF SOUTH AFRICA VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Volunteers can begin our South Africa placements on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month. Volunteers can choose to volunteer from durations of one week to six months.
SOUTH AFRICA VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
Volunteers must be over 18 years of age at the beginning of the program and have at least a high school education. Volunteers wishing to participate on the surf outreach program MUST know how to swim.
SOUTH AFRICA VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT DESCRIPTIONS:
TEACHING PROJECT
Volunteers on the teaching project will be placed at one of our local township public schools. The school you will be volunteering at has 550+ students and you will instantly feel as though you are part of the family. The class sizes are also fairly small and manageable, normally ranging from 25 to 40 pupils. Volunteers will be working alongside teachers at the school as well as working with other volunteers. Typical subjects taught at the school include English, Mathematics, Life Skills, Social Studies, Art and Physical studies. The school runs throughout the year and a typical school year has a holidays for the full month of June and December, and short 10 day holidays in April and September. During these school holidays, teaching volunteers can participate on another volunteer program such as orphanage or surfing, take a break, travel and get to explore the beauty and adventure of our South Africa land. NB: Volunteers do not need to be qualified or an experienced teacher.
IVHQ PLACEMENT: Capricorn Primary School
Located in Capricorn Township area, about 20 minutes' walk from the IVHQ volunteer house, this school has 550+ children ranging from ages 5-13 years old. Capricorn Primary school selects children from any walk of life, some of the children live with their family members, some are orphans and all come from poor backgrounds. Many of the families have a low income and can hardly afford school fees for the children. Volunteers teach in the classrooms - and fit in wherever they enjoy to help out whether it be taking their own classes or assisting teachers or volunteers with their classes. The children are in great need of attention and support, so we find that volunteers really add to making the children's lives a lot happier with having volunteers present. NB This is only an example placement which is one of many offered by IVHQ in South Africa and not necessarily the one you will be working at.
CHILD CARE / ORPHANAGE PROJECT
Most African countries have large numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS. This results in a lot of children being left behind due to parents dying from HIV/AIDS and being left with no one to look or care for them. Sometimes children are simply abandoned because their parents have no means to provide for them. The child/orphan care program work consists of caring for children at these centres, providing education and designing activities for the children and helping with general duties of the centre, such as teaching, feeding, cooking, and caring for children and babies.
IVHQ PLACEMENT: Sunrise Childcare Centre
Located in Capricorn Township about twenty minutes walk from the IVHQ Volunteer House, this child care centre has over 300 children from ages 2-5 years old. Sunrise Centre looks after children from poor backgrounds where most parents cannot afford to buy food at home or pay school fees, this project runs to provides support to young children in need and assist the classroom teachers with teaching children to talk, paint, draw and make colourful murals. Generally you will be helping out within the classrooms and help with the feeding of the children and providing the children with love and support which some of them lack from their homes. You will be adding to the Childs emotional, intellectual, physical and social needs by being present and offering a helping hand to the small children in need. NB This is only an example placement which is one of many offered by IVHQ in South Africa and not necessarily the one you will be working at.
SPORTS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
Like most African countries, South Africa has a great number of children living in poverty. Although some of the children attend school during the day, after school they have no one or have no activity to do to occupy their time which can often lead them into trouble. You will see some of these children begging for money on the streets, stealing, drinking and engaging in bad substance abuse after school. Sometimes they drop out of school because there is no motivation and they do not see the need to go to school. This project aims at keeping these children busy during school hours as well as after school through sporting activities such as football, skate boarding, swimming and surfing. As a volunteer you are expected to be a positive role model to the children. Volunteers will be teaching children at the local township football as an extra mural activity at school, skate boarding, swimming and surf lessons after school hours. The project runs throughout the year and during school holidays, volunteers will still continue with skate boarding, swimming and surf lessons.
IVHQ PLACEMENT: Capricorn Pre-Primary school and IVHQ Surf Outreach School
Located in Capricorn Township and Muizenberg beach area about 20 minutes walk from the IVHQ volunteer house, this school has 550 children ranging from 5-13 years old. Capricorn Primary school selects children from any walk of life, some of the children live with their family members, some are orphans and all come from poor backgrounds. Many of the families have a low income and can hardly afford school fees never mind giving their child an opportunity to learn to surf or play soccer. Although the school does its utmost to provide a decent education for the children, there is a distinct lack of sports activities and extra mural for the children. As a volunteer you will be encouraging the children to play sports and teach children football skills, surfing skills and skate boarding skills. As a volunteer you will be arranging football training and matches for the children at the school three days a week and then assisting at a surf school teaching the children to surf and swim two times a week (whilst getting unlimited surf lessons and being taught to surf before teaching the children). If you enjoy skate boarding then you can encourage the children to learn to skate and do tricks on the skate board too. This project is fun and enjoyable to do if you love sports and being outdoors. NB This is only an example placement which is one of many offered by IVHQ in South Africa and not necessarily the one you will be working at.
SURFING/SWIMMING OUTREACH PROJECT
Surfing is one of the most exciting and fun water sports anyone can get involved in. The surfing project mainly aims at getting children off the streets and giving them something fun and rewarding to do to occupy their time. Most of these children see surfing as something out of reach as they can barely afford food to eat, let alone a surf board and a wet suit. In this program children are fed and taught how to surf. The main aim is not to make them become the best surfers in the world but to give them stability, get them focused on going to school through positive support and to get them off the streets. The children are fed and taught how to surf every day. The project runs from Monday to Friday, where volunteers will be coaching the children on how to surf every afternoon (whilst also being taught themselves if they do not know how). Children are also taught how to swim by volunteers at the local salt water swimming pool. The project is loads of fun and your efforts and hard work will be met with great appreciation by the children. NB: You do not need to know how to surf for this program, as volunteers will be taught how to surf by our capable surf instructors. Volunteers that know how to surf are also strongly encouraged on this program. However you MUST know how to swim.
IVHQ PLACEMENT: IVHQ Muizenberg Beach Surf Placement.
Located on Muizenberg beach ten minutes walk from the IVHQ house, this project teaches 80-100 children aged 7-12 years old to surf a week, this is an after school project that welcomes children from all walks of life to join in. Some of these children are homeless and do not have a home to go to, others have homes and attend school at Capricorn Township. With this project we encourage the children to go to school (especially the homeless children) and then they get to learn to surf after school. At the surf school you will get taught to surf before teaching and shown how to teach the children in the mornings and then in the afternoons you will assist teaching 12+ children to surf alongside many other volunteers. This project runs from 10am-12am and then from 2pm-5.30pm daily. The children all come from poor backgrounds where surfing is far out of their reach, so we designed this project to accommodate the poor children that never have the opportunity to surf or swim. You will be assisting in collecting the children from the township and teaching them children to surf, swim and do warm up activities prior to the surf lessons. NB This is only an example placement which is one of many offered by IVHQ in South Africa and not necessarily the one you will be working at.
ARTS PROJECT
The Art project aims at teaching children from an early age how to use their time and hands productively. We believe that Art is an important subject, not only in its own right but in the rest of education as well through encouraging creativity. Through art, a lot of children will be given the chances to learn new skills, which they can use to generate income and help their families. The Art project involves teaching less privileged children at a township primary school how to tap into their creative side because creativity is the basis of many of the art projects. Therefore, this project will help equip the children in using any resources they have skilfully. This will also enable the children to think for themselves in more productive and creative ways. Many less privileged children usually resort to bad habits when they have nothing to do, this project will help give them skills to use to occupy their time in a meaningful and safe way. As a volunteer you will be assisting with Art lessons, drawings crafts and playing games. Your role will also be to motivate and be a positive influence to the children as they will be looking up to you.
IVHQ PLACEMENT: Capricorn Art Project
Located in Capricorn, Muizenberg near Cape Town about twenty minutes walk from the IVHQ volunteer house. The Art project will be at a school which teaches children between the ages of 5-13 years of age. Children coming to the school are less privileged children living in the surrounding area from low income families. Volunteers will be helping an arts teacher with art lessons, drawing, crafts and playing games. Volunteers can also get involved in other activities at the school or assist in teaching other subjects offered at the school. NB This is only an example placement which is one of many offered by IVHQ in South Africa and not necessarily the one you will be working at.
SOUTH AFRICA PROGRAM COSTS
One of the strengths of IVHQ is our extremely affordable fees. Click here to see the program cost to volunteer in South Africa and what you receive in exchange for your fees.
ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS
Volunteers will be housed at a modern and homely volunteer house with other volunteers. The house sleeps 20-26 people and has five bedrooms (shared rooms with bunk beds). The accommodation is in a safe and secure area and is based five minutes’ walk from the beach, trains, shops and ATMs, there are also restaurants nearby. Internet is provided at the volunteer house at an extra cost. The house has three bathrooms with Western-style toilets and hot water. It also has a living area where volunteers will have their meals, watch TV or play games. There is a nice wooden deck with a BBQ area and beautiful Mountain Views. Theme nights are organised 2-3 times a week for the volunteers to enjoy in the evenings. The house is safe and secure, each volunteer is asked to pay a key and towel deposit of R100 on arrival for a key and towel that will be provided to you. (You will get your key deposit back once you return the key and towel). Clean Bedding is also provided for you at the Volunteer house. The house has a cook who will prepare all your meals for volunteers and a cleaner who will ensure that the house is always clean. Meals will be provided for you (From Monday- Friday) at the following times:
Breakfast: 7.00-8.00am, Lunch 1.00-2pm, Dinner 7.00-8.00pm.
The meals generally consist of:
Breakfasts: Cereal, Toast and Fruit
Lunch: Sandwiches or a hot meal
Dinner: Local dishes such as: Pasta, macaroni and cheese, boere wors (known as sausages) and smash (mielie meal), Rice and veggie dishes, Burgers and salad and barbeque dinner
ORIENTATION
Orientation will begin on the first and third Monday of each month and last for approximately half a day. Orientation will be conducted by the South African team of staff that will meet you at the volunteer house. Orientation will cover all that volunteers need to know to make their stay as comfortable as possible at their volunteering placements in South Africa - Introduction to South Africa, South African Customs, Rules and Expectations, Safety, Basic Afrikaans and Xhosa lesson, Travel Opportunities in South Africa and Introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socialising. You will also be taken to see your project and be introduced to all that the project entails.
VOLUNTEER WEEK
Day 1: On the first day, volunteers will be taken to the project and introduced to the staff that volunteers will be working with.
A typical volunteer week will be as follows:
- Breakfast with other volunteers will be at 7:00-8am
- Volunteers will leave the house at 8am to walk to the project unless you are doing the Sports Development Project and Surfing Project, which starts at 10am
- Volunteers will get to the project at about 8.20am where they will meet with the staff to plan for the day.
- Work at the projects ends at 12.30pm-5pm. (except for the sports projects in the afternoons which start at 2pm and end at 5.30pm) Volunteers are free to do their shopping, visit places or just relax at the volunteer house in their free time.
- Lunch will be from 1-2pm at the volunteer house with other volunteers
- Dinner with other volunteers will be from 7-8pm pm every day
Weekends: Weekends are free and volunteers will have time to relax or explore other parts of Cape Town and South Africa. Long weekends can be taken if volunteers need to go on safaris, or travel to places further away with Africa such as the Garden Route.
GENERAL COUNTRY INFORMATION
Capital: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), Cape Town (legislative)
Population: 49,320,000
Official languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Tswana, English, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda and Southern Ndebele
Currency: Rand (ZAR)
Time zone: SAST (UTC+2)
Climate: South Africa has a generally temperate climate, due in part to being surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on three sides, by its location in the climatically milder southern hemisphere and due to the average elevation rising steadily towards the north (towards the equator) and further inland. Due to this varied topography and oceanic influence, a great variety of climatic zones exist.
The climatic zones vary, from the extreme desert of the southern Namib in the farthest northwest to the lush subtropical climate in the east along the Mozambique border and the Indian ocean. From the east, the land quickly rises over a mountainous escarpment towards the interior plateau known as the Highveld. Even though South Africa is classified as semi-arid, there is considerable variation in climate as well as topography.