Sample Volunteer Abroad Projects — South Africa
Environmental Education Projects - Pre school and Primary Education - Social Welfare - Tourism
Environmental Education Projects
Many old nature reserves are being redeveloped and re-launched, saving important habitat. Educational facilities are being developed in many of these sites, with the goal of fostering environmental awareness and appreciation in young South Africans. Archaeological excavation sites are being displayed to study evolution and the cradle of mankind. Alien vegetation is being cleared to make way for the rich diversity of indigenous plant species to grow and flourish. Volunteers are needed to work in the areas of biodiversity, education and tourism.
sample conservation project: Rondevlei Nature Reserve - Zeekoevlei
Rondevlei is a large nature reserve with a vlei (lake) comrising a wetland refuge for birdlife. There are various flora and fauna in the reserve, including hippos. General duties for volunteers include maintaining the nursery, planting seedlings, general administrative duties, and assisting with environmental education programs for school and youth groups visiting the reserve. Requirements include loving the outdoors and may involve getting your hands dirty!
Education
There are several schools in and around Cape Town where volunteers are desperately needed to 'roll up their sleeves' and interact with the children, assist in teaching basic English, coaching sports or even help to create and maintain school gardens. Schools, such as the Ikaya and Liefdespoorrt are one of many projects struggling to provide better education for township children. The world-renowned American opera singer Simon Estes founded the Simon Estes School of Music in Lansdowne, especially to accommodate musically talented students from underprivileged backgrounds.
Example of pre-school project: Lieftespoort School - Philippi
The Lieftespoort School in Philippe caters for all ages of children, from pre-primary to primary ages, most of the scholars at the school are from poor farming communities and much help is needed at the pre-school to assist the children with activities, games and rest times. Volunteers that are interested in helping at Lieftespoort need to have a genuine interest in children, be patient, loving, kind and have loads of enthusiasm and patience. The crèche/pre primary school caters for around 75-100 children and is mostly from local communities from poorer backgrounds.
Example of primary school project: Sunnyside Primary School - Athlone
Sunnyside Primary School is situated within the local community of Athlone. and is a secure and safe school, which protects its scholars from the outside environment. These scholars are more settled in their families, and the families can afford good schools, food and clothes for their children. The sizes of these classes leave the teachers in the position where they can't give one on one attention to the children. This is where the volunteers will help, to interact with the children, teach them arts ad crafts; musical instruments, read stories and teach rhymes and songs and assist the classroom teacher with daily activity preparation.
The volunteers will have to be flexible and have a wish to work with young children. Volunteers should have some arts and crafts skills, child counselling, and child caring abilities. The school is fully and totally equipped with crayons and paints, etc. necessary to keep the children busy for the full day. Previous volunteers have set up a new library and new volunteers are needed to carry on caring for the library, helping with classification of books etc. If any volunteers have a love of reading, or library experience this will be an exciting and rewarding project for them.
Social Welfare
There are various social projects where a lot of help is needed, these include non-profit organizations that seek to readdress the damages of Apartheid and support the budding South African democracy. These organizations train community members to assume leadership roles, and volunteers are now being placed within these projects. Duties for volunteers will vary from feeding young children, to playing and assisting with homework for those struggling at school. At the homes for abused women, volunteers will assist with day to day activities and will skills development.
sample social welfare project: Place of Hope - Crawford/Athlone
Place of Hope is a residential facility for abused women and their children. Volunteers will help in all aspects of the home, including cooking and meal planning, assisting in the creche on the premises, and helping to run the life skills workshops run by the home.
Tourism
Another important area of development is that of tourism. Tourism is a great source of funds for local economic development in certain parts of the country. Help build up tourism by lending a hand in the building of museums or by helping with the restoration of old churches and town halls in historic little towns. There are also projects bringing tourism to rural villages and local communities. Check with your local sending office to find out more about current programs in South Africa in the tourism sector.
