Average rating Volunteer in a South African Township

Detailed description

For this project, you will be based in the seaside town of Port Alfred on the sunshine coast of South Africa. You will be helping out with one of three projects that are being run out of the Nelson Mandela township. If you are a flexible person with loads of energy, then this could be the trip for you.

The first program that you would be helping out with is giving respite care at a school for disabled children. The 26 pupils range in ages from 8 – 25 and are in real need of some entertainment and stimulation. Whether it is getting involved with messy play, or encouraging more active games, you will feel a warm glow as you see them developing as a direct result of your interaction.

The second initiative involves helping out at a pre-school crèche. With younger children aged 0 – 4 the emphasis is on having lots of fun and helping out the under-resourced and over-stretched teachers. You might find yourself teaching English one minute and then doing some colouring the next, but you can be sure that they will keep you on your toes!

The other much needed resource needed here is people to help with some basic IT training. In this day and age, most of us take IT skills for granted, a bit like riding a bicycle, but for many of the residents of the Township, their lack of computer proficiency is a real barrier to being able to find employment. Teaching someone how to open and save documents or how to use the Internet might not sound much, but could make a huge difference to their lives.

Throughout your stay you will be living with other volunteers in a shared house in Port Alfred. All of your meals will be served there, although many of the volunteers prefer to take a packed lunch so they can fit in one more session of finger painting! In the evenings, you might decide to go out for a drink with your fellow volunteers and at the weekends, the beach and the magnificent coast await you.

Accommodation & food

When you are not working, you will be living with other volunteers in a comfortable house in the coastal town of Port Alfred. Your food will be catered go and the laundry and cleaning will also be taken care of. The house is comfortable and fully furnished, it has satellite TV, but we somehow doubt you will want to watch it much given that the house overlooks the beach. You will need to embrace communal living when on this project. Meals are eaten together and you will be sharing a room with between one and three other volunteers. You will spend a lot of time with other people while you are here, so this wouldn’t suit those with anti-social leanings. See this as a great opportunity to make some really good new friends, contribute to a local community and be inspired by an amazing place.

Is it for me?

This project is suitable for people with lots of energy and enthusiasm! You will only be here for a few weeks, so you will need to throw yourself into the work with a lot of energy and really get stuck in. You will be spending a lot of time with young children, so patience and a willingness to play and have fun are a must. As far as the IT training is concerned, you don’t need to be the next Bill Gates, but you do need to be confident using a computer and a patient teacher.