Volunteering in South Africa

Volunteering in South Africa

EXIS organizes volunteering stays in South Africa, which can be combined with an English course at an international language school in Nairobi. South Africa is a land of many contrasts, and although Cape Town in many ways is very much like a modern European city, there are still many areas where you will find great poverty.

Volunteering offers a unique possibility to experience the country, culture and population while doing a meaningful job. Volunteers must be independent, open minded and minimum 18 years old.  Many volunteers choose to end their stay in South Africa with a 20 days camping-safari from Cape Town to Victoria Falls. You can also of course also choose to participate in this trek without volunteering.

“The reward of the ending of apartheid will and must be measured by the happiness and welfare of the children, at once the most vulnerable citizens in any society and the greatest of our treasures.”

– Words spoken by Mr. Nelson Mandela in his acceptance speech on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993

Program start

The program starts upon arrival on a Sunday at Cape Town airport. You will be picked-up by your host family.

Arrival dates:
Every Sunday.

Below you can learn about the different projects we offer in South Africa.

Introduction activities

You will follow a few days introduction before you start working. These days will help you to become familiar with your new surroundings, meet the coordinator and get practival information. It is very important that you accept working with poor people in society. Volunteer tasks vary from institution to institution. There’s also time for some organised outings. If you choose to follow English lessons before volunteering, the introduction activities will take place during your first week lessons.

Volunteering Projects in South Africa

Please note
For working places involving teaching, be aware of the following school periods:

14.01 – 25.03 – 1st term
13.04 – 26.06 – 2nd term
20.07 – 02.10 – 3rd term
12.10 – 09.12 – 4rd term

Outside these periodes, other workplaces will still be available.

Shelters for women and children

This organisation is an NGO that shelters, cares and empowers destitute, abused and disadvantaged mothers and their children. It offers short-term shelter and care for 17 women and their children at any time and a day-care centre for children with counselling and therapy. It also provides opportunities for job training in order to enable mothers to find a job.

In South Africa there is a housing shortage which creates a problem when residents leave the shelter as they cannot afford the market related rentals. The NGO has 2 houses where residents from the shelter can stay for 12 months.

The volunteers help to occupy the children. Schools for former street children provide schooling to children up to 15 years old. Almost 50 % of the children are four years or more behind in schooling, compared to European children. They come from families without education and have no books at home and were never taught skills. The basic teaching of mathematics, reading and writing – preparing them for a normal schooling can also help them. Many have been abused and are sometimes disturbed. Violence has been a part of their lives. This is one of the more difficult placements and not recommended for anyone under 20 years of age.

Schools for handicapped children

These schools are for children who are brain-damaged from birth. Sometimes the damage is so little that it is not immediately obvious, whilst other, more handicapped children have problems with their hearing, their sight, sensory disorders, physical disorders and their learning capabilities are also affected. All the children are taught English, maths, nature studies etc. plus practical subjects such as handiwork and woodwork. Pupils who cannot cope with the educational subjects are transferred to practical classes. At the end of their schooling these pupils will be employed at sheltered workshops – adult training centres.
There are also pupils with general learning disabilities at this school. There is also a team of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists in a therapy unit. Volunteers who choose this field are expected to have a strong interest in working with mentally and physically handicapped children.

School for autistic children

This school provides education and training to learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder, particularly those from disadvantaged communities. A holistic approach, ranging from education and therapies to sport and psychological intervention, is offered to the children. Autism is more common in boys than in girls and is found in all socio-economic and cultural groups. Autism is on a spectrum and people diagnosed as ‘Autistic’ can vary largely in behaviours, skills, and abilities.

There are about 65 children at school, mostly boys between the ages of 5 and 18. More than 85 % come from disadvantaged homes. Some can read and count, others do not speak. Some have a ‘high functioning’ label, while others need help with basics, even the toilet. Volunteers will be assigned to classrooms and teachers and gain experience in teaching and educational coordination and serve as part of the school team.

Volunteers and or Interns with relevant experience can also work closely with the fulltime psychologist if they are interested in counselling or psychology and they will get assistance and guidance regarding their duties at the school. Volunteers are also used to assist with music therapy, art therapy, sport activities and any other areas that they are interested in.

Domestic Animal Rescue group

This is a pro-life, non-profit organisation that rescues, cares for and re-homes abused and abandoned cats, kittens, dogs and puppies. It does not receive any government funding and is solely dependent on donations from the public. The rescue/adoption centre is open between 9am and 4pm daily, including weekends.

The centre aims to lessen the suffering of abandoned, injured and abused dogs and cats by rescuing them, providing for their well being and placing them into loving homes reduce the numbers of unwanted animals by providing primary health care such as vaccinations, de-worming and parasite control, free sterilization to dogs and cats in disadvantaged communities, helping them to protect the rights of the animals through effective education. There is a veterinary clinic at the centre, which treats animals from disadvantaged communities.

Volunteers can help with caring for the dogs and puppies in the kennels, tending to the cats and kittens in the cattery, assisting in the office and charity shops, rescuing animals, maintaining the general upkeep of the facilities, general fundraising, street collections, and home checks.

Kiddies College

Kiddies College is a fancy name for a pre-school. They take children from very poor backgrounds. All lessons are in English. Volunteers have some freedom to run their own ideas and projects. You will mainly be assisting the teachers in the classrooms with education, playing and eating. There are 4 different classrooms for the different age groups:

Red group: 2 to 3 years old
Blue group I: 3 to 4 years old
Blue group II: 4 to 5 years old
Yellow group: (Grade R): 5 to 6 years old

Dominical Deaf School

This school is located in Wittebome, a suburb area, close to volunteers home stay addresses. This is a regular school with pre-school students to grade 12. Most children are deaf, but some have other disabilities like cerebral palsy or autism. The school also has a hostel for some children from out-of-town. Although the school gets financial support from the department of education they are always needing extra funds and volunteers are welcome to help out with all odd tasks. The main tasks of the volunteers are:

• Assisting the teachers in classrooms
• Helping the children with homework in the afternoon
• Sport activities
• Computer work
• Social interaction with the children in the hostel over weekends

Volunteers will work from 8am – 2 pm.

Riding with the disabled

This organisation assures free therapeutic horse riding lessons for handicapped. They provide the opportunity of therapeutic and recreational riding to people living with disabilities, who, irrespective of their disability, might benefit from riding in their general health and well being and their social and educational skills.

Therapeutic horse riding is literally therapy on a horse, and it’s a lot more fun than therapy in a therapy room, especially when you’re a child! It improves flexibility, balance and muscle strength. The unique relationship that is formed with the horse can lead to increased confidence, patience and self-esteem as well as the physical, emotional and mental rewards. Riding is mostly during the mornings and not every day.

It is possible to combine this work place with another.

Foster Care

“Home from Home” provides supported and supervised community-based foster care for orphaned, abused, neglected and vulnerable children through a network of small, family homes in disadvantaged communities in South Africa. Living in a small family unit with a dedicated foster mother or parent and no more than six children, is the next best place for children who can’t be cared for by their own biological families.

The children grow up in their home communities and culture, where their home language is spoken. They have a foster family to support and care for them and there is always the hope that one day they will either be reunited with their biological families, or failing that, that the Home from Home organisation has provided them with the necessary grounding to lead happy, successful lives.

There are many tasks you could get involved with from taking children on outings or helping a foster mother and child to the local clinic for an appointment. Part of the work will be hands-on in the afternoons with the children and the foster mother in the mornings and work with the organisation and the social workers during the afternoons.

Volunteers with special skills – for example, counselling, physiotherapy and occupational therapy amongst others – are very welcome. Most common are the following tasks:

• Assist the foster parents in their daily work
• Arrange activities for children
• Health care
• Cleaning and repairing the children’s surroundings, clothing, shoes, etc.
• Entertain and run extra activities with games
• Help them to wash their face and brush their teeth
• Help them to learn their lessons
• Help them to eat food, serve food or be with them while eating so that they can feel a family environment

All about Ability

This NGO provides mental health services in the Western Cape. There are 22 community-based programmes for the development and rights of people with mental disabilities, both intellectual and psychiatric. They focus on ability rather than disability, that’s why their slogan is: all about ability.
The NGO’s aim is to bring about a mind-shift in society, to challenge the stigma and prejudice that persons with mental disabilities encounter almost daily, to remove the environmental and structural barriers that prevent their full participation in society, and to improve their access to service. It is impossble to mention all the departments, so we only mention some of the NGO’s activities.

• Supervised residential facilities for women with intellectual disability. Providing healthy meals, access to medical resources, life skill training etc.
• Integrated Social work services. These services include awareness raising and prevention, early intervention, statutory services and reintegration services to individuals, groups and at community level.
• Individual counseling services to improve knowledge and understanding and assist with access to services, resources and opportunities.
• Group work services organizing events to enhance mental health of the community, clients and caregivers, exhibitions and mental health presentations to educate the public about mental health and the services.
• School programme to empower educators and learners to identify and deal with mental health problems and access services.
• Training Workshops, rehabilitation centers.

All volunteers interested in working for this NGO need to have experience and relevant education.

Orphanage for girls

This home for Girls in Wynberg, provides for children who are abused, abandoned, neglected and orphaned. Girls from failed foster placements and those with behavioural problems are also cared for.
By providing specialised care and education and teaching life skills to the girls within a secure environment, caregivers empower them with the necessary skills and knowledge to become confident individuals. Equipped with these vital tools the girls are eventually able to leave the home and make a positive contribution to society.

Forty girls between the ages of two and eighteen are divided into four smaller families of all ages, each in the care of its own Child Care Worker (house mother). There also is one relief childcare worker. The overall care is provided for by a social worker. The girls attend schools in the surrounding areas, worship at a church of their choice and are actively involved in extra-mural activities.

Volunteers work during the afternoon as girls attend school during the morning.