Pre-school Teaching Support from a Ndebele Village

  South Africa

Pretoria

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: Availability provided on request

Description: Award-winning company. Support in edu-care activities in the pre-school that serves the rural community and the nearby traditional Ndebele village. The facilities have been upgraded with the help of previous volunteers. All kind of teaching/tutoring support and further upgrading of the facility is welcome.

The pre-school is the only one in the area and serves a growing community need. The crèche was established in 2005 by Sibongile Mthimunye and originally accommodated 8 children, ages 2 to 6. The school was originally housed in a rented, old un-electrified cinema building with below-basic facilities.
Sibongile now owns her own house and crèche thanks to the help of our volunteers! In 2006, Sibongile moved to her own 3-roomed house and ran her crèche from one of the rooms. The brightly painted school attracted the attention of the local community who enrolled more and more children. The numbers swelled and soon the one room became too small for all the children. In 2007 Sibongiles dream came true and our volunteers built a 45 square metre room for her use. The numbers have again swelled to around 19 children aged from a few months to 6 years.

You will be living within the community you volunteer in by staying in the nearby Ndebele Village. The village inhabitants still live in a traditional manner and practice their time-old customs, despite the influence of modernisation. The village is relatively un-commercialised and you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself and experience life from a unique perspective. For example, the village still practices initiation rites - your stay may coincide with such an event, in which you could experience this intimate ritual.
The houses and enclosures are painted with the colourful geometric patterns for which the Ndebele are famous, often incorporating modern aspects such as telephones and the SA flag.

You will be accommodated in the village Lodge in comfortable twin bed rooms and you will have the opportunity to sleep in the traditional huts as well. The Lodge is held in trust by the community and was build with funds after the community was forcibly removed under Apartheid. You may enjoy your meal either in the small conference centre/ restaurant or share it with a family in the traditional way.
During your stay you could learn the intricate art of Ndebele beading and assist with the ongoing traditional mural paintings. You may even ask the resident witch doctor or traditional healer to throw the bones and tell you what he sees in your future!

Your donation included in the project fee will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the project. On your return home you may continue to support the project with on-going donations directly into the projects account.

Highlights: Your Voluntouring experience is not complete without taking in some key heritage and tourist sites during your off-periods. We can recommend some must see places. However recommendations may vary and are dependent on the location of your project. Extensions and additional sight-seeing can be arranged for a fee on request.

South Africa is a land of absolute beauty and boundless diversity you can whale watch in Hermanus or track elephant in the Kruger National Park, you can bunjee jump off bridges or sip cocktail overlooking the mountains.

Qualifications: None required.

Cost in US$: Prices available on request

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Someone who is interested in working with pre-school children, interested in upliftment of disadvantaged communities, interested in assisting in admninistration, programme development and training in a pre-school environment, or assisting with food / sustainability issues.

Age Range: Anyone of full legal capacity can volunteer

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to South Africa Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Resume
• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad

Voluntours's Mission Statement: We are a multi-award winner in the Imvelo Awards for Responsible Tourism for Southern Africa in 2007 and 2008 (Johannesburg). As well as winners in the prestigious Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award 2008 (London). We are a volunteer placement organisation and tour-broker operating within South Africa placing volunteers in South Africa. We intimately manage your volunteer experience from home. We will match your unique skills and interests with carefully selected volunteer projects, and also help organise the rest of your trip. A variety of long and short-term placements are available. Volunteers are housed either within the community or nearby. A project donation is included in the costing to ensure sustainability and transparency.

Year Founded: 2005