Volunteer in South Africa

  South Africa

• Cape Town: 
Cape Town (Kaapstad)

Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks and 5-8 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: Throughout the year; Varies by project

Description: Our volunteer program in South Africa provides participants the chance to contribute their skills and knowledge in significant ways. Participants are given the chance to make a difference in the world they live in by supporting an environmental cause, improving impoverished communities, or educating children and youth. We offer a variety of projects throughout the Cape Town area, where participants will have many opportunities to both explore the country and experience the life and culture of South Africa.

Highlights:
Volunteer Projects:
We have met with numerous local organizations in need of volunteers and have chosen the following projects for their mission and experience in the field; and because we are confident that, by volunteering in their facilities, participants will come home with a real sense of accomplishment:

Community/Education (3 weeks)
Support preschools/day-care centers
Goal: support education, build leadership skills, and work toward a better understanding of the environment, particularly in impoverished areas of Cape Town, South Africa.

Mission: The program provides support for 12 independently run township preschools/day-care centers (known locally as creches) in the informal community of Philippi. Philippi is located on the outskirts of Cape Town, close to the airport. Each creche is run by a management committee with a local principal and about 3 to 5 workers. Each center is open from approximately 6am to 6pm weekdays and cares for roughly between 45 and 120 children a day. The children range in age from babies to 6 years and are predominantly Xhosa speaking. Resources and often space are limited, but the creches make sure that the children get two meals a day and receive caring supervision. The children are from impoverished families, for whom the R100-R150 monthly fee they pay is often a financial strain. Left at home, the children would be at very high risk of abuse, neglect, and accidents; so, the creches are an essential form of protection and supervision as well as pre-school preparation.

Learn and teach Permaculture to young students
Goal: Transform learning environments through Permaculture.

Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and perennial agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecology. The intent was that, by rapidly training individuals in a core set of design principles, those individuals could design their own environments and build increasingly self-sufficient human settlements ones that reduce society's reliance on industrial systems of production and distribution that are fundamentally and systematically destroying Earth's ecosystems.

Mission: The program partners schools for three years. The exit strategy ensures a sustainable Permaculture system providing food security, a tool for education, and a garden-based entrepreneurial project which generates sufficient income to employ one community member.

Ecology/Conservation (6 weeks)
Goal: Conserve and protect South Africa's sea birds and penguins, two especially threatened species, for the benefit of present and future generations.
Mission: Rehabilitate ill, injured, oiled and orphaned sea birds and penguins on a daily basis. Prepare for and manage the rehabilitation of sea birds and penguins during major disasters like oil spills, raise awareness about conservation through environmental education, collaborate on research projects.

Cape Town Discovery Week (optional):
City tour of places such as Cape Town, Table Mountain & Camps Bay, the Peninsula, the Slave Route, Robben Island & Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the Townships, and the Wine Route.

Also Included:
* Pre-departure orientation
* One optional discovery week including tours and activities
* Guaranteed volunteer placement
* Welcome pack including T-shirt, Sim card, R50 airtime, Map Studio Visitor's guide to Cape Town and the Peninsula
* Visa assistance (if needed)
* Travel/Medical insurance
* Airport pick-up
* Transfer to your accommodation and volunteer project
* Accommodations in hostels, hotels and/or volunteer project site housing
* Full-time local representative in South Africa
* 24/7 emergency support
* Certificate of completion (upon request)

Qualifications:
* Participants must be at least 18 years old
* Participants must be eligible to receive a tourist visa to South Africa
* Participants must be flexible and willing to contribute

AIDE is a non-profit organization. Donations contributed in excess of the fair market value of the services you receive from AIDE may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax adviser for more information.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Resume

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

AIDE 's Mission Statement: Through education and the exchange of ideas and people across borders, AIDE will build a worldwide community of global citizens who will be part of an ongoing intercultural conversation. AIDE will be a catalyst for change in the world by building bridges between individuals from diverse cultures.

Year Founded: 1992