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Volunteer in South Africa - Orphaned Children Program

South Africa - Volunteer in Africa

Volunteer for orphaned children and make a difference helping vulnerable families better their lives. An unforgetable experience in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

Tags: Volunteer for Education Humanitarian Aid Volunteer for Development

Duration:

Departing:

$ 740

Profile
Full Details
Pictures
Volunteer Logs

Fast Facts

Project length:	Minimum 2 weeks
Project costs:	US$740 for 2 weeks, and $220 for each additional week
Location of project:	450kms north east of Johannesburg
Arrival airport:	Phalaborwa or Hoedspruit
Volunteer work:	Teaching, social work and you must love working with children
Number of participants:	2 to 5 international volunteers
Age limit:	18 – 70

What's Included

Accommodation:	Volunteers house
Food:	All the meals are provided. You help yourself at the school to cereal, fruit, toast ... , then lunch is a sandwich, soup or noodles. Dinner is prepared for the volunteers.
Airport pickup:	Included on arrival day
Orientation kit:	Full project details will be sent following reservation
Training:	Pre-departure preparation and training in Tshega

What's Not Included

Flights, Insurance, personal expenses, local transportation, tourist visa.

Location

The Mission is located in the Limpopo Province about 450kms northeast of Johannesburg. The Limpopo province is the link between South Africa and countries further afield in sub-Saharan Africa. It borders Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique. Volunteers will support community members in the Limpopo Province, Modjadji area, which consists of several villages.

About the project

This project is run by the Tshega Mission established in 2004 in view of supporting vulnerable individuals, families and their communities. Most of the activities will take place at the Tshega premises, the primary school or in the villages. You will reach the children through education by providing them with a normal environment and supporting them in all basic needs.

Volunteer work and contribution

The Volunteer work in the project can be divided into three main social programs:

The Educational Program - you will assist qualified educators in their classroom with:

Reading and art activities
Songs, rhymes
Marking and covering children's books
Story time
One to one tuition sessions
Presenting lessons in personal areas of expertise
Memorization activities
Extracurricular activities such as athletics (Jan, Feb, March April), netball and soccer (May, June, July), drama, acting and dancing (Aug, Sept, Oct), cross country (Oct, Nov)

The Outreach Program

Mapping villages - Villages are not mapped
Visiting village homes and completing questionnaires with community members for statistics
Numbering houses and adding numbers to houses
Naming streets and putting up street signs
Orphan Outreaches will take place once a week in public schools. The orphans are taught about topics such as HIV/AIDS, purifying of water, hygiene etc.
Gardening - This project trains community members to grow their own gardens

The Women's Program trains community members:

Sewing
Cooking and baking
Health issues

Working hours and day:

Each volunteer will receive a detailed weekly schedule to follow. Normally volunteers work from 7am to 3pm from Monday to Friday. Tshega staff usually goes into town at least once a week and there are occasionally events during weekends.

Accommodation and food

The volunteers will stay on a farm with the Van Rooyen family in their own house. The house consists of two single rooms, a four-bed room, a double room, kitchen, living and eating area and bathroom.

All the meals are provided. Breakfast is self service at the school, lunch tends to be a sandwich,soup or noodles. Dinner is the main meal and is prepared for the volunteers.

Travel highlights

South Africa is well known for its beautiful nature and animal life. Weekends are available to visit places in the area. Some of the favorite excursions are:

The Kruger National Park - Come and see the big five on 45 000 hectares!

Tshekudu - The opportunity to work with big cheetahs and lions.

Swadini - Visit the beautiful mountains and walking trails.

Kapama - Go on an elephant ride!

Minimum requirements

Minimum age: 18
BasicEnglish Proficiency
High level of independence and emotional strength
Motivation to work with children
Full travel & medical insurance
Immunizations (please consult your doctor)

South Africa - Orphaned Children program volunteer experience by Viv Malone 2010

I can honestly say that I loved being a part of this fabulous project which is why i have returned 4 times since for 3 months at a time. I have become part of the family and made a really good friend, Ellanie.

What did you do? At the school I did a number of things depending on my confidence and what needed doing at the time. Ellanie (the program manager) usually likes to know what you like doing and whether you have any particular skills. As I work with small children I helped out with the pre school children. I conducted singing lessons with them, read them stories and generally just played. In the other classrooms I helped mark the children's books, assist the teachers with what they are doing. The children love having new people at the school and are very affectionate with you. The teachers too are great,they are so grateful of all the help they get .A Monday morning assembly is the best. All the school (children 2 - 12) come together in the hall and sing. Its fantastic because they get so carried away and dance as well.

How was the lodging? The farm in which you stay is about 40 minutes drive away from the school and you drive in the morning with Ellanie herself at about 7am and return about 3pm. You stay in an apartment where there is a TV and DVD player. Ellanie has just recently got married and is in the process of renovating a big house for the volunteers which is opposite the house they are going to live in on a new farm. I have been there on lots of occasions and its really big. There are showers as well as baths so its very musch like a home away from home. All the food is provided by Ellanie. You help yourself to breakfast and lunch at the school. This can be anything from cereal, toast, fruit, sandwiches, soup or noodles. Then the evening meal is prepared at home and bought over to the house. On Sundays you prepare your own food at home or eat out if you are on an excursion.

What about free time? At the weekends and sometimes during the week you can go various excursions. These include the Kruger National Park where you can camp or stay in a chalet. Whilst there you can go on night drives etc. Tskudu is a private game reserve where you can stroke cheetahs and maybe walk with a lion cub. This is my favourite place because you can get so close to the animals. The 3 cheetahs completely fend for themselves but go back to camp for some company at times. The panorama tour is where you drive to the most amazing views, Blyde river canyon, potholes and many more.I like this tour because the views are in the tourist books you buy when visiting South Africa. The Eiland is a holiday resort about 15 minutes from the farm. It has outdoor swimming pools,entertainment,shop and restaurant. A lovely way of relaxing on a Sunday afternoon.

The project has become a very big part of my life and i try my best to raise funds for the children over here. Ellanie is a great person with an amazing passion. She loves what she does so much and takes great care of all the people who visit. She welcomes them into her home and treats them like family.Nothing is ever too difficult for her.