Voluntourism & Eco-Adventure

From January to May 2009 volunteers contributed over 60 hours to community and sports development in Cape Town South Africa, through township sports coaching and physical education. Our project structures, together with the support and advice of our strategic partners, African Impact and it’s charitable foundation team at The Happy Africa Foundation, are continuously assessing our work and project strategies to ensure that these hours are meaningful with measurable outcomes. For the same period, we have helped improve children’s physical wellbeing through our education programs and our dream is to raise enough funds for a grass soccer field for the children of Masipumelele Township.

This is the only primary school servicing the township of Masiphumelele, which has in excess of 35,000 residents. This is a Xhosa speaking school with over 1300 pupils and 33 teachers. The average classroom has between 45-49 children with only 1 teacher, so your efforts to assist will be hugely appreciated. 

PE lessons run for 30mins each day, from 8.30am until 12.30, with each grade sending 2 classes at a time.

Building and painting schools 


Schools in Red Hill deal with a great shortage of classrooms and facilities, as a result of which they are limited to the amount of children they can accommodate. As a volunteer, you will assist with fixing fences and windows, and rebuilding and painting classrooms. This project will also involve community litter, glass and rubbish collection.

Volunteers will assist teachers with  after school care by helping with game playing, reading (both one-on-one with the kids and to the group during story time), and with other activities they engage the children with i.e. art, music, and dancing. Volunteers with skills such as computer, administration, financial or training can also add huge value to the teachers lives.

“The Educare Centre is about the community taking responsibility for their own upliftment and participating in the governing of their own lives… It is about empowering ourselves by creating good working relations between government structures, sponsors and communities for the benefit of everybody”    Nelson Mandela

Masiphumelele Library 
Masiphumelele has been blessed with a wonderfully-resourced library and great facilities. The library offers many services to the community and volunteers slot into some of the existing programs offered at the library. These include arts and crafts, puzzles, games, literacy, one on one reading, homework club and math club.

Project Orientation:

Upon arrival at our project base on the outskirts of Cape Town, all volunteers are involved in a comprehensive orientation program,  which is included in your fee. This is facilitated by your Project Manager and entails:

• An introduction to the city of Cape Town and surrounding Cape Peninsula, as well as the communities you will be working in
  
• An introduction to all of our Cape Town projects. Not only will you see where you will be working, you will also see where your fellow volunteers will be spending their days
  

Project “Day in the life”: 

Please note that your itineraries may differ from this, depending on your own experience and the number of other volunteers on the placement at the same time, and this is simply to give an example:

Project Meals:

You will be provided with three meals a day. Breakfast is on a help-yourself basis consisting of hot or cereal, toast, tea   and coffee. Lunch and dinner will be cooked or prepared for you by one of our chefs at your volunteer house. On weekends you will need to cook your own meals (we will provide ingredients) as our staff will need to be given time off. Weekends are usually a good time for tourist activities and exploring the surrounding area, so this is the time that a lot of volunteers are out and about.

Cape Town Sports Coaching and Physical Education notes:

• We have found in the past that the more you as a volunteer put in to your involvement, the more you will get out. If you are coming to assist teachers, we suggest that you have some lesson plans or ideas, and take initiative with the children. We are excited to offer you the opportunity to educate them, to entertain them and to love them…
  
• During the school holidays volunteers will assist teachers in the community projects and will be involved in building, painting, holiday clubs and much more! Though the project might be slightly less ‘structured’ than during school term, there will be NO shortage of amazing, rewarding and exciting work to do with the local kids and in the local communities.
  
• The school holiday dates for 2011 are as follows:
  

           *1 Oct-9 Oct 2011 * 9 Dec 2011-16 Jan 2012
           •  This project will be closed over the following dates:
           *10 Dec 2011-Jan 2012 (date to be confirmed)

• Red Hill and Masiphumelele are in essence townships, but both are safe and peaceful with wonderful people. Our  strategic partner, African Encounter and African Impact, have been working in these communities for many years and have built solid relationships and trust. This is a dynamic, exciting project with loads of opportunities to really make an impact in the people lives and communities you come into contact with.
• ‘Sponsor a Child’ initiative – the children’s school fees are such a minimal figure to us, but a huge amount for a family with one working parent, or in some cases, even no parents at all. When you arrive we will go through detailed information with you on how you can sponsor a child’s fees for the year and receive quarterly updates on them, their families, progress and leave a lasting impression in the community.
• You will be living with the Cape Town Medical and Teaching volunteers and the community sections are the same. You will thus be potentially working alongside them in the afternoons, depending on the need of the projects at the time. Red Hill pre school, which is opposite the Red Hill clinic, is an area we would really like to put in a lot of resources.
• Please also understand that our projects are continuously evolving, being improved, and adapting to the needs of the local communities that we are involved with, so involvement areas do change from time to time. Rest assured your work will be necessary, rewarding and exciting. We invite you to be more than a tourist…

South African Travel Highlights:

These are not included in your volunteering fee, but our coordinators are able to assist you with making the necessary booking arrangements.

• Vivacious Cape Town is one of the most stunning cities on the globe.  It is the home to the heritage site of Nelson Mandela’s prison home, Robben Island; it is the gateway to the stunning Western Cape wine lands; and boasts magnificent beaches, amongst other spectacular highlights.
  
• The “Wild Coast” along the eastern frontier of South Africa is a collection of unrivaled surf spots ,beautiful beaches and cultural stops that will intrigue even the most seasoned traveler, endearing  this land to you
  
• Garden Route weekend safari
  

Guideline prices for popular activities offered in and around Cape Town:

Aquila private game reserve – a “Big 5” reserve situated 2 hours drive out of Cape Town: approx. USD$220 pp (based on a minimum of 5 pax), which includes a buffet breakfast, lunch and a 3 hour game drive. It is also a possible opportunity to pet cheetahs. 

City hop on-hop off double-decker bus: approx. USD$20 pp

Shark Cage Diving: approx. USD$220 pp (including transport and based on a minimum of 4 pax)

Sky diving: approx. USD$290 (including transport and based on a minimum of 2 pax)

Abseiling down Table Mountain: approx. USD$75

Surfing lessons: approx. USD$35

Project Age Limit 
Minimum 18 years old if traveling solo

Project Highlights

• Physical education lessons with disadvantaged children
  
• Bringing fresh ideas and stimulation to the children through sports
  
• Helping to uplift the community through education, health care, and building projects
  
• Immerse yourself in local “Capetonian” culture and make friends for life!
  

2 weeks - USD $1295 
4 weeks - USD  $1970
6 weeks - USD $2585

Project Cost Includes: 

• Project Fee: this entails financing that goes directly back into the project that you are involved with. This fee facilitates funding for items such medical supplies, building materials, equipment, etc. Project fees are also used to buy vehicles / equipment for the project, and for developing new housing for volunteers to provide for the expansion of the project
• All airport transfers from Cape Town International Airport upon  arrival and departure
  
• Comprehensive orientation program
  
• All daily transfers to and from your projects during your stay
  
• Full board and lodging which includes 3 meals a day at our volunteer house
  
• Weekly laundry service during your stay
  
• Assistance in your projects by various staff and Project Managers
  

Volunteers will stay in a fully furnished house situated at the foot of Chapman’s Peak in the rustic town of Noordhoek. The house is on a private and secure one acre property which includes a swimming pool and barbecue facilities. The house is comfortable, spacious, and within easy walking distance of a shopping mall and cinema. It is also staffed with a cook and cleaner and each room has a fridge and a bathroom. Other facilities include satellite television, a pool table and a lock-up safe for your valuables. All bedding is provided, but you will however need to bring your own towels please.

How to get there:

We will meet you at the airport!

Our Destination Manager will assist you with the procedures and one of our representatives will meet you at the airport upon your arrival in Cape Town. You will then be escorted to your volunteer base in Noordhoek.