VOLUNTEERING AT A COMMUNITY IN CAPE TOWN
During our travels through South Africa we had the incredible opportunity to volunteer at a community townships in Cape Town with GoEco. We spent some time visiting settlements in Blauuwberg to help improve their English skills and empower the local communities. These townships of Cape Town are home to many impoverished families, who often live in makeshift shacks with little running water and electricity. Our main job was to uplift children and the families of Blaauwberg, and that's exactly what we tried to do!
Out of all of Africa - Why Cape Town?
This year alone we have spent over 2 months in the beautiful city of Cape Town, enough to let you know that this is our favourite city in all of South Africa. The project is based in Table View, a cool, laidback suburb which is in walking distance to the beach with spectacular views of Table Mountain and the main city of Cape Town.
Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa and is referred to as the ‘The Mother City’ by locals. It has a cultural heritage spanning more than 300 years and world renowned, breathtaking scenery, from the iconic Table Mountain to the glorious Cape beaches. It's not only an amazing place to volunteer, but also a great place to go sightseeing, hiking, surfing - a great spot to volunteer for the outdoorsy type.
Want to know what we got up to in Cape Town? Get some inspiration from our Cape Town blogs.
Volunteering in an African Community: What To Expect
At this particular program there are three projects you can choose to volunteer at.
1. Settlement Project
At this project your time will be split between helping in the morning at the community educare centers, which provide young children with education-focused play groups, and teaching adults in the afternoon, giving them the skills they will need to gain employment.
2. Schools and Educare Project
This is the program we experienced. You will be placed in one of seven schools in the community teaching children from preschool to grade 7 English, life skills and health related topics.
3. The Center for the Disabled
This center was established in 2008 and currently cares for 34 children between the ages of 18 months to 18 years. This center is the only one of its kind in the settlements and is often the only place that children with special needs can be cared for and educated. Volunteers will help with teaching classes, feeding the children, give one-on-one assitance and help with physiotherapy and mind stimulation excersies.
Organising Volunteering Abroad
If you are interested in volunteering abroad we feel the best way to do this is with an organisation that can set you up with a project of your choice. We teamed up with GoEco who help people that want to volunteer abroad do just that. You simply tell them what kind of volunteering you are interested in experiencing and what country you would like to travel to and they will help find you your perfect project.
If you are interested in the volunteer project we experienced check out the Cape Town Community Project with GoEco.
Our Experience
As always, we filmed our entire experience here at the project. If you want to see exactly what it’s like to work with children in South Africa you can watch our experience below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5pkNFAAq4M
You can book your volunteer experience in Cape Town for $880 per person, for two weeks.
Have you ever volunteered abroad? We would love to read about your experience below.
Thank you to Go Eco for allowing us to experience this incredible volunteer project in Cape Town. Our opinion is, as always, our own.
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