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Child Care - South Africa

Location

Cape Town

Start dates

1st and 15th of every month

Duration

4 / 6 / 8 / 12 weeks

Availability

Spaces available

Cost

£990 for the first 4 weeks
Extra fortnights: £250 per fortnight

Discounts

£35 per person for friends / partners

Enrich the lives of children by providing care and education
Support community development
Live in a beautiful wine region in Cape Town

Project details

Introduction

Volunteers are needed to help at crèches and day care centres in a beautiful and rural area of South Africa and make a real difference to the lives of the children who attend them.

The crèches and centres provide care for children aged 7 and under. The numbers of children at each crèche or centre varies between approximately 10 and 35. Many of these children come from difficult backgrounds including poverty and neglect.

The crèches and centres provide an environment where the children are safe, supported, well cared for, given nutritious meals and learning opportunities as well as providing positive role models for the children.

Read what previous volunteers have said about this project in our South Africa Child Care reviews.

A typical day

The day typically starts at 9am when volunteers are picked up from their accommodation and transported to the main hall. A meeting will then be held involving staff and volunteers where the day’s activities will be decided and coordinated. Some volunteers will then be transported to local crèches or day care centres and others will stay at the crèche located at the main hall. Volunteers assist local caregivers to provide care for the farm children through with a variety of activities including:

reading to the children
supervising and interacting during play time
playing games
helping with music and art activities
providing one-to-one attention to specific children
helping with feeding and clearing up during lunchtime
supervising nap time
helping with sports coaching
assisting with adult education for the women in the community (when necessary)

Volunteers generally finish around 4.30pm.

The location

The project is located in beautiful town of Somerset West which is nestled between the Cape winelands and is on one of the Western Cape’s longest stretches of beach. It is just 40 minutes from Cape Town.

How you can make a difference

As the crèches and day care centres are often short-staffed, volunteers are able to provide the important one-to-one attention that the children would otherwise not receive. Volunteers also offer an extra pair of hands to the organisation’s staff by assisting with feeding, clothing and playing with the children.

The help provided by volunteers is incredibly meaningful to the community. Caring for children who are at-risk or have limited resources can have a lasting impact on a child’s development. In the wine lands region many children are orphaned or abandoned because of HIV/AIDS, alcoholism or other social issues. Children from under-served populations use the centres which enable their parents to work, so by helping at this project you are also able to help the wider community significantly.

Most of the children at the crèches and day care centres speak Afrikaans or Xhosa as a first language but they need to speak English for school so by interacting with English-speaking volunteers they are provided with a model and have lots of opportunity to practise their English skills. As the area is a popular tourist destination, having a good level of English also improves the children’s future employment opportunities.

What's included

A comprehensive information booklet and pre-departure support
Travel advice and assistance
Return airport transfers from Cape Town airport
Accommodation
Breakfast
Daily transport to the project
Ongoing support, help and advice from our local team

What else to budget for

The following estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights to Cape Town (£600-£800), travel insurance, general living costs including lunches and dinners (£40-£75 per week).

More details

Background information about the project

The Pearl Project is a non-profit, community based organisation which was established in 2000. The project is located on a working wine farm but despite the beautiful surroundings, the region has been plagued by high levels of unemployment. Ironically there is a history of abuse where farm labourers were not paid with cash wages but instead were paid in wine. This led to alcohol abuse being a major problem and has resulted in poverty, foetal alcohol syndrome and neglect which have given rise to the desperate needs of the children in the region.

The Pearl Project seeks to meet the needs of the community through a holistic approach. The project goal is to empower the community with a specific emphasis on providing child care and developing the role that women can play to achieve this. The project accomplishes this through teaching and equipping the children and women who come to the centre with academic training and practical skills. It is a Christian based organisation and Christian norms, values, social skills and behaviour are instilled into the children; however volunteers do not need to be Christian in order to join the project.

Support and induction

Juliane is the volunteer coordinator she is the first point of call for volunteers. Juliane and the local team will be there to support you throughout your time on the project.

When you arrive you will be welcomed and introduced to the local area. Juliane will visit you regularly and follow your progress.

Other volunteers

There are usually 1-4 volunteers at the project at any one time with a maximum of 6. Volunteers come from a range of ages and backgrounds with the majority of volunteers coming from Europe.

Volunteer accommodation and food

The volunteer house is located within walking distance of Somerset West centre and is approximately 10km from the project. The house is fully furnished and has all modern conveniences. There is a computer that volunteers can use to access the internet at a small additional cost.

Breakfast vouchers are provided by the project and these can be redeemed at the local supermarket. For lunch and dinner volunteers buy groceries and prepare their own meals.

Free time and travel opportunities

Volunteers normally work 4 days per week Monday – Thursday. You can use your long weekends to explore the Western Cape including the beautiful city of Cape Town and take advantage of the sights and activities it has to offer such as Table Mountain, Robben Island, wine tasting and whale watching.

Challenges

Like in many developing countries, plans can change regularly and it can seem disorganised at times!

It's important to be realistic how much benefit you can bring in a short period, but recognise that you are part of a bigger picture of ongoing volunteer support and development.

Finally, you may well find it emotional as you form friendships with the children and learn about their lives. It is likely this will leave a lasting impression on you.

Where your money goes and the PoD Charity

PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. Fee levels are set to match costs (on a non-profit basis) and any surplus monies are distributed to the overseas organisations and charities we work with via the PoD Charity.

For over 10 years PoD has been providing volunteers to help charitable projects around the world. The PoD Charity was established in 2010 to build on this success by also providing financial assistance. Find out more and get involved in fundraising for this project through the PoD Charity.