Child Care in South Africa
from £875 GBP
Child Care in South Africa
Duration: from 2.00 Weeks to 12.00 Weeks
Countries: South Africa
£75 discount when you combine this with another PoD project! This is an amazing opportunity for volunteers to enrich the lives of children in South Africa by providing care and education. You will be helping to develop the community whilst living in the beautiful wine region of Cape Town
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.
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
*provide one-to-one attention to specific children
*help feeding and clearing up during lunchtime
*supervise nap time
*help with sports coaching
*assist with adult education for the women in the community (when necessary)
Volunteers generally finish around 4.30pm.
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 winelands region many children are orphaned or abandoned because of HIV/AIDS, alcoholism or other social issues. Children from underserved populations use the centres which enables their parents to work, so by helping at this project you are able to help the 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.
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.
Savings:
£75 discount when you combine this with another PoD project!
Representative:
At all times
This placement would suit:
Anyone who enjoys spending time with children
Do you accept non UK citizens?
Yes
Do you accept applicants with disabilities?
Yes
Feedback:
“The project was really nice. I enjoyed every single day working there. The women were very friendly and I got some new friends, working with the young children was great. The experience of a lifetime which has given me an appetite to do more. Working on a project is an excellent way to get to know South Africa.”
Inclusions
accommodation, airport pickup
Child Care
Children on a day trip
Child Care
Play area
Child Care
Learning new words
Child Care
Story time
PoD
PoD is a leading non-profit organisation arranging ethical, inspiring and supported volunteering opportunities around the world. We work with long term projects that we know personally and where there is genuine benefit to local communities. Whether it is for 1 week or 6 months, volunteers are needed to help work with disadvantaged children, communities, animals and conservation projects in Belize, Cambodia, Ghana, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam.
