For the first six weeks I will be working at an orphanage! South Africa has a very high HIV prevalence rate, so as a result, there is an increased amount of orphans. I will be working at an orphanage teaching the children, as well as feeding, cooking, caring, and just providing the children with love and attention. Most of these children's families can't afford to send them to school, or even to feed them sometimes, so the orphanage tries to help them in as many different areas as they can. I will be working at an orphanage in the Capricorn Township for 6 weeks. This is put on by an organization called IVHQ. (www.volunteerhq.org) If anyone is considering volunteering abroad, I would definitely recommend this organization! They have been very helpful in helping me plan my trip, and are very organized. They have very reasonable prices too!
After the first six weeks, I will be volunteering with the same organization, but doing something different: sports development! Although some children do go to school during the day, they don't have anything to do after school to keep them out of trouble! It is not uncommon to see kids begging for money on the streets, stealing, drinking, doing drugs, and causing havoc after school. This project gives them something positive to do. By promoting an interest in sports, it encourages them to focus on that, it also gives them something to look forward to.
During school hours, I'll be teaching football (soccer to all you North Americans :) ) at the local township, and then after school I'll be teaching skateboarding, swimming, and even surfing! (I'll have to learn that first myself, which is an awesome bonus!)
After that I have a week off. As of this point, I have not booked anything for this point, I think it would be best if I evaluate once I'm there what I've already done, what I would like to do, what all the other volunteers are doing etc. HOWEVER, that being said, there is a really awesome tour that I am very seriously considering doing! It is a 7 day tour put on by Travellers Worldwide, this is how their website describes it:
"Our 7 Day Cape to Addo Park Safari is a unique, safe and affordable way to experience the thrill of game driving in an authentic BIG 5, 145 000ha National Game Park, while touring the coastal regions of both the Western and Eastern Cape. On this tour nothing is left out as we explore the Whale Route, Route 62, the Karoo and Garden Route all the way to Jeffrey’s Bay, Mandela Bay and Port Elizabeth."
You can read about it fully at: http://www.travellersworldwide.com/08a-south-africa/xtras/08-sa-add-on-tours.htm#7-day, but basically here are the highlights.
Day One: Sea boat cruise to look for whales and dolphins, walk along "Die Plaat", the longest beach in the Southern Hemisphere!
Day Two: swim in 43-degree natural hot spring, and then either: ride an ostrich!!! OR pet a cheetah, see endangered species and go cage diving with crocodiles (don't think I would do the cage diving part, although it is the only place in the world where you are able to!)
Day Three: Cango Caves, Bloukrans bungi jump (the highest bungi jump in the world!!!!!!!!)
Day Four: zipline at Tsitsikamma Falls Adventures, Jeffreys Bay (apparently one of the best surfing waves on the planet!)
Day Five: Addo Elephant Game Drive Park (the only park in Africa that has the Big 7 (Elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, the Southern Right Whale and the Great White Shark))
Day Six: Crags Orphaned Elephant Sanctuary (you can feed, walk and ride an elephant!)
Day Seven: go to an aloe factory, return to Cape Town
That would be one action-packed week! But I think it's a great/safe way to explore other parts of South Africa. Now I just have to figure out when I'll get up to Johannesburg and Kruger National Park!
After that week off, I will be volunteering at a Penguin Conservation Centre in Cape Town. Until recently, I didn't even know that there were penguins in Africa! The African Penguin is actually considered a vulnerable species. As recently as the mid-twentieth century, penguin eggs were considered a delicacy and were still being sold. Nowadays. their main predators are sharks and seals in the water, and mongoose and genets on land.
At the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), I will be taught how to catch, hold, feed and tube feed the penguins!
Below is a picture of oil-slicked penguin chicks waiting to be cleaned up!
We will be taking part in boat release programs at Robben Island, which is an exhilirating experience from what I've heard. Of course, there will be lots of other tasks that need to be done daily, including the preparation of fish (yuck!), cleaning the pens, pools and mats, and sterilising syringes. I will be working with the penguins for 8 weeks. I booked this trip through AVIVA, I was very impressed with them as well, they have a phenomenal website that is so helpful for planning your trip. Their website is: http://www.aviva-sa.com if you want to look around further.
That brings me to the end of January, at which time I'll have to see how much money I have, and what I feel like doing next! I might come home, might travel elsewhere, or might go to another country to volunteer! But I'll keep you posted as I make all those decisions!
This time next week I will be somewhere en route to AFRICA. So crazy!!!!!
That sounds like great fun Christie, and you'll really be helping those young kids, and the penguins also. Take care and keep us posted!
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