Volunteer in South Africa

The volunteer programs in South Africa in 2023 include teaching, kindergarten, sports coaching, childcare, and the Cheetah conservation project. You can choose your own volunteer projects, and even combine different volunteering projects and create your own tailor-made program!

You can start every Monday, and you can join from 2 weeks up to 8 weeks.

Volunteering in South Africa is an incredible experience that can teach you a lot about the country and its culture. You can get a firsthand look at life in South Africa. Volunteers are given the opportunity to experience the local culture and traditions. Volunteering abroad is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the country’s culture.

On the Monday of your first week, there is an orientation by our local team, so you can get comfortable with the surroundings as well as the local culture.

Location & Accommodation

During the majority of this trip we will be staying in Cape Town. The famous port city of South Africa, lies at the foot of Table Mountain. Even though a small city, Cape Town boasts of dynamic culture and nature. Best things to do in Cape Town include riding the cable cars to the top of the mountains to get a glimpse of the port city below, hiking, exploring the shopping malls and aquariums and even checking out a penguin colony. Cape Town also treasures its Dutch heritage and the remains of the era are still visible in the city.

A little bit over 400 kilometers away from Cape Town at the heart of what is known as the Klein Karoo, a lush oasis-like valley surrounded by the Swartberg and Outeniqua mountain ranges, Oudtshoorn is located. The town of Oudtshoorn was once known as the ostrich capital in the world. It is in this beautiful place surrounded by breathtakingly mountain passes, amazing red rock formations and other natural beauties where we will stay for a few nights during the wildlife conservation program.

You will be met upon arrival at Cape Town International Airport (CPT) on Sunday. You will be picked up by the local team and transferred to your accommodation to meet the other international volunteers. We will provide you with full arrival and contact details when you book your program.

On the Monday of your first week, there is an orientation by your coordinator, so you can get comfortable with the surroundings as well as the local culture.

The accommodation is in shared rooms with other volunteers. Throughout the journey, you will be accommodated in basic but clean single-gender dorm-style rooms. The rooms will be shared with other volunteers. There are 3 meals included per day from Monday to Friday, and 2 meals per day on weekends.

The Projects

Kindergarten Project

Play an active role in the early childhood development of local children in the Cape Town community.

Assist the teachers in the classroom with various different tasks and activities while helping the early childhood development of the children. Your care and attention would play a major role in the classroom in terms of teaching and interacting with the children.

You will play an important role in assisting the teachers in the classrooms and helping the early childhood development of the children in a primary school. You will get an opportunity to contribute to the teaching in the school and interact with the teachers and students while helping to improve the classroom activities.

There are over 120 children attending the school who are from various socio-economic backgrounds. Most of the children are from underprivileged families whose parents are not able to afford to pay for their kindergarten education.

We aim to help the early childhood education of these children and prepare them to start their education in primary school. Each child is provided lunch daily and the children also have the opportunity to develop their motor skills and take part in various sporting activities.

Monday to Friday

Your tasks and responsibilities:

Assisting children with eating
Assisting children with the brushing of teeth, hair etc.
Assistance with events (Baking, fundraising etc.)
Assisting the local teachers in the classroom (lessons etc.)
Creating teaching materials, posters etc.
Playing games with the children (indoors & on the playground)

* This schedule can be changed or amended depending on weather or local circumstances
** The school closes yearly between mid-December until early January.

Teaching Project

Spend your time assisting teachers in a primary school situated in Cape Town and help the children to achieve their full potential and improve their skills and knowledge.

This program lets you assist teachers in class at a primary school situated in a suburb on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. You will be able to be around children from various backgrounds and help them to achieve their full potential in the academic area of their lives. It is your chance to encourage education in the class by creating innovative learning experiences while assisting the teachers in the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities.

Assist teachers in class at a primary school situated in a suburb on the outskirts of Cape Town.

Be around children from various backgrounds and help them to achieve their full potential in the academic area in their lives. Encourage education in the class by creating innovative learning experiences while assisting the teachers in the day to day tasks and responsibilities.

You will play an important role in assisting the teachers in the classrooms and improving the learning experiences in the classroom of a primary school. Your care and attention would play a major role in the classroom while you will be teaching and interacting with the children.

You must have a passion for teaching and the ability to operate independently in the class will also be important The main areas you will be involved in during your program are education & sports. From time to time, you will be called upon to create activities, lesson plans as well as organize various events with the children.

Monday to Friday

Typical working hours will be from 08:00 AM – 15:00 PM and your tasks and responsibilities during the will include,

Assisting children with eating
Assisting children with brushing of teeth, hair etc.
Assistance with events (Baking, fundraising etc.)
Assisting the local teachers in the classroom (lessons etc.)
Creating teaching materials, posters etc.
Playing games with the children (indoors & on the playground)

* This schedule can be changes or amended depending on weather or local circumstances

Childcare Project

Help and care for the most vulnerable women and their children to empower themselves and create better living conditions.

You will help the local team to look after the children at the daycare centre, spend time with women with difficult backgrounds. You will get the chance to create a friendly and respectful environment for them to make their lives better and encourage the children to improve their skills and knowledge while helping them with their homework.

This endeavor helps and cares for the most vulnerable women and their children to empower themselves and create better living conditions. We try to develop social, creative, and vocational skills within the framework of values, discipline, and a culture of mutual learning, accountability, and respect.

Give your support and encouragement for underprivileged children in a daycare centre.

Help the local team to look after the children at the daycare centre, spend time with women with difficult backgrounds. Create a friendly and respectful environment for them to make their lives better. Encourage the children to improve their skills and knowledge while helping them with their homework.

Situated in the heart of Cape Town, the project offers care and education to the young woman and their children who come from abusive backgrounds.

As a participant, you will be working with the children at the daycare centre daily and also help staff members with their administrative and maintenance work at the reception and warehouse areas.

The aim of this program is to create a self-empowerment program for women and children who have had difficult lives. We try to develop social, creative and vocational skills within the framework of values, discipline, and a culture of mutual learning, accountability, and respect.

We seek to provide shelter and support for pregnant and abused women with children. Some of the children who come from abusive backgrounds require a lot of attention, care and love. Your tasks will involve spending time with them and creating a friendly and supportive environment to improve their lives for the better.

Monday to Friday

Typical working hours at the project are from 08:00 AM – 17:00 PM and your tasks and responsibilities will include,

Assist at reception by answering the telephone when the reception staff is on lunch.
Assist at the creche by changing nappies, feeding babies & playing with babies.
Assist with the facilitation of workshops with mothers.
Assist with filing and other administrative work.
Keeping the mothers’ company.
Helping children with homework.
Playing with older children after homework has been done.

* This schedule can be changes or amended depending on weather or local circumstances

Cheetah Conservation

Explore the wilderness of South Africa and help prevent the further decline of the Cheetah population with a passionate local team in Cape Town. You will work closely with a local organization that rehabilitates captive born and bred Cheetahs and release them back into the wild. Get an incredible opportunity to learn about this amazing species while supporting their survival on the face of the planet.

Help prevent the further decline of the Cheetah population with a passionate local team in Cape Town.

Work closely with a local organization who rehabilitate captive born and bred Cheetahs and release them back into the wild. Get an incredible opportunity to learn about this amazing species while supporting their survival on the face of the planet.

You will work with a local organization who is dedicated to the conservation and rehabilitation of Cheetah in South Africa. While in your program, you will be able to contribute to this immense endeavour and you will also learn about the species and contribute to the conservation practices.

During your program will be involved in various activities of the project site including,

Food preparation & feeding (Please keep in mind you will work with raw meat)
Cleaning of camps & refilling of the water bowls
Creating enrichment for the animals
Educating the public by assisting staff with certain tours
Carrying out own guided tours (If English level is sufficient)
Take part in group activities
Maintenance and inspection of camps
If you stay a minimum of 4 weeks at the project, you will have the unique opportunity to participate in the releasing program which is done in partnership with a local reserve.

By releasing new bloodlines of cheetahs into the protected wild, it helps to increase the genetic lineages to effectively strengthen the wild Cheetah population. The whole process is strictly regulated and is done with a lot of research.

Cheetah Release Program
You will help the local team to release cheetahs who are rehabilitated and ready to go back to the wild. You will be able to take part in this program if you gain sufficient knowledge and training at the project. This is suited for participants who stay for more than 4 weeks with the Cheetah conservation program. The project team will decide who is participating in the releasing events and that will be solely based on your performance and learning during your program. There are no additional costs for this part of the program, you will only be liable to pay for your transport (either flight or bus) to get to the reserve.

If you stay for more than 4 weeks, you are eligible to attend the Release program. However, the Cheetah Release activity is optional and can only be offered depending on the requirements of the conservation project. It may not be available throughout the year.

Monday to Friday

Typical working hours at the project are from 05:00 AM – 17:00 PM and your daily tasks and responsibilities will include.

Key Species Monitoring
Cheetah Conservation
Road and dam maintenance
Bush clearing
Foundation Support
Town trip / Off / Game Drive
Boma maintenance
Fence maintenance
Spekboom Planting

* This schedule can be changes or amended depending on weather or local circumstances

Prices

2 Weeks: 999 Euro
3 Weeks: 1299 Euro
4 Weeks: 1599 Euro
+1 Week: 299 Euro

Our base prices are in Euro, but you can pay in Euro, US$ and Pounds. The prices will be at the currency exchange rate from the Euro at the time of payment. Click here to check the prices in your currency.

With us there are NO Registration Fees, NO administration fees, and you can easily combine the different projects.

For Cheetah Conservation there is an extra fee per week of 295 Euro

What’s included:
Volunteer program
Accommodation (shared room)
Meals
24/7 in-country support
In-country program orientation
Pre-departure support
Airport pick-up

Not included:
A 5% international banking fee is added.
Visa, flights, travel insurance, vaccinations, criminal background check, Covid tests (if required), transport to your project and back to the accommodation every day, return trip to the airport, transfers between different locations.

Requirements to join:

• Volunteers need to be minimum 18 years old
• Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent
• Volunteers aged 16-17 are required to have parental consent
• Volunteers are required to provide a criminal background check
• Volunteers are required to have volunteer travel insurance
• Volunteers might need to have a Covid test done before departure (we will inform you of this)

Book your place in 3 steps :

1. Apply: Fill out the Application Form (click below) and we will let you know if you are accepted within 24 hours.
2. Deposit: Once accepted you pay your deposit (200 Euro) to reserve your place in the program.
3. Remaining Fees: You pay the remaining fees of your program, minus the deposit which you already paid, six weeks before your start date of your program.