Volunteer Programs in South Africa with African Impact

I was with the Medical project in St. Lucia for 5 weeks in July/August 2013 and it was just an incredible experience. When you travel around the world to a new place knowing no one, there is bound to be some anxiety but I found that I truly felt 100% at home and welcome from the moment I connected with the AI team. Monique and Miriam (project coordinators) were just incredible, so full of good advise, good cheer and great attitudes, they are just the best. The rest of the staff and the Zulu team were incredibly supportive.. The work itself was busy and I was glad there was variation in our days. You would go out on projects in the morning and afternoon, each week you were assigned duties and you knew what you needed to prepare for. We all learned the ropes quickly and each day you would wake up to a new experience. Working in the villages with the people was very rewarding, especially the elderly and children. On the medical project, you were able to go into homes to check on the ill or infirm and you got to know the people on a personal level. Every day was an adventure and I learned so much, not just about the culture and the way they lived but also about myself. I would go back in a nanosecond and hope to someday.

I volunteered with African Impact on the Medical Outreach and HIV Awareness Program for two weeks this year and it was a truly incredible experience. The Zulu and international staff made me feel welcome from the moment I arrived. There is such a great sense of community at the volunteer house; I met so many amazing people from around the world. The passion of the staff is inspiring and they were a great source of motivation and support throughout my experience.

Every project I volunteered on; from helping with intake at the local clinic, teaching HIV Education to the local primary school children, home based care and the 10 families project were all really well received and appreciated by members of the community. You can really tell the projects African Impact has created are making a positive impact on people’s lives. I loved working in the communities and feeling like I was making a genuine contribution to the project’s success and a difference in the lives of the wonderful people I met.

I can highly recommend volunteering with African Impact St Lucia if you are considering volunteering abroad due to the amazing projects, inspirational team, community spirit of the volunteer house and stunning location.

When I arrived at the volunteer house we had an induction which outlined the goals for each project and the goal for the Sports Development project was to introduce a good to high standard of Physical Education (PE) while supporting the local head coach from a company called “Sports Choice”. This company works with local schools with in townships with backing from some charities to improve the quality of coaching and the amount of time children take part in organised PE sessions. Sustainability is really important to African Impact and that is very clear in each project in which I was involved in.
The schools were how I pictured a township school and not like the photo on the website of the volunteer provider. The photo was of a school African Impact used to work at a couple of months before and the school did not require more volunteer help as they progressed to a high level that they can sustain for many years to come. The areas that the children do PE were old netball courts with grass in patches on an asphalt surface on which all the children take their shoes off and have bare feet. I was surprised at first but I think back to the days I was at primary school in New Zealand and I just to go bare footed for everything. I overheard the coach saying that the school don’t let the children wear shoes due to it marks and wreaks the courts, which I think is a shame when the court is in quiet a poor state.
The first couple of sessions the head coach was in charge and it felt more like pre-season training rather than a PE lesion as all we did for 45 minutes were shuttles with the class split in to four groups which at least nine in each line. I thought this was crazy as I have learnt though practice and study that children should not be put in big group qued activities, one good thing was that the coach always got the children chanting as each group had a name and gained points for supporting pairs and teammates. After the first day I started to take more control of sessions from just a warm up to taking the whole session in which the children played more skill based games that include all the children most of the time, which I feel they would benefit from having fun and learning new skills as well.
Depending on the age of the children and the level of English would depend on the complexity of each game. I would explain to the rules and goals of the games to the children then speak to the coach so he knew why I am doing this particular active and what skills I am looking for from the children. If it doesn’t go quite right, just adapting the rules slightly makes the children more responsive. I gave the head coach a list of session plans that have key points for the session and a lot of different games based for different age groups instead of have just one set game for the children.
On Fridays as a team we plan sessions for the next week and brainstorm new games we could try as well making them age relevant games, we would also set a theme every two weeks as the head coach only sees each class once a fortnight. Also being based in two schools in the township of Langa only two days a week allows a very limited time with each class, but the goal is to provide PE and show how important PE is in the development of a child mentally as well as physically.
After two weeks on the volunteer project I felt time went really quickly and I just wanted to stay and continue the project as I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed my time with the staff and the children as well as I felt I have grown in terms of taking a more leading role without stepping on the head coaches toes while putting my ideas out there and having the confidence in explaining and justifying the reason for this idea. When I was younger I feel I would have taken a back seat role and just let things play out as an observer.
This experience has shown me a different style and culture of coaching children and has opened my eyes to the fact that children have a massive respect for adults in this culture and been constantly hearing a collective “yes coach” and if you say something they do it, whereas some English children don’t have that level of respect of even close.
The more you put in to project the more you get out, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.

African Impact runs a serious research project at Thanda. My work-holiday time there was a chance to learn about and to participate in meaningful investigations of wild animal behaviour. Suddenly faced with an eight member pride of lions I saw at once that I should have studied more closely all the preparation sheets I had been sent. Identifying individual animals from photos and detailed descriptions at first seemed impossible; and so recording their interactions appeared futile. This was no less true when an over 20 member herd of elephants surrounded us. (After an eight day search our 40-40 vision driver managed to get us this experience. I could say lots about our hyper-tuned bird dog drivers) Yet this is what this program teaches us to do. The challenge is to immerse oneself, before, during and after the numerous actual sightings, in the available material showing the animals’ features and group relationships. We volunteers, working together with trained staff, manually recorded and then entered electronically every observation. We were then able to analyze the data and to present trends in draft monthly reports. A few weeks here can be anything from a holiday to the beginning of a career. The food, accommodation, staff, camaraderie, who cares, it’s all great. So also are the times we spent helping people in surrounding villages and helping to keep vegetation under control. Where the opportunities are unique is with tracking and finding the animals, and then with the limitless challenge of studying and recording them.

Volunteering with African Impact is the best thing I have ever done and I can't wait to go back as soon as possible! The projects are organised really well, they keep you busy when you are there but thats the whole reason of volunteering right? Sustainability is really important to African Impact and thats clear in each project I was involved in. The more you put in to the projects the more you get out, thee most rewarding thing I've ever done.

Monday to Friday you're busy on projects from 8:30am till around 4pm, coming home for a delicious cooked lunch in between. In your spare time you get to see more of this beautiful part of the world and get to make friends for life with the other wonderful volunteers and the AMAZING African Impact staff.

The co-ordinators and other staff members are just brilliant, a total inspiration and are always there when you need them. The house where you stay is really lovely and the meals the zulu ladies cook are DELICIOUS!

Volunteering with African Impact is a fantastic experience, you get to see a different part of the world, immerse yourself in a different culture, help those less fortunate than you and develop yourself as person as a result.

When I came to saint lucia, I was already super excited about the program from what I saw and read on the website. From the moment I landed in Africa until the moment I left i felt very welcomed. The staff was amazing and very fun to be around. They helped me out and were always there to answer questions if needed. All three projects are amazing and the dearest to my heart was the medical project. What hit me the most is how appreciative and thankful the zulu people were. One thing I will never forget was how respectful and thankful lady with the tumor husband was to us when he saw the great recovery of his wife. He offered us a chicken! simple act of kindness gone a long way to affect people's life. Nothing more precious in life to see the smiles of these kids after you read a book with them. The three weeks I spent in Africa really affected my daily life when I came back and made me appreciate life much more. The program was amazing, I felt the support and the love of the volunteers to each other and to the people they help out. I will be coming back for sure!! Amazing experience, won't mind spending all my money to do it again!

I was a medical volunteer for 3 months on the St Lucia projects and it was amazing! The staff are so friendly and welcoming and are always there for you if you need help or you're not sure about something. The projects themselves are so fulfilling, whether its reading a book with a child or providing them with nutritional Epap, you can see the differences you are making. The people out in the communities are so loving and welcoming, they take you into their homes where they have nothing and still they want to give food to you, as a thank you for your help.

The house is very nice, yes you do have to share a room, but you get used to it quickly. The food is done on a three week menu and is perfectly nice, you only eat one Zulu meal a week, which is actually quite tasty!

If you're thinking about volunteering, definietly do it. I'm so glad I did and this organisation is a perfect way to help give back to the community. They have such amazing links within the community, with the Zulu staff and leaders, everything you do feels worthwhile. Even if its helping someone wash plates you know you've helped them out for that day.

My 2 weeks spent with African Impact in St Lucia were awesome. The team of staff and volunteers were so supportive, knowledgeable and encouraging. I really enjoyed all of the projects that I was involved in, especially brick building, holiday club, reading club and the Support Groups. The experience of working alongside members of the Zulu communities is second to none. The accommodation and food provided was superb and made the whole trip very comfortable in comparison to previous trips to Africa. I really would recommend African Impact, especially to those who enjoy meeting new people and making a noticeable difference to people's lives. The staff dealt with any problems that arose in an incredibly professional manner, maintaining the safety and well-being of volunteers at all times. Thank you very much African Impact for a brilliant time!