4 - 12 weeks
from € 1.250
South Africa

Children care at the Children Center in South Africa

  • Urban everyday life
  • High recreational value
  • Many volunteers on site

Our Children Centers are social facilities for disadvantaged children from the poorer neighborhoods of Cape Town. These provide care for up to 200 children aged 0 - 7 years. You give the children the necessary attention, care for them, help with care and teaching.

Location icon Cape Town
Minimum age icon from 16 years
Icon Duration 4 - 12 weeks / from €1.250
Departure days icon Monday - Thursday
SDG 4 - Quality education
Quality education

Ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Project ID : FA-SÜ101

As a volunteer
South Africa

4 - 12 weeks / from €1.250
to the cost overview

What's the matter?

In Cape Town, South Africa, non-profit day care centers are an important refuge for children living in the townships on the outskirts of the city and from financially disadvantaged families. Both parents often work to support the family. For children from the poorer quarters, however, there is hardly any qualified childcare and they sometimes spend many hours unsupervised. Children's Centers take care of these children and actively try to contribute to their personal development.

There are several children's centers here that look after children from the area and surrounding townships. The children are between several months and 7 years old. Among them are some children who are physically or mentally handicapped. Most of the children who attend day-care centers otherwise receive no individual support and little attention. Therefore, they require special attention and care. In addition to care and instruction, some of our places of assignment also offer support programs for the children.

Help as a volunteer in one of our Children's Centers in South Africa to look after and support these children! Your support is very welcome.

The aim is to improve the range of care and teaching, to enable disadvantaged children to receive comprehensive early education and to make social spaces accessible for healthy development.

Your tasks as a volunteer

The children in our Children Centers are usually divided into groups or classes according to their age. There are up to 40 children per class or even more. There is usually a crèche where babies and toddlers are cared for and a pre-school where the three to five year olds are taught together. Another class can include children between the ages of six and seven, which you and the teaching staff gradually prepare for admission to a state school. In your placement, the children understand and speak some Afrikaans, English and Xhosa. This gives you a feel for different languages.

Depending on the age group of the children, you will help change diapers, feed them, play with the children, prepare lessons and teach the older children reading, writing, arithmetic and social skills. You can also educate the older children on topics such as health and hygiene. Show initiative and ask where the supervisors and teachers need your help.

Your working day begins Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and you stay at your assignment site until around 15:30 p.m. In the morning you will usually be divided into a group for which you are responsible for that day. Depending on your needs, it can also happen that you always take over the same group. Lunch is usually from 12:14 p.m. to 14:15 p.m. The younger children take a nap in the afternoon. During this period you are entitled to a lunch break. Around 30 p.m. you wake up the children. They get something to eat and then they can play. Around XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. they are picked up by their parents or take the bus home.

Info: What are townships?

Townships are housing estates for the black and colored population that were founded during the apartheid regime. Many South Africans were forcibly relocated to these parts of the city from inner cities and affluent suburbs reserved for whites. Townships are often outside of South African cities and are just as large. Due to the lack of infrastructure in some places, overpopulation and very high unemployment among the residents, there are extreme social problems here. However, some townships have developed positively since the end of apartheid - nowadays you will not only find corrugated iron shacks and cardboard buildings there, but also social housing, single-family houses and a few shopping centers and villas.

(Source: Fettnäpfchenführer South Africa)

Accommodation Catering

RGV Volunteer House in Cape Town

In the Volunteer House in Cape Town you live together with other volunteers and interns. Together you can share your experiences and go on great trips right from the start.

The Volunteer House has space for a maximum of 21 participants. The bedrooms are each equipped with two to four beds. Each room also has a bathroom.

The accommodation's kitchen is modern and equipped with everything you need for your daily needs. WiFi is also available free of charge in the house.

The house is secured with an electronic gate. However, make sure that the door is locked at all times.

To ensure that living is comfortable for both you and the other volunteers, we ask that you keep the house tidy. A cleaner comes three days a week to keep the house roughly clean.

You can easily reach everything important from the Volunteer House. There is a shopping center just 3 km away where you can buy everything you need. Cape Town city center is approximately 15 km from the accommodation.

RGV host families in Cape Town

For a small additional fee, you can also live with a host family during your time in Cape Town.

Our host families are part of the South African “middle class”, so running water and electricity are available. In addition to breakfast, you will also get dinner here every day.

As a volunteer or intern abroad, you are usually not alone in a host family, but share the accommodation with one to five other participants. As in the Volunteer House, it is possible to travel to and from the project together. If you come home after dark, the costs of transport such as taxis or Uber can be shared.

Only a few host families have an internet connection or WLAN. If you need internet, you can get a prepaid SIM card with mobile data volume. The advantages compared to living in a volunteer house are that you speak a lot more English here in everyday life and you get a deeper insight into the culture and way of life of the local people. You are not in a pack of volunteers, but can gather very individual experiences with a few others.

You usually also have a shorter journey to the project, because our team will place you nearby if possible. The Team Office, which is attached to one of our Volunteer Homes, is your central point of contact and meeting point for excursions and activities!

Tip: If you want to live alone with a host family, you should explicitly discuss this with us before registering. Single accommodation is usually possible.

Attention: Most of our host families are strictly religious, so unmarried couples, for example, are not accepted in a room.

RGV Apartment in Cape Town

For an additional charge, you have the option of booking a small apartment with another person. The apartment is located on the ground floor of the Volunteer House and has a small lounge area, a bathroom and a separate kitchen. If you like something a little quieter, you're in good hands here.

Location

Cape Town

Going surfing in the morning before work and watching the sunset over the city from Table Mountain in the evening - sounds like a fantastic dream? In Cape Town this is possible!

With over four million inhabitants, Cape Town is the second largest city in South Africa. Because the city has played a crucial role in the country's history in many ways, it is affectionately known as the "mother of all cities". The famous "Cape of Good Hope", where the first daring sailors docked at the time of the European explorers, is located in the Table Mountain National Park. 

Due to its location, directly on Table Bay of the Atlantic Ocean, you have a breathtaking panorama view from almost everywhere. Dare the challenge and let yourself be enchanted by this beauty!

Cape Town is inhabited by people from many different ethnic groups, which is also reflected in the cityscape. Convince yourself of the colorful houses of Bo-Kaaps, the impressive street art in the alleys or the ever-present Afro-Chic. Cape Town is multicultural and proudly displays every facet of the local population.

Your free time in Cape Town

There are definitely enough leisure activities for your entertainment in the colorful cosmopolitan city of Cape Town. You will hardly find another place in Africa where you can go out as well as in the clubs and bars along Long Street in the city center. And when it comes to culinary delights, you won't be disappointed in Cape Town's cultural melting pot.

Of course, the eventful history of the city is not only expressed in the kitchen. It also characterizes the local art, which you can admire in the many museums, but also on the walls of the houses in the district. A must-see for all graffiti lovers is the Woodstock district, which has transformed from a notorious no-go area into a place of pilgrimage for street art fans in recent years.

Even if you are passionate about sports or outdoor activities, you will have fun in Cape Town. The beaches have perfect conditions for kiting or (wind) surfing and you can explore the colorful South African underwater world with its shipwrecks, corals and fish while diving. To see even bigger sea creatures, you have to go a little further. Whale watching tours in Cape Town bring you closer to dolphins, whales and sharks than anywhere else in the world.

If you've ever traveled by boat, you should also check out Robben Island. The historic site used to be the prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Today there is a lush nature reserve. You can find even more nature in the south of the city in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. In addition to the rich flora, there are also regular open-air concerts here.

Finally, a trip to Table Mountain should not be missed on your trip to Cape Town. From the famous local mountain, which towers over the city in the west, you have a unique view over the entire region and the Bay of Cape Town. You should also plan another day to visit the Cape of Good Hope. On the way there you will also pass "Boulders Beach" with its penguins.

On-site procedure

Arrival in Cape Town

For your project in South Africa you land directly in Cape Town. Here you will be met at the airport by a member of our RGV team in South Africa. From here the team will drive you directly to your accommodation in Cape Town. The drive from the airport is already a first small highlight: through a beautiful backdrop you get closer and closer to Table Mountain. You can use the rest of the day to move into your accommodation and to get to know your new surroundings.

Orientation program in Cape Town

In order to be able to find your way around better in your new environment, your stay begins with an orientation program. This always starts on Tuesdays and Fridays. Please plan your arrival for Monday or Thursday so that you can get off to a good start!

Immediately after your arrival, our team will give you your South Africa starter package with a city map, SIM card and other useful things that should make your everyday life easier. In your accommodation you will also receive a brief introduction to the area and your new home.

During a workshop with our RGV team, you will then learn more about your target country and its inhabitants. Culture, country and people as well as current events and the recent history of the country will be topics here. Our team will introduce you to Cape Town slang and give you valuable safety information and tips on the subject of transport, withdrawing money, etc. On one of the following days, you will also explore Cape Town on a guided city bus tour with other newly arrived participants.

Project start in Cape Town

Your first day in the project

Your project location is always as close as possible to your accommodation. On your first day at work, you will be accompanied to your assignment site either by our team or by other volunteers. The further course of your project work will then be discussed with you there.

When working in the area of ​​wildlife and animal welfare, you should assume that you can also work on weekends and get two days off during the week. Daily working hours should be between five and eight hours a day.

Your daily arrival in the project

All social projects are located within the city limits of Cape Town. There are several ways to get to your project. The following travel options are available to you:

  • rental car
  • Taxi or Uber

For safety reasons, we advise against using public transport.

The rental car is a cheap and worthwhile alternative to public transport, since not all places can be reached by public transport. As a rule, 3-5 participants rent a car together and form carpools.

Pricing

  • base fee
    € 1.250, -
    4 weeks of participation
  • extension week
    € 135, - / week
    up to 8 weeks respectively

included
Services

Before departure

  • Individual advice and support from our trained RGV team in Munich
  • Organization including placement in the project and coordination of your stay on site
  • Assistance with preparation: visa, health care, travel insurance, etc.
  • Non-binding flight advice
  • Travel ABC with packing list for your travel preparation
  • RGV t-shirt

On site

  • Orientation program with the team on site
  • Support and guidance from the on-site team
  • RGV 24h emergency number
  • Project t-shirt to wear during on-site activities
  • Airport transfer on the agreed arrival and departure days
  • Accommodation in a volunteer house, with a host family or in an apartment (at an additional cost)
  • Meals: Breakfast (volunteer house) or breakfast and dinner (homestay)

After return

  • Participation confirmation of your voluntary commitment
  • Reflection course on your experiences abroad
  • Evaluation sheet and optional feedback discussion
useful additional services

not included
Services

  • Round trip
  • Private expenses on site
  • Excursions with microlight flights
  • Travel and cancellation insurance
  • Visa and Vaccinations
  • All nights outside your agreed accommodation
  • Public transport and extra transfers
  • Daily drive to the project
  • Meals (accommodation apartment)
  • Drinks

Individual Recommended additional offers
& must-haves

Picture must-haves

Would you prefer to stay in a single room? Are you vegan or do you have special requests for food? Or do you want to do some cool trips with other volunteers in your free time and explore the country?

With us, you benefit from a variety of optional additional services that you can add individually to your booking, depending on your preferences.

Flight booking icon
" Round Trip
Cheap flights with our flight partner thanks to volunteer rates.
Flight offers with maximum flexibility

Would you like to receive a cheap flight offer for your stay abroad that is perfectly tailored to you? After you have successfully registered, you can have a non-binding offer created.

The excellent rates for volunteers, students and young people are a great advantage. Arrival times and flight time changes can also be sent directly to RGV upon request, so that our RGV teams in the destination countries are always informed about your arrival times.

These special tariffs give you special added value:

  • maximum flexibility for rebookings and cancellations
  • generous baggage allowance
  • Additional discounts on one-way flights: The new volunteer tariffs include attractive discounts to reduce your financial burden on one-way flights (e.g. for stopovers, project or country combinations).
Insurance icon
" Insurance
Benefit from the 4 in 1 ERGO travel insurance.
The 4 in 1 insurance cover for volunteers and internships abroad

You can easily book the long-term travel protection of ERGO Reiseversicherung after you have registered. You will receive the links to this automatically after a successful registration.

The following building blocks are included:

  • Health Insurance
  • Comfort protection: accident, liability and interruption insurance
  • Travel insurance

Cape Town Team
site

Our RGV team in South Africa consists of Team leader Jemaine, seinen siblings Cindy and Chad and Verena. Jemaine's family is from Cape Town. He himself has worked in the travel industry for many years. Chad and Jemaine usually do the airport pick-ups.

Verena has known RGV founder Steffen since their joint teacher training course. She emigrated to Cape Town in 2009 and has never regretted the decision. Verena leads the orientation program and helps you to settle in, takes care of most of the organizational things and organizes social events for our participants.

During your stay, the RGV team on site is your number 1 contact for all questions and problems. But our host families are also part of the extended RGV team - they are also important contact persons, especially for underage participants!

Our lively South Africa team looks forward to welcoming you to the Rainbow Family!

Volunteers talk about their experiences Joint commitment - big impact!

Testimonials

My volunteer work in the Children Center in Cape Town

At the Children Center I was jointly responsible for a group of around 25 children between the ages of two and four. As a volunteer, you help with the food distribution, paint with the children or play with them in the park.
Testimonials

Experience report from kindergarten in South Africa

Even though you go to class every day Monday to Friday, the children's joy when you come in the morning does not diminish. Every morning, bright eyes greeted me and accompanied me to my class.
Testimonials

Volunteering in a daycare center in Cape Town

The best thing was that at birthdays each child was treated like a princess/prince and there were several cakes or cookies, which each child got some of. Afterwards, games were played together.
Testimonials

Children look after South Africa report

I found it really interesting to get to know “educational work” in South Africa and I really enjoyed working with the children.
Testimonials

Child care in South Africa Experience report

Towards the end, other volunteers (there were six of us in the kindergarten) and I were even allowed to start a small project with the children: we painted the outside wall of the kindergarten together and got the children involved.
Testimonials

Children's Center in South Africa Experience report

When it was time to say goodbye, it was particularly difficult for me to leave the children "alone" because I realized that I would probably never see them again.
Testimonials

My experience with Rainbow Garden Village at the Children Center

I was warmly welcomed by the children on my first day there and the joy doesn't diminish over time when you arrive there in the morning.
Testimonials

Social Volunteering South Africa Experience Report

After a short time the children had taken us into their hearts and it was really a nice feeling to be greeted with a laugh and a friendly hug.
Testimonials

Unprivileged Children Project South Africa Experience Report

It's a shame that you can't put all the emotions and impressions into words as beautifully as you experienced them. That's why I think you just have to experience South Africa.
Testimonials

My experiences as a volunteer at the Children Center Cape Town

Mainly you just spend time with the children, play with them and give them the attention that they don't seem to get enough from home for various reasons.
Testimonials

My time at the Children Center in South Africa

My volunteer work at the Children Center in South Africa was an incredibly formative and wonderful time for me in which I was able to learn a lot. I would really recommend it to anyone.
Testimonials

Experience report from a South African children's center

It was a great time and I got many indescribable impressions that I can never tell you how I experienced them. I can only recommend everyone to do volunteer work in Cape Town. Your help is needed and appreciated.
Testimonials

Report from the childcare in South Africa

We spent a total of 4 weeks in Cape Town and worked at the Children's Center during this time. We then drove from Cape Town across the country to Johannesburg in 3 weeks with a second rental car.
Testimonials

Report from the Children's Center in South Africa

I would have liked to have stayed longer. But one thing is certain: I'll be back. So people, have faith! Believe me, you won't regret it.
Testimonials

Children care at the Children Center in South Africa

My project was the Children's Center.(...) I will never forget the children, who could be really tiring at times, but overall they welcomed me with so much warmth and made me feel it.
Testimonials

My volunteer work at the Children Center in South Africa

We actually did something every day in smaller groups and you could always join us anywhere. I was particularly surprised at how quickly the children built trust in us.

More testimonials
Browse our magazine

RGV FAQ
to the project

What are the project fees used for?

Although we are a non-profit organization, there are costs associated with volunteering abroad. Find out here, why volunteering requires money and what your project fee is used for.

What visa do I need for South Africa?

You can apply for a tourist visa for South Africa when you arrive at the airport. This is valid for 90 days.

What language skills do I need for the project in South Africa?

You definitely need good English skills for the project. An Afrikaans course is also recommended.

What vaccinations/ health precautions do I need?

If you are traveling from a yellow fever area, you need a yellow fever vaccination. Otherwise there are no compulsory vaccinations.

We generally recommend a consultation in a practice for travel and tropical medicine.

You can get general information about recommended health care and vaccinations online Center for Travel Medicine as well as on the side of Foreign Office.

When does the social project always take place?

You can register for social projects all year round. But note that during the local school holidays In some countries, child care is limited or not available at all. Contact usif you are unsure whether the project will be managed in your desired time frame.

What are the requirements for the social project?

There are no special requirements for participation. What is important is enjoyment of working with children, a sense of responsibility, exemplary behavior, use of appropriate language, initiative and empathy. Comfortable clothing appropriate for a children's center is recommended, as is clothing that can get dirty (when painting, for example). Smoking should not be allowed in the presence of children.

What do I have to bring?

Long, neat clothing that covers knees and arms, and sturdy shoes.

What do I have to consider as an LGBTQ person?

Please be aware that homosexual acts are considered undesirable in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and are even punishable by law in some places. In general, people who are identified as queer are often exposed to hostility.

For example, get information from Foreign Office about the exact regulations in your destination country.

General FAQ about volunteer work

Ready to get involved as a volunteer in South Africa? Start your adventure abroad with Rainbow Garden Village!

Rainbow Garden Village has been offering volunteer work and internships abroad since 1999. What started as a small student initiative in Ghana has now grown into an organization with over 250 projects around the world.

You can be sure that your work as a volunteer will be an unforgettable experience. Bring your commitment and your knowledge to do good locally - and at the same time benefit from the unique experiences that will promote your personal development.

Become part of our RGV community!
We look forward to you.

RGV Your way
to the volunteer

1
Choose your volunteer project and register online.

2
We will review your application and confirm your participation.

3
Prepare for your assignment online or in our preparatory seminar in Munich.

4
Here we go! During your volunteer work, we will support you at any time with our on-site team.

Gallery Impressions &
Impressions

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