4 - 12 weeks
from € 1.250
South Africa

Volunteer work as caretaker in South Africa

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

Many of our facilities in South Africa are in urgent need of technical support. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of motivated and competent helpers in this area. Here you are in demand: No matter how old you are, whether you have just finished high school or are already retired - manual skills are always needed in South Africa.

Location icon Cape Town
Minimum age icon from 18 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-SÜ127

As a volunteer
South Africa

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

Volunteer work as caretaker in South Africa

What's the matter?

As a caretaker, you do not have a permanent position. Rather, you can get involved in a variety of projects wherever you are needed!

Our caretakers mainly work in schools, kindergartens, facilities for the blind or day-care centers. Especially public educational institutions of all kinds have immense deficits in maintenance.

Our handicraft projects include, for example, the construction of playgrounds for elementary schools or the expansion or maintenance of buildings for social facilities such as crèches or schools for people with disabilities.

As a caretaker, you lend a hand wherever manual know-how and physical work are required!

Your tasks as a volunteer

The activities that await you are varied and selected according to your skills. If you already have experience in the field of craftsmanship, then you've come to the right place. But even without any previous knowledge, you can achieve a lot and learn a lot here with volunteering.

Your area of ​​responsibility includes repairs to chairs, tables, roofs and sanitary facilities. It needs to be painted, the lawn mowed and the pool cleaned.

Be aware that the work is physically demanding. In addition, you should not be sensitive when it comes to working outdoors - whether in summer at 30°C or in winter at 12°C.

As a rule, your working day as a caretaker in South Africa starts around 8 a.m. There is a lot of work and your working day ends between 13 p.m. and 16 p.m., depending on your area of ​​activity.

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

  • 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)
  • 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

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
  • Meals (accommodation apartment)

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

Unser RGV-Team in Kapstadt, Südafrika, besteht aus dem Team leader Jemaine, der als Koordinator dafür sorgt, dass dein Aufenthalt wie geplant verläuft, und seiner Schwester Cindy, die du nicht oft sehen wirst, da sie hauptsächlich hinter den Kulissen dafür sorgt, dass alles reibungslos läuft. 

And then there is Eunice, die dafür sorgt, dass das Freiwilligenhaus immer toll aussieht und für unsere Gäste bereit ist. Das gesamte Team kommt aus Kapstadt.

Jemaine selbst arbeitet schon seit über 15 Jahren in der Reisebranche.

Während deines Aufenthalts ist das RGV-Team vor Ort deine erste Anlaufstelle für alle Fragen und Probleme im Zusammenhang mit deinem Aufenthalt und deiner Buchung.

Unser lebhaftes Südafrika-Team freut sich darauf, Sie in der Rainbow-Familie willkommen zu heißen!

RGV FAQ
to the project

How far in advance do I have to register?

Ideally your registration takes place at least 3-6 months before the desired departure date, But also short-term registrations are up 1-2 months before the planned departure is possible.

But it could be that your dream project is already booked. In this case we will try together to find a suitable alternative for you.

Can I travel with a friend or in a group?

Yes! On request we enable a double room if you for two with a friend or a friend, or an apartment or other suitable accommodation for groups.

We are very happy to enable our participants to go on a project and share accommodation with friends. Shared accommodation is usually possible both in the volunteer house and with the host family, although the room in the volunteer house may also be shared with other participants. In some locations there is also the option of sharing an apartment.

When registering, please always mention the person(s) traveling with you!

Can I combine projects?

Yes! You can combine projects at one location, at different locations, but also in different countries. It is also possible to combine a project with a trip. You can specify your desired combination directly when registering.

Combination options at a glance:

  1. Combine programs in one country
  2. Combine programs across countries
  3. Combine a program with a language course
  4. Combine a program with ours Adventure & Trips

There are a few things Project combinations to note: The minimum length of stay per project must be observed and you may incur additional costs for country combinations, for example for an intermediate flight.

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.

What requirements are there for the craft project?

Previous knowledge is always welcome, but not a requirement. You should have manual skills and enjoy physical work.

What do I have to bring?

Sturdy shoes and clothing that can get dirty and broken.

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

More projects you too might be interested

Are you not sure yet? Think about whether a spontaneous assignment as a volunteer abroad is the right choice for you or whether you would like to Voluntary social year (FSJ) abroad want to decide.

With RGV you achieve flexible volunteer work in different countries worldwide. Maybe there is one too Internship abroad the ideal choice for you to gain valuable experience abroad.

Volunteering in the Social Entrepreneur Project in South Africa SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Volunteering
South Africa | community work
Volunteer work in the Social Entrepreneur Project in South Africa
Volunteering with African refugees in South Africa SDG 10 - Reduced inequality
Volunteering
South Africa | refugee aid
Volunteering in the refugee aid in South Africa
Afterschool Club South Africa SDG 4 - Quality education
Volunteering
South Africa | childcare
Volunteering at the After School Club in South Africa
Women's Project Namibia Empowerment Sustainable Development Goal 5 - Gender Equality
Volunteering
Namibia | Art & Music
Volunteer work in an art workshop in Namibia
Culture & entertainment project in Tanzania SDG 4 - Quality education
Volunteering
Tanzania & Zanzibar | Art & Music
Audio & video production
As a volunteer in development aid in Uganda SDG 10 - Reduced inequality
Volunteering
Uganda | community work
Voluntary work in development cooperation in Uganda