Experience report from the kindergarten and elephant project

I spent a total of 8 weeks in Namibia with my best friend.

elephant project

The first four in the elephant project, which I really enjoyed. We were picked up from the airport on time and spent the first weekend at Desert Sky Backpackers in Swakopmund, which I can totally recommend. We got a great introduction to the project, we got on really well with the supervisors of the project, the relationship between the volunteers and the supervisors was very familiar, everyone was accepted. Both Built Week and Patrol Week were a great experience, we cooked delicious food ourselves over the fire, slept under the stars, saw lions, giraffes, elephants, learned a lot about cultures and saw an awful lot of Damaraland. After the first 2 weeks we were again at the Desert Sky for a weekend, which had great excursion offers. We went to Sandwich Bay with other volunteers, which is unique and beautiful and I highly recommend it to everyone. The next two weeks were really great again, I found four weeks to be the perfect amount of time for this project and I'm really excited about what we were offered and grateful for everything we were able to experience!

Work in kindergarten in Windhoek

For the last four weeks we have lived in Windhoek in the student house and worked in a kindergarten. First of all I have to say that the Student House is really very nice. Everything very clean, lots of space outside to eat together and a kitchen to cook. I really enjoyed working in the kindergarten, the children have grown on me directly. You noticed how happy the children were about us volunteers and that the kindergarten actually needs the support. For being in Katutura, the kindergarten is really nice. There is a kitchen with everything you need, toilets, a classroom and a playground, as well as a porch where the children eat. We played with the children, taught them the alphabet and things like that, cooked, fed them. After the meal we had to brush their teeth, after that it was sleeping time. Our working time was from 7am to 14pm Monday to Friday.

Leisure activities in Namibia

At the weekend we went to the swimming pool with the other volunteers from the student house, went out to eat or went to the museum. One weekend we went on a trip to Soussusvlei, which I can only recommend. Overall, I really liked the project, but I didn't expect so many additional costs. I knew that we had to feed ourselves (food is just as expensive as in Germany), what surprised me a bit was that we had to pay for every taxi ride from the project and back ourselves (4 euros per day) and otherwise you had to go everywhere by taxi.

My conclusion from Namibia

In conclusion I can say that I had a wonderful time with RGV in Namibia. Although it took a little longer in advance to arrange everything with visa etc., I felt very comfortable traveling with RGV and had an unforgettable time with great experiences and moments.

Report from the Kindergarten and Elephant Project, by Lea N., April 2019