Experience report from a primary school in South Africa

The right project to study

With the RGV team in Germany, I had indicated that I wanted to work in a primary school, since my studies are in this area. As a result, I was assigned the project at a primary school. There I was able to choose which grade level I would like to work in (if no other volunteer had already worked there). I decided to go to a second class, where I was very well received.

Working with the children was a lot of fun, but it was also often very strenuous with 44 students who can be quite noisy. The teacher was very nice and grateful for my help.

My activities in the classroom

I had something to do most of the time, be it helping the students with difficult assignments, grading and grading work, or assisting the teacher with her administrative tasks. However, a lot of personal initiative is also required.

Tips for your use as a Primary Volunteer in South Africa

If you want to experience real lessons and maybe also do a few lessons yourself, it is better not to come in the last "term", i.e. in the last quarter of the school year. During this period, at least the children in my class worked almost exclusively independently on their assignments and wrote tests. So if you primarily want to gain experience in teaching, you should take this into account.

In any case, it was a valuable and exciting experience to see how school works in South Africa, but you shouldn't approach it with too high expectations...you can't move mountains in such a short time.

Impressions of the country and its people

Cape Town is a truly unique city to fall in love with. There is so much you can do and experience... 4 months is not enough: swimming, hiking, surfing, climbing, shopping, partying and so on.

The city also has a lot to offer in terms of culture and cuisine. And there is also a lot to see outside of Cape Town. For example, you can drive along the famous Garden Route or along the West Coast.

My accommodations in South Africa: Student House Vs. host family

For the first 5 weeks I stayed with a host family very close to my project. The rest of the time I lived in the small student house.

Looking back, I would have preferred to spend the entire time of my stay with the host family. On the one hand, because I had a super warm, nice family who always took great care of us. On the other hand, because you simply get a lot more of the culture and way of life in a host family than in the student house, where you are with Germans around the clock. Spending the holidays with a host family in particular is a unique experience that you should not do without.

Conclusion to my volunteer work in Cape Town: a great experience!

My time in Cape Town was definitely a great experience and probably the most exciting and beautiful 4 months of my life so far. Even if it didn't bring me that much for my professional future, it was definitely an interesting experience and personal enrichment, through which I made many new friends and great memories.

Report from a Primary School in South Africa by Jessica L., 26.01.16