Volunteer work in kindergarten in Namibia

I decided to go to Namibia to do volunteer work in a kindergarten.

Life in the Student House

I've been in the capital city of Windhoek since September 1st, living in a student house in a room that I shared with five other volunteers. Kitchen, bathroom and lounge are used by all German and African volunteers and students.

The volunteer work in kindergarten

The kindergarten is in Katutura, a much poorer area. The kindergarten there looks after 0 to two-year-olds (in an old school bus), a pre-school class and a first class. The work there requires a lot of initiative, since the children and the educators or teachers sometimes only speak English poorly themselves. It's still a lot of fun working with the kids, laughing with them and just spending time with them.

In any case, you should bring lots of ideas with you and simply implement them yourself. The teachers look forward to any help and involvement with the children and to learning something from you. After a short time, I grew very fond of the children, even if it was a challenge every day. Every child wants your attention and love. The people here take their time with everything and are anything but stressed, but open, warm, friendly and humorous. We easily got everywhere by taxi, as it is very cheap. "Our" taxi driver, who takes us to our projects, was very reliable and always available, and we volunteers got along well with him.

Leisure activities in Namibia

During the week I worked from 8.00 a.m. to noon, on the first three weekends I also went on trips to Sossousvlei (desert), to Swakopmund, a place on the west coast, and to the Etosha National Park (safari) together with some other volunteers. made. We did this independently of RGV. It was all incredibly beautiful.

The best part of the stay

I've never been bored in the Student House, you feel like you're part of a big family and working with the children is the best thing about my stay here, as well as the time and fun with the other volunteers and Africans. You have the feeling that the children give you more than you can give back to them and they are very sad to know that you are going back to Germany. I learned a lot and new things from everyone here and wish I could have stayed a little longer.

Volunteer work in kindergarten in Namibia, report by Themri K., 08.01.2017