Volunteering and a trip to 3 African countries

My life dream comes true!

The continent of Africa, this mysticism that Africa radiates, the people, the history, the animals, the culture and their indescribable, fascinating diversity...all of this has always magically attracted me. With my volunteer work and travel I have fulfilled a lifelong dream. I had to be 28 years old to take that leap to Africa. I've never had the opportunity to just take 12 weeks off in a row before. Professionally, I work as a qualified health and nurse practitioner, but I took a year off from that and during this time studying at a university of applied sciences got in the way. So I had three months of summer vacation and finally time to explore Africa.

The choice of the right organization

Of course, there were a lot of preparations to be made for this trip (vaccinations, formalities,...), which made you sweat. But with the help of RGV, everything worked fine.

I came across Rainbow Garden Village quite by accident, whoops, suddenly I "lost my way" on their homepage, which immediately captivated me. My decision was made, yes this is the right organization for me. During my preparation time, I can still remember Steffen's sentence: "Claudia, this will be the journey of your life."

That's the way it was, he was right. But now I do not want to torture you any longer, I invite you now, to travel with me to Africa and participate in my experiences and experiences ...

First stop - volunteer work in Ghana

Hot, different, exciting. Those were my first thoughts during the taxi ride to Mama Mina's house. Mama Mina, who is responsible for all volunteers in Ghana, greeted me warmly and exuberantly when I arrived. Late in the evening my new roommate Lena, with whom I shared an apartment (a minute away from Mama Mina's house) for a month, arrived. I was very happy to have Lena by my side, we hit it off right away. Our apartment was more like a crypt or a storage room and we shared the bathroom with a Ghanaian.

Cold, sparse "straw drops" mostly came out of the shower. But this is Ghana! I shouldn't have any great demands here and luxury can be ticked off for the time being. Fortunately, I was aware of this beforehand, so my situation didn't bother me at all. Somehow this apartment had its charm, Lena and I just made the best of it. And who can experience that? I've always remained optimistic, even after I broke my toe through carelessness on my part. Well, and that in Ghana, of course that doesn't happen to me at home, no, I probably had to experience this in Ghana.

But I was able to see a Ghanaian hospital from the inside. I acted like a "mystery shopping nurse" with only one real problem. Before I came to the doctor, I first had to pay money at a counter. I also had to pay extra for my bandage. All in all I was very satisfied, especially the Ghanaian nurse was very competent. Of course I got all the money back from my travel insurance. Conclusion: Don't be afraid of hospitals, they do their work very conscientiously!

Street kid project in Ghana

My job site - The street children project in Ghana

I was very happy to work in the street children's project run by Mama Mina. The actual implementation of this volunteer project consisted only of us volunteers from RGV and the children. We "teachers" had a completely free hand in planning and implementation. We were allowed to decide for ourselves how the lessons and games should be organized for the children. The classroom was outdoors, in Mama Mina's garden.

The street children always brought their younger siblings to class, and we looked after them. There was a lot going on then and it often went downright haywire. What really fascinated me was that the street children carried their little siblings on their backs, wrapped in a cloth. In Ghana, the older ones take care of the little ones more than the parents. At least that's how I perceived it.

The lesson times were very convenient for us volunteers, four hours from Monday to Thursday. So we had enough free time.

Leisure in Accra and surroundings

We all liked to spend the afternoon on a beach. Fortunately, Accra is on the coast and therefore offers many attractive and easily accessible beaches. On the other hand, we also liked to be out and about in the city center and sometimes enjoyed four scoops of ice cream and Nutella crepes at an Italian ice cream parlour. (Yes, in Ghana there is Nutella!!!!) That was our "luxury" once (sometimes twice) a week to treat ourselves to something at the Italian restaurant.

However, Accra is very noisy and can sometimes be very exhausting for oneself. Above all, crossing the streets alone was an everyday challenge. But in the end we were really good and practiced at it! When walking through the city, there are many stimuli that affect you at the same time. Many cars meandering through the streets, loud shouts, market vendors who really want to sell you something and can sometimes be very pushy, street vendors who sell people food or other things directly in the cars.

These street vendors, who carry their goods for sale on their heads, turned out to be "rescuers in need" on our long weekend trips. Often, due to our weekend trips, we would spend seven to eight hours in the typical, very inexpensive Ghanaian minibuses called Tro-Tros. At traffic lights or during a traffic jam, you can easily and conveniently buy drinks and typical Ghanaian food through the car window and you have something to nibble on throughout the journey!

A Tro-Tro ride is a must do when in Ghana! Often it can also happen that one or two chickens are on board. The Art Market in Accra is also recommended as a destination. There is simply a lot to see there, from drum making to the art of carving.

I was even able to take a week off from my project and traveled to northern Ghana with my dear colleague, Annemarie. This week was characterized by funny, beautiful and unique experiences that would be indispensable! Starting with a taxi driver who short-circuited his taxi because he didn't seem to have a key, car breakdowns, exciting bus rides among locals, bike tours through the pampas, Daniel the crepe man, two nice Belgians who accompanied us for four days, baboons who came into our room in the Mole National Park, ate my biscuits, briefly tasted my sunscreen and quietly and secretly closed the broken door behind them, up to a small harmless kayak accident where Annemarie and I capsized, the kayak was thundered on my head and we took off our sunglasses had lost...

Impressions of volunteer work in Ghana

It was just an indescribably beautiful but also exhausting week. And I think I would have missed a lot of Ghana if I hadn't made that choice. These seven days gave me the opportunity to see Ghana through different eyes and, above all, I met many different and incredible people. In Ghana you learn to calm down, to slow down, to forget the self-imposed stress, to learn to appreciate the little, to be open, to crank down demands and much more! I have faced many challenges myself, have grown through the many experiences and I have learned how to do laundry myself (without a washing machine)!

After this wonderful one-week trip to Ghana, it was time to say goodbye to my dear German and Austrian colleagues, the street children and Mama Mina and her family. A few tears flowed, I was wistful and sad, but on the other hand I was pretty excited about my new adventure that would await me in Namibia and Botswana.

17 safari through Namibia and Botswana

I arrived in Namibia in the afternoon and knew immediately that I would love this country! At the airport I immediately made friends with two young ladies from England. The three of us made our way to our backpackers hostel in Windhoek. We spent a very nice evening together in a restaurant and after a long time I treated myself to a PIZZA and a cool Savanna Dry. That was just wonderful!! (In Ghana there was a totally different food culture!) I have to admit that we in Europe are very spoiled with our food culture! In Ghana I had always dreamed of our delicious Austrian plum dumplings, sometimes it was really torture for me, just dreaming about them!!!!

On your marks, get set, go!

My first night in Windhoek was great, I finally didn't need a fan anymore as it cools down a lot at night in August. The next morning I could start my long-awaited safari through Namibia and Botswana. In the morning I was picked up by our RGV guide, Andi, and immediately got to know my very dear safari colleagues. A very nicely mixed group consisting of ten safari enthusiasts (including guide Andi and myself) were now on an afternoon safari through Windhoek.

A small, nice, manageable town with a great craft center where you can get hold of very nice souvenirs to take home. We spent the evening in a rustic steakhouse. After that we all went to bed dead tired. I tried to make the most of this night because it was my last night in a cozy bed. The safari was known to be a tent safari!

The actual tent safari could finally start. Our means of transport for the next few days should be an Austrian Pinzgauer, which we learned to appreciate and love. Each evening, a draw was drawn to determine who was allowed to sit where. A very good position in the Pinzgauer was at the back, because that was where the fridge filled with cola, Hunters and beer was. We spent the first night somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I had no idea where we were. The main thing was that we had a campfire and something to eat. Our personal chef was Andi and we were allowed to take turns assisting him, for example preparing salads.

Everyone was allowed to wash up, including the men. Our evening program always had the same order, enjoying the sunset in a beautiful spot in the wilderness, mostly with beer, Amarula and Hunters, followed by dinner and a cozy get-together around the campfire. I loved our evenings together, which were always characterized by hearty laughter, admiring the starry sky and very nice conversations.

Highlights of the Namibia Safari

One afternoon, an elephant suddenly visited us at our camp in Kaudhum National Park. That was only
Kaudhum National Park was looking for water and was sometimes very curious, above all he suddenly headed straight for our dining table. I felt a little queasy for a moment. Inga, my safari colleague, briefly lost her nerve, jumped up and fled into our Pinzgauer. This action frightened our visitor, who immediately retreated. But this should not be the last visit. At night our daring elephant dared to go back to the camp. He stopped for a midnight snack right on a tree next to my tent. I just hoped he wouldn't accidentally trip over me and my tent. Luckily nothing happened and I was able to sleep peacefully again.

The next few days were filled with safaris through the wilderness, encounters with elephants, lions, hippos, antelopes, birds, warthogs, zebras, monkeys...

The river safaris on the Okavango River and the three-day trip to beautiful Botswana were some of the highlights of this trip. A particularly beautiful experience was when a whole herd of elephants wandered through our self-made camp. It was just before sunset, the light was just gorgeous and the elephants radiated such an incredible calm and peacefulness, they didn't feel disturbed by us at all. The atmosphere was simply amazing.

Unfortunately, the trip was over far too soon. I had gotten so used to everything, my tent, the grunting noises of the hippos, the lions screeching, our early morning breakfast around the campfire, the adventurous rides with the Pinzgauer, the evening get-togethers and that our feet were always dirty. We often set up camp in the middle of the wilderness where there were no showers or toilets. In the end, I had grown so fond of all my colleagues that I didn't even want to think about the impending farewell. We had grown into a small, slightly crazy but very lovable safari family. But on August 17th it was unfortunately time to say goodbye, with a heavy heart I said goodbye to everyone.

Two days in Swakopmund

However, my journey in Namibia was not over yet. Andi organized me a 2 day trip to the coast, to the small German town of Swakopmund.

There I was completely on my own and I missed my safari buddies. I was suddenly very wistful and sad, but I was able to enjoy my foray after all. Swakopmund is a very beautiful and nice little town. In the evening I had dinner in a German brewery, which was very amusing. I thought to myself: "Now I'm in Namibia and then I'll be sitting in a German brewery." I ordered my food in German. My second day consisted of museum visits, sightseeing and a 2-hour flying safari over the Namib Desert, which was simply indescribably beautiful! In the evening, to celebrate the day, I treated myself to a tiramisu and a cocktail, the latter of which made me a little tipsy. It was nice in Swakopmund...

Resume to my journey through Namibia

Namibia, Botswana - yes, I definitely have to go there again! For me I can say that these two weeks were one of the best weeks of my life. I've experienced and seen so much and used my laughing muscles so often. When I think back to the trip, my heart skips a beat and I start dreaming wistfully. I miss the animals and my dear German friends. I just miss everything! But at this point in August, I didn't have much time to be nostalgic, a new journey, a new country was about to begin - South Africa.

Volunteering in South Africa – the rainbow nation

I was in South Africa last year and lost a big piece of my heart to South Africa at the time. I got off the plane and felt right at home. South Africa here I am again, for exactly 35 days!! I was greeted warmly by Jemaine who immediately took me to my new accommodation. It was located about 35 minutes from Cape Town in Somerset West. My South African "guest dad", Ian, greeted me with a shot of Amarula. Well that was a great start, delicious! I got on really well with Ian, in the afternoon we went shopping together and I was overwhelmed by the large range of groceries.

I was immediately overwhelmed, after my time in the "wilderness" I was just not used to it anymore. I bought a lot because after two months I was finally able to cook for myself again. That was just the best thing for me at that point in time, wow was I excited!! Ian was enthusiastic about my Austrian cooking skills.

My Project - A Cheetah Outreach

The very next day, armed with a lunch box and my South African bike, I started my first day of volunteering at Cheetah Farm. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate as we would have liked, Cape Town and the surrounding area is known for its changeable, windy and rainy weather at this time of year. Unfortunately it was the same, cold, windy and rainy, brrr.

First, I got to know all the other volunteers. This project consists mainly of only volunteers, ranging from Germans to Belgians to Americans. A very international mixed group.

I was pretty excited to finally be able to get closer to my favorite animals, the cheetahs. But I had to wait a little longer for that. At 9 o'clock it was time to feed the dog and put away the dog poo. The dogs were Anatolian shepherd dogs with a very big heart and a strong protective instinct. I immediately took her to my heart.

The Cheetah Farm breeds these dogs and from the age of 6-8 weeks the puppies are given to farmers to protect their livestock from predators (especially cheetahs!). This program, initiated by Cheetah Farm, is very successful and greatly reduces conflicts between cheetahs and farmers! But I don't want to reveal any more about it now, it's just a very exciting story that you have to experience or hear for yourself!

Daily routine for a wildlife volunteer

Back to my daily routine. There are different tasks that need to be done on a daily basis, such as:

Feeding the dogs, cleaning all enclosures and cleaning water troughs (cleaning enclosures means "waste", i.e. collecting poo from the animals and exchanging straw!), guiding tourists through the outreach and giving them information about the animals (there are also four bat-eared foxes, a caracal, two servals, two jackals and two meerkats), taking the dogs for an afternoon walk, brushing their fur and much more!

From time to time one was also assigned to the ticket sales service at the entrance.

My childhood dream comes true ...

On my second day at work, my childhood dream could finally come true - to be very close to a cheetah...Wow, was I happy at that moment!! The fur wasn't as soft as I would have thought, but the cheetah Harris, he purred and enjoyed my stroking. Okay, that's when I fell in love with Harris. And I was able to visit him regularly in his enclosure. The staff were very keen that we volunteers could also spend our time with the cheetahs. If there was time or not so many tourists around, we were allowed into the enclosure to pet Harris, Enigma or Joseph. However, we were never alone with the cheetahs, there was always a person present (called handler there) to ensure our safety.

The cheetahs

There are eleven cheetahs in total at this facility who act as ambassadors for their species. Cheetah Farm stands for Cheetah Time, which means the big cats aren't being forced into anything! You can feel the love for animals in the staff. You can tell that the animals feel this very well and give a lot back. Simply fascinating!

I already mentioned Harris, he was 14 months old in August and not quite mature yet. His nature is very playful and amiable.

Joseph is eleven years old and thus the oldest. He is very used to people and radiates an insane peace. It was always wonderful to be near him. Incidentally, it should be mentioned that Joseph has already been caressed by Justin Bieber and Halle Berry. He also starred in a film starring Patrick Swayze.

During my project I had the unique opportunity to visit the Cheetah-Cubs house. My anticipation of the eleven-week-old Mini-Cheetahs was boundless. All in all, I was able to play with the six cheetah babies for an hour. They were crawling all over me, very excited and suddenly they fell asleep again. I didn't want to get away from these little creatures, and an hour flew by.

My free time in South Africa

My free time was a bit sparse. I usually only had one day off and also had to work on weekends. But you could personalize the roster with Yogi or Karin to suit your own needs. The time on the farm with the cheetahs and the dogs was very important to me, so I enjoyed the time spent on my project. My advantage was that I was able to travel to South Africa last year.

My free days and party nights were mainly spent with Ian, his 20ig year old neighbor, Lyle and his friends. Every Wednesday we went to a bar to play beer bong. I did not know this game before, but it was really fun and I even won against the champions with my team player, Tanja.

In the evenings I always cooked for Ian and myself, once I finally got my long-awaited sweet strawberry dumplings (there weren't any plums) and homemade mulled wine! Pure Christmas spirit! Since August of this year was quite cold and there was even snow on the mountains, the mulled wine warmed us up very well. After we'd had a good meal, Ian and I would usually play "Menschärgere dich nicht", which we briefly renamed "Kicking your Ass". These evenings were simply legendary and I often got a cold stomach from laughing so much.

Ian's father lent me his car so I could easily go on day trips in the area. I had to get used to the left-hand traffic for a short time, but that was no longer a problem after driving twice. One evening I went to the casino with my project colleagues, where I won the equivalent of 6 euros, at least something!

On my last weekend I went to the Whale Festival with Ian. There did a whale watching boat tour and I got to see a female whale with a baby! South Africa simply offers an unbelievable number of beautiful destinations. One of my most beautiful drives was the Chapman's Peak Drive with great views of the Atlantic and Cape Town! I can attest myself that Cape Town really is one of the most beautiful cities in the world! Table Mountain, Lions Head, Kristenbosch and a wine tour are absolute musts!

Say goodbye to Cape Town

Of course, I got excited about coming home, but if it had been up to me, I would have stayed at least a month longer! It was very hard for me to say goodbye to the cheetahs, the dogs, the other animals and also my colleagues! The farewell to my incredible guest dad, Ian, was very emotional. Unfortunately, it was time, my journey home was imminent.

Conclusion about my experience abroad in South Africa

In South Africa I once again went beyond my limits and was able to learn a lot for myself. At the beginning of the project I was really scared of speaking English. Because there I really had to use my English skills! The other volunteers mostly came from America, Belgium, Singapore or England. Among other things, I was in contact with tourists a lot. But I was able to benefit a lot from these situations. I was able to completely overcome my shyness of the foreign language and my knowledge of English has improved significantly! Dealing with the tourists was a great experience and it led to very nice and good conversations, which I look back on very fondly.

Through this journey I overcame many fears, found a little bit of myself, reached my limits and also went beyond my limits. I've made wonderful friends. During these three months I also realized that everything is possible, no matter if you are afraid of something! I'm proud of myself that I made this trip, despite my fear of flying, and that I just dared to do it! It was definitely worth it!!! I carry so many beautiful experiences, adventures and people in my heart that no one can take away from me.

South Africa is simply a very special country, the people are very helpful, open and nice and the nature is - fantastic, breathtakingly beautiful!

When I said goodbye, I knew South Africa I'd be back. During my time in South Africa I was accompanied by a very beautiful song by Avicii, Wake me up. I heard it there for the first time and loved the song immediately. Since then, when I hear Avicii on the radio, I indulge in my thoughts and memories of South Africa...

"Guided by a beating heart..I can't tell where the journey will end ... But I know where it starts ..."
I could go on writing endlessly, thank you Africa for the unforgettable time.

Thank you Rainbow Garden Village for making this trip possible.

Claudia A., volunteering and a trip to 3 African countries, 01.07. - 23.09.2013.