Primary school volunteer in South Africa Experience report

Volunteering in kindergarten and primary school

After my school days I decided to spend half a year in South Africa. I wanted to experience new ways of life and different cultures. I did that too.

In the 24 weeks in and around Cape Town I was able to experience so much. For example, I was allowed to play in a local soccer team for a short time. A visit to the church is also recommended. The churches in South Africa cannot be compared to ours. You just have to experience it yourself. South Africans are generally very religious, I experienced that in my host family, but also in kindergarten and at school.

The start of my adventure in Cape Town

My Cape Town adventure started at the airport. Chad picked me up on time. He took me to the large student house, where I was greeted warmly and made friends very quickly. I spent about three months there, which was very convenient as there were lots of enterprising people who were fun to live with.

Trips together with other volunteers

We also planned a West Coast trip independently. It was a beautiful few days and I would recommend anyone who has the opportunity to spend a day in the West Coast National Park. I have already booked the 9-day RGV Garden Route in Germany. It was quite worth it and we, 20 girls from RGV, got to enjoy the beautiful South African nature. During the nine days we were accompanied by two tour guides and a bus driver.

My volunteer work at the Children's Center

The first three months, more precisely, until the summer holidays (mid-December) I worked in a kindergarten. There are four groups in the Children's Center and the educators and the kindergarten director are very grateful for the help of the volunteers. So I was received kindly and lovingly. For me it was a wonderful experience that I wouldn't want to miss. This also made me realize that I can well imagine working with children in the future.

My experience as a primary school volunteer

After the summer holidays, which lasted about a month, I worked in the primary school for 5 weeks. At that point, I was already living with a host family, only a three-minute walk from the school. At school, I helped the teacher organize the lessons. I practiced the tasks intensively with the second graders. This too was an incredible experience. At the same time, I was able to learn a lot about the different cultures, since some of the children in my class came from the townships.

Living in my host family

Living with the host family was a whole new feeling. My host parents and their 23-year-old son lived with the family. Three other German volunteers lived with me in the family, I shared a room with one. I was allowed to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve with them. We celebrated Christmas on December 25th with about 50 people, relatives from Australia and Co. were also present. It was braaied (grilled) on an open fire.

Conclusion on my time as a volunteer in South Africa

In conclusion, I can only say that it was an incredibly nice time and I can recommend this experience to everyone.

Volunteer in kindergarten and school in South Africa, experience report by Stefanie P., 18.03.16/XNUMX/XNUMX