My experiences as a volunteer at the Children Center Cape Town

For six months Cape Town was my home and I worked in a children's center there. More than 200 children between the ages of 3 months and 6 years are cared for there every day. The Children Center is divided into several classes: first the babies (3 months - 2 years), then a class of children aged 2-3 years, then there are three classes of children aged 3-5 years and finally the final class 'Grade R ' with 6-year-old children. If you don't really know which age group you like the most, you can of course change and try out the different classes at first.

My arrival in Cape Town

The airport transfer worked perfectly, Chad picked me up from the airport on time and brought me to the RGV office. It was really a great help to have someone to take care of you right away. Arrived in the office there was orientation a little later. It was explained to us what we have to consider in Cape Town. The African culture was also brought closer to us and explained to us.

My time in the Student House and in a host family

In my first 2 months I stayed in the student house. I really liked the community life, it was always nice to do something together. Of course, with 13 people plus a dog in a house, it was often a bit chaotic, but a cleaning lady comes every day to clean and it's actually a matter of course that everyone does their dishes and so on. And even if you want to be something for yourself, that's no problem at all, the others always understand - and you grow together in a certain way as a family in which you always show consideration for one another.

Shortly before Christmas I switched to a host family, because you can only stay in the student house for a maximum of 3 months and I wanted to spend Christmas with a host family. However, it was all a bit different than I had imagined, because the family didn't celebrate Christmas very much. Nevertheless, it was very nice in the family. I wasn't alone either, because two other volunteers were also staying there.

I had actually hoped to do a lot with the family and thus get to know the African culture properly. Unfortunately, the family didn't do much with me, I was mostly just out and about with the other volunteers and apart from eating together and going to church twice, I didn't do anything with the family, which I thought was a bit of a shame. But it has to be said that most families don't have much time and don't always have the money to do things with their volunteers. But of course that varies from family to family – a friend, for example, was often away with her host family for the weekend.

My duties at the Children Center

The children get breakfast and lunch at the Childern Centre. For some children, this is their only meal of the day. Many children bring a snack with them. But it is always shared with the children who have nothing to eat with them. One of the volunteers' tasks is to distribute the food to the children and later do the dishes. The room is also swept after the meal. There is a morning circle every morning, with singing and talking. In addition, the children are already beginning to learn, for example the alphabet or numbers. There are also some activities that the children can do to improve their motor skills. In the final year, there are even some correct lessons, in preparation for school.

Mainly just spending time with the kids, playing with them and giving them the attention that they don't seem to get enough from home for various reasons. Of course, the children can sometimes be exhausting, because they don't listen to you at all and are sometimes very violent, because fights are not uncommon for them.

It was a bit difficult for me at first, also seeing how poor some children are. But it's all the nicer when you can give them the attention they lack and be there for them. You have to do a lot yourself, because the educators don't really give you a task. But once you've grown fond of the children, it's so much fun and you don't even want to think about saying goodbye.

My conclusion

I honestly had the best time of my life in Cape Town. The city is so diverse, there is a lot to see and the nature there is beautiful. I also really liked the project. Of course there were a few doubts at first - but I think that's normal when you're so far away from home for the first time and experience so many new impressions. But once you've really settled in, you don't want to leave.

At the end I have one tip for you: If you stay longer and plan to rent a car, I would find out in advance what all the offers are. Because I've rented a car four times, including one at the airport, and that cost a lot of money. In any case, it's good if you share a car with other people, otherwise it's really too expensive - but I would still find out early enough because the longer you rent a car, the cheaper the price becomes.

A review by Vanessa D., who helped build 2016 from October 2017 into the Children Center in Cape Town, South Africa.