Early Childhood Development
Cape Town, South Africa
→ Prices start fromUS$2,150 for 2 weeks
Volunteering in education
Through this project you ́ll get the chance to visit one of the most beautiful cities on Earth while at the same time getting the unique opportunity of immersing yourself in the vibrant township communities that many tourists don’t often get to discover, and make a long term impact on children by providing high-quality education and support in severely overcrowded and under-funded facilities.
Volunteer Reviews
Cape Town Volunteering
Year after year Cape Town keeps being voted as the best city in the world by the main travel magazines and publications and they are not wrong! Cape Town is a city of unparalleled beauty that caters for every kind of traveller offering mountains, beaches, forests and the delight of a buzzing city all in the same place!
Nonetheless, most tourists don’t get to see and experience the other side of this city where inequality reigns and has over 2.000.000 living in one township alone, Khayelitsha. Poverty, crime, lack of opportunities, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, reduced access to healthcare and education are some of the city ́s main social issues that affect millions of citizens.
South Africa’s education system is ranked 133rd out of 142 countries in the world by the World Economic Forum since it lacks basic amenities, infrastructure, learning resources and schools tend to be overcrowded and short on qualified teachers.
By joining our projects in Cape Town you won’t just have the eye-opening opportunity of visiting some of the main townships and get to see these vibrant communities, engage with the locals and see for yourself and learn from their daily struggles, but also play a huge role in helping reduce the inequality gap and providing better education opportunities by working on a daily basis in different foster care homes and pre-schools.
Don’t miss out on this unique and unforgettable opportunity of experiencing firsthand the hardships in Cape Town informal settlements and making a real long term contribution that can further the development of children coming from underprivileged backgrounds.
A Day In Your Life
You will be working Monday to Friday both in the morning and afternoon in different communities and projects. You will break for lunch and either come back to your accommodation for a relaxing time before heading back out or have lunch in traditional places in the townships so to try the local delicacies.
Evenings and weekends are free for you to explore this amazing tourist destination that has so much to offer anyone who visits it.
- During the mornings we work closely with different preschools in several communities in Cape Town, which will give you the opportunity to visit many different locations and see the various educational methods used in each school. You will be supporting children aged between 6 months and 7 years with the main goal of preparing them for the next step in their lives, primary school. Volunteers are fundamental to help the classes come alive with creative new ideas that can help students better learn and take in each lesson. Your role is to assist teachers with lesson planning and then delivering the daily routine that usually consists of structured play, storytime, music and movement sessions, and specific themes.
- As a volunteer, you will also spend a few mornings each week working at a foster care home that cares for abandoned and orphaned children aged between 0 and 8 years old in Khayelitsha, with the aim of placing the children into foster care as soon as possible. The first stage is to nurse them back to health and afterwards look to recruit a foster family so they can be reintroduced into a family environment. While they are here our role is to implement fun activities that can help the children further their development, grow and learn, so we work in fundamental areas such as motor skills, social play, language, numeracy and rhythm.
- During the afternoon you will support after-school care run by a group of grandmothers that have created this place as a safe space for children in the vulnerable hours after school finishes and are constantly working to fight against poverty and AIDS in their communities. Our goal here is to implement educational games and activities that can develop meaningful life skills in children such as teamwork and leadership. There are lots of activities you can be involved in and we welcome your ideas and suggestions. Homework support, craft-making, gardening, reading sessions or sporting activities are some of the most common ones you can take part in!
- Cape Town is without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities on Earth and has something for every tourist! You can enjoy your free time hiking or taking the cable car up one of the Wonders of the World – Table Mountain, going shark cage diving, surfing, wine tasting, taking in the scenery on the many tourist routes it has, diving, relaxing by the beach, visiting the famous markets and trying the world-class restaurants or even going on safari! Trust us, there’s no way to get bored in Cape Town!
2 weeks – US$2,150.00
4 weeks – US$2,750.00
6 weeks – US$3,350.00
8 weeks – US$3,950.00
10 weeks – US$4,550.00
12 weeks – US$5,150.00
During school holidays, activities may differ from the usual schedule but the work will be equally engaging and rewarding.
We ask volunteers to arrive at Cape Town International Airport on the Monday your project starts between 9 am and 3 pm and we’ll pick you up from there.
Start Dates for 2023
- 23 January 2023
- 6 February 2023
- 20 February 2023
- 6 March 2023
- 20 March 2023
- 3 April 2023
- 17 April 2023
- 1 May 2023
- 15 May 2023
- 29 May 2023
- 12 June 2023
- 26 June 2023
- 10 July 2023
- 24 July 2023
- 7 August 2023
- 21 August 2023
- 4 September 2023
- 18 September 2023
- 2 October 2023
- 16 October 2023
- 30 October 2023
- 13 November 2023
- 27 November 2023
- 11 December 2023
