The primary aim of this project is to bridge the resource gap between children from lower-income areas, such as the Langa Township in Cape Town, and those from more affluent backgrounds. It provides access to education; sports, especially rugby; literacy and IT resources, ensuring that challenges the children are faced with are addressed early on in their lives. This creates opportunities and a safe space to learn, play and grow.
| Location | Cape Town, South Africa |
|---|---|
| Duration | From 2 - 12 weeks |
| Dates | From mid-January to mid-December |
| Requirements |
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| Minimum Age: | 18 |
| Your impact | |
| Documents required | Enrolment form, curriculum vitae, letter of motivation, passport copy, proof of medical insurance, police clearance certificate |
| Day of arrival | Sunday |
| Day of departure | Saturday |
This project, with a 22-year history, was initially launched as a rugby programme, transporting kids from under-served areas to Bishops Preparatory School, located in Rondebosch, for rugby training. Its scope has since grown substantially. It now extends rugby training to children from five primary schools in the Langa Township in Cape Town.
Rugby is a highly popular sport in South Africa, often the preferred sport of the country's most talented athletes. The national South African rugby team, called the Springboks, is currently number 1 in the World Rugby ranking and won the World Championship again in 2023.
"What brings us together is our country and that’s what has been driving us, we have come a long way together. Some of us come from very disadvantaged backgrounds, one would think that there is no way that we are where we are now. We have the privilege to do what we love and to inspire people, especially children from different places in life, so they too believe they can do what we achieved.”
(Siya Kolisi, captain of the South African National Rugby team)
In 2009, the World Rugby member unions identified integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline and respect as the defining character-building characteristics of rugby. These are now collectively known as the World Rugby values.
Beyond sports, the project focuses on education, offering academic assistance in English, maths, coding, and homework. Additionally, an Early Childhood Development (ECD) literacy initiative and mobile library program operate in partnership with registered crèches. A mobile IT classroom, in a bus, aids the transition to English for grade 4 students and introduces coding to grade 5, bolstering digital literacy.
The primary goal is to provide a hub of excellence in Langa to ensure that the challenges that the children in Langa are faced with, are addressed early on in the child's life, creating opportunities and a safe space for children to learn, play and grow.
Weekends which do not have scheduled rugby matches are used for recreational outings, enriching the children’s experiences. Volunteers are more than welcome to join the weekend activities if they wish, but these are purely optional.
You will work alongside the project coach, assisting with their daily routine and will receive instructions from them as they go.
The project is located at 2 different premises, although both locations are across the road from each other. Full-day volunteers will participate in the morning and afternoon programme.
Afternoon-only volunteers (studying English in the morning) will only participate in the afternoon volunteer programme.
Morning programme
Monday to Friday, 09:30 – 12:30
ECD Programme - volunteers support the project coaches with existing programmes where they help the groups of children with various activities as a form of learning through play (puzzles, playdough, reading stories, etc).
Afternoon programme
Monday to Friday, 15:30 – 17:00
The afternoon consists of rugby coaching and after school tutoring: English, Maths or general homework.
Volunteers can join the project team on recreational outings to Cape Town's sites and thereby introduce children to new experiences. Timing varies based on activities and volunteers' availability.
It is important to note that this description serves as an example only. The daily tasks and challenges depend on the volunteer and the work that needs to be done. The final job description can therefore vary substantially from the above.
This project can be emotionally draining. It is important that you are aware of this before applying for this project. We will assist you during your stay to make sure that you are coping with the experience, but you need to be mentally prepared to be open to the challenge.
You will live at the Volunteer House. It is a private house in an upmarket residential area in Cape Town. Volunteers are accommodated in twin bedrooms but may upgrade to single rooms upon request. There are 4 bathrooms to share, a communal kitchen to cater for yourself, a dining room, a lounge with TV and DVD and a beautiful garden with a swimming pool.
Bedding is provided. Towels will not be provided.
There is a washing machine at the residence for you to use. It works with tokens which can be purchased for R40 per load.
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