Do you have the care, patience, ideas and a lot of love to give to others? This special project works with a special care unit that operates as a protective workshop and day care for mentally and physically handicapped children from the local South African township of Masiphumelele.

This cosy day care centre acts as a care facility for disabled children. The children who regularly attend the centre are aged between one and seven years old and are cared for by volunteers.

Volunteers on this project assist local staff with all the daily activities to look after the children, such as feeding and caring for them. There are also opportunities to assist with outings and trips on an ad hoc basis.

If you are interested in pursuing this field of work, here’s a great place for you to learn hands on skills working with children while soaking up the atmosphere and sites of a truly amazing South African destination!

The project is based in Masiphumelele, a small informal settlement close to Kommetjie. Kommetjie is a stunning beachside setting which is just 45 minutes south from the centre of Cape Town.

What does the project do?

A group was started up in Masi due to families wanting their children to go to the sister project; Ocean View special care unit. As Ocean View was full it was decided that there was a need in Masi for the children there. So, in 2003 a group was started which ran two mornings a week. Eventually they had to move from there and since then to the present day the group runs out of a nursery, although there are plans to move to bigger premises. It now runs Monday to Friday with the children's ages ranging from one to fourteen years.

Why does the project need volunteers?

Volunteers are needed at the project to help assist the local staff. The activities and trips are limited by the staff members as the children often require high levels of help and care. There is little government funding for these types of initiatives and the brunt of the work falls on volunteers while the local community supports the project.

The children also need care on a daily basis to help stimulate their minds and bodies in way that can help them with their disabilities. Also the project is about having fun with the kids.

Your role as a volunteer:

On a daily basis you will interact with the children by playing games, helping with arts and crafts and sensory stimulation. You will also assist staff in the general running of the centre and help with excursions and day trips. You may also get involved with the adult workshop, allowing disabled people to perform productive work.

Schedule

Your typical working hours on this project will be from Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 1.30pm. Any extra time you can give to the project will be really appreciated.

Activities

Most days you will be needed to participate in assisting staff with the children, taking part in activities, as well as the daily care of the children, which may include feeding and changing. You may also be involved in fundraising events, gardening, painting, decorating and any other jobs to do with both centres where necessary. Volunteers are encouraged to be forthcoming with ideas that they may have for the centres. Previous volunteers have assisted in book sales, painting and decorating rooms, assisted in the adults' games afternoon as well as day to day activities with the children. A TEFL course is included in the project fee which will help you greatly in your work with children and young people.

Accommodation

You’ll be staying in a shared volunteer house in the nearby suburb of Fish Hoek. You will transfer to the project by taxi daily.

Airport pick-up included

You will be met at the airport if arriving on the scheduled arrival date . Please book your flight to arrive into Cape Town (airport code CPT), we advise you arrive before 16.00 to avoid missing your orientation in the afternoon.

Project resources and advice

The project has adequate resources but you may need to be creative or bring things from home if you have any specific requirements.

It may be a good idea to bring items such as playing cards, books and personal music players for your own entertainment.

Food

Food at the project is self-catering, but local groceries are readily available so you should budget for this.

You do not need any specific skills to help at the project, although child care experience or experience working with the disabled would be welcomed. You will need patience, imagination and a love of children. You will need to be prepared for the unexpected working with children can be fun and exciting but you never know what they are going to do next so be prepared from every eventuality!

What exactly do i-to-i provide?

It may seem like a strange concept to pay for your volunteer experience. You'd be right if you think you shouldn't and the truth is you actually don't! Your placement is free; it's the benefits around it that you pay for. It's important to note that i-to-i is a travel company and not a charity. We provide a professional travel service. We are responsible for finding and assessing worthwhile projects across the world, preparing you for the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.

Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….

Project sourcing and assessment

We work with hundreds of locally run partner projects around the world and are constantly sourcing new opportunities. We visit all projects to check that they are worthwhile and legitimate and we also conduct a thorough safety assessment before we'll send volunteers there. More

Expert help-desk

Almost everyone who works for i-to-i has traveled extensively or worked overseas. This means we're a goldmine of information; we're always available to offer support and guidance before, during and after your trip.

Thorough project briefing materials

Once you book on to a project you'll receive a Welcome Pack that contains loads of general information about volunteering, about your chosen country and project, and a DVD about how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.

TEFL training

If you are volunteering on a Teaching or Community Development project then a 40-hour Online TEFL course is included in your placement fee. This is an internationally recognised and accredited certificate that will help you to make the most of your time overseas. More

Airport pickup

It can be pretty daunting arriving in a different country for the first time… especially after a long flight! If you arrive on your project start date, there'll be a welcoming face at the airport to pick you up and take you to your accommodation.

Arrival orientation

Soon after you arrive you will attend a thorough orientation with our in-country team. This is to cover important safety and security information. You'll also get some tips about sight-seeing options for your time off and maybe even learn some of the local lingo!

Accommodation and meals

Accommodation is included with all projects and meals are even included with some. We only use locally-owned and operated accommodation so that part of your placement fee is filtering back into the local economy. Most projects offer homestay, guesthouse or shared volunteer houses as standard accommodation, but some offer the chance to upgrade to a more comfortable living standard. More

Local in-country coordinators

Your in-country coordinator (ICC) will pick you up from the airport and conduct your orientation upon arrival. All ICC's are English speaking and are locals of your destination country. They won't be at your project every day, but will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need them. More

24/7 emergency support

Aside from the local support from your in-country coordinators you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by i-to-i staff in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals Docleaf to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support. More

Ongoing training

The safety and security of our volunteers is paramount. For this reason we provide ongoing crisis management and emergency response training to our local teams around the world. At the end of 2006 we flew all our in-country coordinators to the UK for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year. More

Supporting our projects

We don't fund our projects directly, but once a year they are all invited to apply for funding for special projects or resources from our registered charity arm, the i-to-i Foundation. i-to-i funds the operation of the i-to-i Foundation and is the largest single donor. Along with the generous support of our volunteers, we have distributed over US$200,000 in funding in the last two years alone! More  

Recruiting people like you

We make no secrets of the fact that part of your placement fee is reinvested in to recruiting volunteers just like you! The volunteers recruited in one week will typically deliver over 2000 man-days of service. The difference this makes to projects overseas is immeasurable. Many of our overseas projects rely on assistance from international volunteers, so it's necessary for us to put together brochures and websites to find the people who can support them. This recruitment process is vital to ensure programs have a constant stream of reliable volunteers.

The intangible benefits

Volunteering through a company like i-to-i has a lot of intangible benefits to developing overseas communities and the individual projects that we work with. To find out more about our placements. click here

What we will do after you've booked:

• Once booked on you will instantly receive a welcome email confirming your booking with access to your online account
• We will send a Welcome Pack in the post containing further information and a t-shirt, the information in this pack should answer most things you need to know
• Community Development and Teaching customers will receive an email introducing them to their Online TEFL course
• Community Development and Teaching customers will be requested to complete a police check (where relevant) or send through a reference
• We will contact you if we require anything else e.g. CV/resume for some projects, doctors note for medical conditions etc.
• We will hound you to complete your forms and pay your final balance when they are due
• We are available for any questions you may have on 800 352 1794 or operations@i-to-i.com
• We will prepare for your trip and send you an email with final project and accommodation confirmation 21 days before you go

What you need to do after booking your place with us:

• Book your flights
• Arrange suitable travel insurance
• Fill out some extra details through our online interface:
  • application from
  • travel details
  • insurance details
  • medical information
  • emergency contacts
• Complete your police check or request your reference (where relevant)
• Do your Online TEFL Course (where relevant)
• Make final payment at least 60 days before you go
• Make sure you have a visa for your trip if its needed
• Visit a nurse or travel clinic for advice on inoculations and malaria prevention
• Read all details and prepare as much as you can for your trip
• Take contact details of the in country team and where you're going in your hand luggage - just in case!
• Get on the plane!

Orientation Information

The following information details what will happen during the first few days of your arrival. We aim to provide you with a safe and soft landing into your destination by picking you up from the airport, giving you an orientation that helps to settle you into the country as quickly as possible. It's also the best time to ask any questions you have about your time in South Africa. You will arrive on the Arrival Date - Monday and will be met at the airport on that morning (from 12am in the morning until 11am). You will be taken to the Surfpackers Hostel (see contact details below) where you will have the first day/night to recover from your flight. The hostel is located within walking distance shops and the beach if you wish to have a wander - just ask at reception for directions.

Note: If you're arriving early we can arrange a meet and greet for you. If you require this please contact us to arrange this service. If you wish to make your own way please arrange to be at the address below on the arrival date:

Your orientation will take place at 3.30pm on the arrival date at Surfpackers and will introduce you to life in Cape Town as well as important information about staying healthy and safe. You'll also get to try your hand at drumming! You will stay at Surfpackers on Monday night before transferring to your permanent accommodation on the Tuesday. The transfer will be arranged for you by the team; transfers within Cape Town will take about 1 hour and those traveling further away can take up to 6 hours. Tuesday will also be the first day that you meet your project and start working as a volunteer. From here on in you will spend your time with the project but the in-country team are there if you need them.

Insurance

It's important that you get adequate travel insurance for your i-to-i experience and as many of you will be working this often means standard policies won’t work. The good news is that no matter where your coming from we have already found a policy to suit you.

The best time to get your insurance is when you book your project as this means you can get a fully tailored policy exclusive to i-to-i, just ask your consultant for further details at the time of booking.

If you have already booked but still need insurance then you may still be able to take our tailored policy. If, however it was more than a few days ago then try the links below:

Australian customers - find out more here >>

All other customers - find out more here >>

Flights

As with insurance we advise you get these booked as early as possible to avoid high prices and to make sure you arrive on the right day. The i-to-i team is right up to date with the best deals no matter where you’re flying from; their insider knowledge could save you some time and money.

Country Guide

A little bit of history...

 A journey into South Africa’s history is to haul through periods of racial tension, oppression and hope. Its multicultural mix originates from the earliest settlers, the San (also known as Bushmen) and Khoi-Khoi tribes, followed by Bantu-speaking groups, and through to the swarm of European traders. The Dutch were among the first European settlers and arrived in the 17th century, establishing their presence through their own dialect, Afrikaan, and religion in the form of the Dutch Reformed Church. By the end of the 18th century, the British began to push their presence forward into the country’s towns. It was a period of flared tensions with Zulu chief Shaka renouncing war on neighbouring tribes. Meanwhile, the Boers (Dutch Afrikaner farmers) and the British became locked in conflict; the Anglo-Boer War lasted from 1899 to 1902, ending with the British taking control of the Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State (OFS) and consequently ruling the country.

By 1910, the Union of South Africa was created and gave political power to whites, while blacks set up political parties in protest, the African National Congress (ANC) the best known. It ushered in the beginnings of apartheid, which became widely ingrained after the Afrikaner National Party came to power in 1948. Violence against protests from blacks was enforced and the black population were evicted to so-called Homelands. In the 1960s, leaders of the ANC were imprisoned, notably Nelson Mandela, and the country became isolated having left the Commonwealth and declaring its republic status. After a long period of racial divide and conflict, in 1989 FW de Klerk came to power with the aim to rid the country of apartheid and instil democracy. The following year, Mandela was released from prison and in 1994 became president after the ANC won the country’s first non-racial general elections; the country also returned to the Commonwealth. The country’s democratic stance has steered it toward a more harmonious future, though economic inequalities between whites and blacks exist, but as the most developed economy on the continent it is in a good position to reconcile with its past.

Best time to go...

Naturally, South Africa’s seasons are the reverse of the northern hemisphere with summer heat burning from November to March and cooler winter temperatures from June to August. Temperature wise, spring (September to October) and autumn (April to May) provide a happy medium. Certain must-do activities are restricted to specific times of year: safari is best from June to September and the whale watching season is June to December. The busiest time, hence the most expensive, is during the summer months, while the major school holidays are during December and Easter.

Getting around...

Given the distances involved, flying is the most convenient way to travel between the main destinations, while land transportation can efficiently pick up the rest of the mileage for exploration in and around. There are an assortment of domestic carriers to choose from that fly the main routes, with most running from Johannesburg or Cape Town; these include South African Airways, Nationwide Airlines, Kulula and 1Time. Booking early is advisable to secure discounted rates.

There country also boasts a comprehensive bus network that covers the main cities; the road trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town is around 20 hours (compared to a 2 hour in a plane). The main bus companies are Translux, Greyhound and Intercape. Baz Bus is aimed at the backpacker crowd and provides a hop-on, hop-off service and also travels to remote areas. It’s a good way to discover the picturesque patch of coastline that is the Garden Route, which it services en route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.

Train travel can work out longer than by bus, with the trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town edging toward almost 30 hours. If you’re after a little luxury, try the Blue Train or the Rovos Rail for a taste of stylish travel.

Car rental is an attractive option thanks to the good road conditions, great scenery and the flexibility driving allows. The big car rental companies like Avis and Budget have outlets and it’s essential to be fully insured and have a valid driver’s licence. It’s also a convenient way to get around cities as public transport can be unsafe.

Useful links

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s website provides up-to-date political news, travel advice and information on visas

The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA)

Bus company Baz Bus

Domestic airline 1Time

Bus company Greyhound

Bus company Intercape

Domestic airline Kulula

Nationwide Airlines

South African Airways

Bus company Translux