Remember when school actually was all fun and games?

Do you recall being in nursery school when your days were filled with making dirt sculptures, coloring, story time and just running everywhere because it was more fun than walking? Why not relive those glory years by volunteering at a child care center for disadvantaged children? You can help them learn valuable lessons while also getting a unique insight into what life is like for children being raised in a township.

When you book this trip US$75 of your fee is used to purchase mattresses for the kids or equivalent through our Big Giving programme.

Trip Highlights:

Itinerary & Details

Day 1 (Monday) – Arrive into Cape Town International Airport (airport code CPT)

Today you will be met at the airport and taken to our volunteer house in Fish Hoek. You’ll need to arrive in before 4pm so that you’re all ready for the orientation which kicks off at 5pm. The journey from the airport to Fish Hoek should take around 45 minutes and if you keep your eyes open you might get to see Table Mountain on the way! The orientation will take you through what it’s going to be like at your project, do’s and don’ts, how to stay safe and it’s your prime opportunity to ask any burning questions that you haven’t yet had answered. After the orientation you’ll have some time to relax and prepare before your first day at the project tomorrow.

If you aren’t able to arrange a flight to get you into Cape Town before 4.15pm then we’d recommend you fly in a day early. We can arrange an early airport pick-up for you including one night’s accommodation. Please call us for more information.

Day 2 (Tuesday) – Introductions at your project

It’s township time! Today is the day you’ll meet the children and staff and our team will make sure you know where you’re going and what you’re doing to ensure that you’re comfortable with everything. Be prepared to have a child hanging on your every limb and on every word you say as they get to know you in their own way. You’re going to need a lot of energy here!

Days 3 to 5 (Wednesday to Friday) – Getting stuck in!

Getting stuck in indeed will be the best move you ever make here. There’s no time to be shy when it comes to these children, they are at the centre so that their parents in the townships can go out and earn a living and so that the older children at the centre can prepare themselves for ‘big school’. By hanging around with Westerners, these children will have a better start in life as their language skills will be perfected. Speaking English gives them a better education and in turn, better jobs. By simply being there, you are already helping these children more than you could know.

Days 6 and 7 (Saturday to Sunday) – Free time

The weekends are your free time to rest and explore. There are so many things to see and do in Cape Town you’ll struggle to get bored! There’s a train line straight into Cape Town from Fish Hoek that take about an hour and you’re close to Boulders Beach where the penguins hang out. There’s also Table Mountain, Cape Point, Robben Island and that’s without leaving the city!

Following weeks

Mondays to Fridays, 8am to 1.30pm or 5pm will be spent energetically at the project with your weekends free to fill with whatever you fancy! The team have close links with reputable tour companies so there will always be something going on for you to get involved in.

Your Last Day (Monday)

Having said goodbye to all your new friends you’ll transfer back to the airport on this day. The return transfer from Fish Hoek to Cape Town International is not covered within your project fee but our regular transfer company will be able to sort the journey back for you, the costs will be around £25 / R250.

Project

What does the project do?

We work with a couple of projects in Masiphumelele that have some of the children with the biggest smiles you have seen!

Masiphumelele is often referred to as Masi and means ‘success'. The original population started at around 800 households and were mainly farmers who came from the Eastern Cape selling their land before the 1994 elections creating the township of Masiphumelele. In 1992 the number of households reached a number in excess of 30,000. ‘Masi’ is a small township in comparison and has a real community feeling, believing strongly in “Ubuntu” which means sharing everything and helping each other out.

Ikhaya Creche (child care centre) was started in 1994 by a lady called Doreen in a shack in Masiphumelele with 5 children. By 1995, the school had grown to 15 students and kept on growing each year still operating out of a shack. A US funder came to see Doreen and agreed to build her a mini concrete school, to improve the lives of the little kids. So in 1999 the building began with 47 children still attending school in a shack on the same property. The school doors opened in late 1999 and grew to 72 children.

Doreen and her team take care of 72 children Monday to Friday from 6.30am – 5.30pm, which frees the parents to go out and work and earn a living and also work hard to get the six year olds ready for ‘big school’ They take care of children between the ages of 3 and 6 – and supply the children with two meals a day. The parents pay R80 a month towards fees – not all parents can afford to pay but the staff never turn the kids away.

Doreen has also helped Evelyn, an elderly neighbour, develop a child care centre from Evelyn's home, located across the street from Doreen's centre. Evelyn and her team care for 31 babies and toddlers from the ages of 1 month to 3 years. Doreen is an active member of The Masi Educare Forum – which meets once a month to assist and help develop other crèches in Masiphumelele, which is very much needed.

Sylvia moved to Masiphumelele in 1992 and opened a crèche in 2005 to help look after the small children in the area allowing the parents to go out to work to provide for their families. She now looks after nearly 70 children from the age of 9 months to 6 years old and has even moved out of her house to a shack at the back of the property so that she can look as many children as possible!

In 2010 Thomson Sport sponsored the building of a new wooden classroom so that the children can be split into different age groups also allowing the older children their own space in the afternoon while the little ones have their nap!

Silvia`s crèche provides a safe place for the young children of the township to interact and learn and have a fun time during the day while their parents go out to work confident that their children are being well looked after.

What’s the project like?

These projects are full of life and hope for the children who attend the centre. Every member of staff is there for the same reason; to promote the needs of children and to give them the best start in their educational life as possible. Resources are in short supply here, but the children are happy, bright and extremely keen to learn and get involved in anything fun!

Doreen and her team take care of approximately 72 children Monday to Friday which frees the parents to go out to work and earn a living and also work hard to get the six year olds ready for ‘big school’ They take care of children between the ages of 3 and 6 – and supply the children with two meals a day.

Sylvia`s crèche is a lively place with nearly 70 children aged between 9 months and 6 years old with a total of 4 teachers giving their time and love to the children, as you can imagine there are a lot of children for this to go around! Silvia lives in a shack at the back of the main property which is a room for all the children during the day and also a wooden classroom that is a recent very welcome addition!

The children are very enthusiastic and love the attention of the volunteers, bringing new ideas and imagination to the project.

Children bring their own lunch but Silvia provides lunch for about 20 children whose parents are unable to provide this. During the day the children have classes that include singing, dancing, English and Xhosa lessons along with the all important lessons about good manners and respect!

Why does the project need volunteers?

The projects are run by a small number of permanent staff but your help is really needed at the projects to give extra attention to all the children. You can bring your love and enthusiasm to the project making learning more fun and interactive for them also having a great time in the process! Any extra pairs of willing hands are needed to give the children the individual attention they crave!

Doreen and Sylvia and their dedicated teams work hard to provide the children with the highest level of care and attention possible but an extra pair of hands is always in high demand. Most parents pay a small fee to send their children however the money collected is not sufficient to hire as many staff as they would like.

It’s all about having fun with the children and showing them that they can have fun and learn at the same time! The very fact that these children are keen to learn means that you’ll have fun and get so much out of this experience.

Activities and schedule

Your typical working hours on this project will be from Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 1.30pm or till 5pm depending on the project. However, any extra time you can give to the project will be really appreciated.

On a typical day your work will start at the project at around 8am which is breakfast time for the children. The first job is to fill their tummies with the staple rice or bread. Then comes the toilet break, followed by washing hands and then time to start having some fun! You will be playing with the children and helping them to learn through play. You will need to use your initiative and confidence to keep these bundles of energy entertained! The children are enthusiastic and love to sing and dance.

Before you know it’s time for lunch and then nap time for the younger ones at around 1.30pm for an hour with a well deserved break for you! More games or singing in the afternoon before it is time to tidy up and home time at 5pm!

Often you might need to work on a one to one basis with children or in small groups, to give them the attention that they need in order to flourish and develop. Due to a lack of permanent staff, this isn’t always possible without your help.

Where the project is based

The day care centres are based in the Masiphumelele Township, which is around 45 minutes from central Cape Town. Masiphumelele is a deprived area with the majority of residents living in poverty.

Project resources and advice

There are very few resources at the project, so do bring any resources such as very simple educational books that can be re-used. Any educational toys, learning aids or wall posters would be much appreciated. Bear in mind though, that you can buy all of this in country where your money would go back into the local community plus saves you luggage space! The kids will love any outdoor games, which can be simple and highly educational; so use your imagination!

Please note that the weather can become quite cold during the months of May to September, please remember to bring some warm clothes with you.

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 fora 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 how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.

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 team will arrange a pick-up for you at the airport and will conduct your orientation upon arrival. All coordination teams 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 team you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals 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. We also fly in our in-country coordinators to the UK regularly 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 from the project fee that you pay us. Instead we choose to support a number of projects every year through a grant scheme for tangible long-term initiatives. In the last 3 years we have distributed over US$250,000 to our most needy projects to help them in the great work they do. 

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

Next Steps

What we will do after you've booked:

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 the specified arrival date (we recommend you arrive between 8.00 and 16.15 in order to attend your orientation at 17.00). You will be taken to the The One Three Six (see contact details below) where you will have the first day/night to recover from your flight. The volunteer house is located within walking distance shops and the beach if you wish to have a wander – just ask for directions.

If you wish to make your own way please arrange to be at the address below on the arrival date:

The One Three Six

136 Kommetije Road
Fish Hoek
7976

T: +27 (0)21 785 4858
+27 (0)82 306 8877


Your orientation will take place at 17.00 on the arrival date at The One Three Six and will introduce you to life in Cape Town as well as important information about staying healthy and safe.

The One Three Six will be your permanent accommodation throughout your stay at the project, Tuesday will 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.

Flights & Insurance

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.

EU Customers – find out more here >>

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.

Early Airport Pick-up

Early airport pick up is possible to arrange on the day before the listed start date if required. You will be met at Cape Town International airport and transferred to our 'volunteer house' in Fish Hoek just outside Cape Town – where orientation takes pla

The cost of this Early Pick-up service is US$ 220.00

Accommodation

What type of accommodation will I be in?

You’ll be staying in our large volunteer house in Fish Hoek throughout your trip. The house is reserved solely for i-to-i volunteers and you will have use of all facilities. The house accommodates up to 25 people in dormitory-style rooms with bunk beds. There are three bathrooms and a maximum of 8 people in a room. There’s also a lounge area, balcony, garden and barbeque facilities. The house is in a locked compound in a residential area and a short distance from the shops and beach. There are lockers at the accommodation for you to lock your valuables away but please remember to bring a padlock and keys with you!

A 10 minute walk away there is a supermarket, serviced laundry and an internet café and there’s also a shopping mall a little further on. You can also head down to the beach area for bars and restaurants, about a 10 minute drive away.

Accommodation facilities

Your time in Cape Town is on a self-catering basis. You’ll have access to the kitchen complete with cookers, loads of fridge space, microwave, toaster and kitchen utensils so you can cook up tasty morsels. There’s a dining area in the lounge or a table and chairs on the balcony if you prefer the outdoor experience! If you are feeling lazy you can even order a takeaway! While in the house you will be responsible for keeping the place clean so please tidy up after yourself, especially in the kitchen.

There is a supermarket and shops a 10 minute walk from the volunteer house. They are open late so you’ll be able to shop either in your lunch-break or after your days work. You should budget around US$50 per week for groceries, as prices are similar to home. There is a phone at the house where you can receive incoming calls and you can easily buy local phone cards to make outbound phone calls.

The bathroom facilities include hot water, showers, a bath and western style toilets. The property is well-maintained and reasonably new so the living conditions are good. There is a lovely garden to relax in, too! There isn’t a washing machine at the house but there is a laundry just down the road where you can simply drop off your clothes and pick them up later!

Cape Town maintains a temperate climate throughout the year and as a result properties do not have central heating. The volunteer house is no exception (apart from a fire in the living room) so if you are travelling to South Africa between June and August please be prepared for the Cape Town winter which can be cold at night. You’ll need to bring some warm jumpers, a decent sleeping bag and even some cosy socks especially if you’re prone to feeling the cold.

Things to bring from home