Program Profile
Located approximately an hour away from Cape Town, the Cape South Peninsula where volunteers will mainly be situated is a microcosm of
South Africa. There are established 'white' middle-class suburbs like Fish Hoek, old apartheid 'coloured' (mixed race) areas like Ocean View which are poor and characterized by various social problems, and Masiphumelele, which is a classic South Africa black township and very poor. Volunteers will experience firsthand the striking diversity of South Africa and participate in the great challenge to transform the inequities of apartheid into an integrated, progressive society.
Volunteer Role
Your service in South Africa will begin in late June with a week of orientation. Orientation will include an introduction to life and culture in South Africa, visits to the schools and communities where we work and information on health and safety issues. During orientation volunteers will stay at a camp and then move to live with their local host families.
The central objective of our summer project is to provide and support educational initiatives in poor communities in the Southern Peninsula of Cape Town. In the first phase of the program, roughly the first two weeks of July, we run various courses during the winter school holidays in Masiphumelele township. These have included an English literacy program for Grades 1–3, computer training for all ages, and math for Grades 8–12. We also run special projects, such as helping youngsters write books about their heroes, as a therapy and personal development process, and the development of directories for the community, such as a guide to careers and further education. Most of our work takes place at the library in the heart of the township, which is a modern facility, built by US donors.
In Phase 2, for the remaining five weeks, volunteers are placed at a number of different primary and secondary schools in the southern Peninsula, including the 'coloured' Ocean View area and Simonstown school, where the volunteers also live on campus in a school hostel.
Volunteers typically work as classroom assistants, supporting the teachers, but there is usually plenty of scope for volunteers to use their talents in specialized ways, such as art, literacy and sports, by arrangement with the Principal. Schools and their teaching staff are under enormous pressure with very limited resources and the enthusiasm of WorldTeach volunteers is much appreciated.
Please note that volunteers participating in WorldTeach summer programs are not eligible to receive WorldTeach TEFL certification.
Placements & Housing
During orientation volunteers will move to their host families for the duration of the program. Though volunteers will likely have their own bedroom, they may be sharing with another volunteer although we try to limit this only to Phase 1. Most host families are situated in the wealthier areas of the Southern Peninsula and the homes offer comfort and most modern facilities; however, volunteers may have less privacy than they are used to in the United States, as other living spaces will be shared with the host family.
Financial Information
The cost of the summer program is $5,990. This covers pre-departure information and preparation, round-trip international airfare from a US departure city to Cape Town, overseas medical and emergency evacuation insurance, one week in-country orientation as well as a mid-service and end-of-service conference, 24-hour field staff support, room and board, and alumni support.
Many volunteers successfully fundraise all or a significant portion of their volunteer commitment. Please refer to our fundraising webpage for more information about fundraising possibilities.
Read more about our costs and services.
Requirements
Volunteers in the South Africa Summer program must be:
- fluent English speakers
- between the ages of 18 and 74
- highly flexible, mature, and have a genuine interest in teaching