Jeffrey's Bay Child Care Project and Backpacker's Project

Description

The Project is based in Jeffrey's bay, a breathtakingly beautiful World Re-known Surfers Village. This peaceful seaside resort is situated in the Eastern Cape. This Project involves working with children from 3 different Child Care Centres in the township, just A 5 Minute shuttle drive to the project. Jeffrey's Bay is a surfers' paradise. With numerous surf shops and surf schools there is no excuse for not getting into the waves. Sand boarding is also a big attraction for sport lovers.

The town has all the shops and facilities needed for a perfect holiday. Jeffreys Bay has all of the following: supermarkets, doctors, pharmacies, dentists, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, a hotel, B&B’s, movie theater and a school.

The Project
We are involved with three schools in the Jeffrey's Bay Community. These schools provide education for children aged 3 to 5 years. There are up to 20/40 children in each creche, which makes it very difficult for the permanent teachers to keep up with education and attention for the individual children.
Help from volunteers is needed and has proven to be very effective, for the teachers and children can learn a lot from the volunteers, and vice versa. This Project gives you the opportunity to build rewarding relationships with the children and to share your love with them.

The centres aim at providing excellence in child care by working hand in hand with the community and all those who are willing to offer their time and help. The centres are short staffed due to the large volume of children in need. You will experience the satisfaction of watching these children progress and develop. Your role as volunteer is very important in changing and shaping these childre'’s lives, and consequently the lives of future generations in South Africa. The children can speak English although their home language is Afrikaans or Xhosa. Volunteer's days are spent at the Child Care Centre’s. Any old clothes, shoes and blankets are a welcome donation to the community. They are always in need of these.

The school morning is structured in the following way:
7.30: Children start arriving at the school with the teachers there to welcome them
8.00: The teachers make the children porridge for breakfast
8.30: Start of the lesson program where the teachers try to teach the children new skills in a playful way.
10.00: The children’s singing routine in which they sing all the songs they know and learn new songs
11.00: Snacktime! The children eat the food they brought themselves
11.30: Playtime! The children play outside on the playground in front of the school
13.00: Sleeptime! The children take their afternoon nap till the parents pick them up

Accommodation and Meals
Volunteers will be housed in Backpackers accommodation, only a 3 minute walk to the beach. Bedding is provided but volunteers must bring their own towels. Bottled water is readily available in South Africa however the tap water is safe to drink. A R350 food allowance per week is included in the price. There is a big self-catering kitchen for you to prepare your own food, or you can sample the tasty delights of Our hearty African dinners for ($7).

Orientation
Volunteers will be met at the Port Elizabeth International airport and transported to their accommodation in Jeffrey's Bay. A Brief Orientation will take place after arrival. It will cover safety tips, transport, supermarkets and shops, entertainment and a brief tour of the Township.

General Information on Africa

Population: 49,320,000
Official languages: English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu
Climate: Temperate climate
Currency: Rand (ZAR)
Time zone: SAST (UTC+2)

Volunteer programs begin on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month.Volunteers can choose from 1 week to 24 weeks.Prices include airport pickup, accommodation, food, transport to and from the Project and a brief Orientation.

Prices exclude flights, travel insurance and visas.

Prices per Week: 300 POUNDS/ USD 435/ 340 EUROS

Prices exclude the Registration Fee of USD295 (a once off registration fee).

- A percentage of these fees are donated as charity towards the community.

What do your fees pay for?

Registration Fee - Web-design Costs, Program marketing costs, administration costs, Volunteer in Sa fund, and communication costs with volunteers.

Volunteer Program Fee - Airport pick up/ return delivery, orientation, program supervision, 24 hours staff available, accommodation and meals, weekly shopping trip to buy food, in-country administration costs and staff fees.

What additional costs will you have?

The Volunteer must provide for the following:

- Visa (you will get a 3 month visa on entry to South Africa free of Charge if you hold a : UK, USA, OR Europe Passport), flights. Travel insurance (mandatory)

- All volunteers should visit either their personal physician or a travel health clinic 4-8 weeks before departure

- Mobile phone / internet charges. A variety of mobile network carriers provide good coverage for both mobile phones as well as internet facilities. It is normally more cost effective to locally purchase pay-as-you-go air-time and data bundles compared to roaming options.

- Spending money for essentials, souvenirs, etc.

Highlights

* Free Surfing lessons in Jeffrey's Bay
* Live right near the beach at a backpacker's lodge
* Meet great people
* Add hope into less privileged children's lives