Staff Interview with Vanessa Randon

What inspired you to join the team at Good Hope Volunteers?

I have always worked in the youth sector, and in travel, first as a scuba diving instructor around the world, and then in the internship space. However, the need, desire, and passion to make a difference in the world helped me migrate more to this space where I can through the work Good Hope Volunteers does to make a small changes in this magical country.

Can you tell us about your role as the Program Manager?

As program manager, I oversee all workings of Good Hope Volunteers. I am involved in sales and bookings. Bringing in students through our network of agents, or directly off our website. I then run the day to day of the office—finances, budgets, and boring things like that—and I also manage the small team that works with me and in other parts of the country.

But, largely, I am also involved in development and marketing. So I am fortunate to travel around the world selling this program and all the work our projects do. And I also find and monitor our existing projects, to see how they are getting on, and if there are new projects we would like to support.

What challenges do you face in this role and how do you overcome them?

I feel that the biggest challenge I face is expectation. Sometimes I expect more from the students that join us, and hope that they are as passionate as I am, but they sometimes get lost in the experience of being abroad. On the other hand, I also find that sometimes volunteers expect too much, and think they are coming to Africa and will solve many of our challenges single handedly.

It’s a delicate balance of information sharing and optimism to combat all of these types of issues. I make sure the candidates have current, accurate, and timely information. I am always available, and my team is always updating our candidates on what to expect, so there are no surprises when they arrive.

And then to solve other challenges, we have a very personal relationship with each and every volunteer - this allows us to notice if things are not working for them, or if they are perhaps partying too hard, so that we can help to inspire them to grow and develop personally. Being a small organization with a reasonably large team, allows me to do all of this, and we don't face these types of things very often.

How does your background in Marine Biology and Physical Oceanography, and your passion for community, animals, and the environment influence the work you do today?

It influences me EVERYDAY and to a HUGE EXTENT. I have always loved the environment, the ocean especially, and this country above all else. I am an eternal optimist and see the best in people and really notice the small changes we all make in our community every day. This has been a passion of mine from a very early age, and I feel my scope of influence, by being in the role I am in, has grown and grown over the years.

My mother always said it's the small differences you make, that will affect the community, and that if it's even one life you change, it's a step in the right direction. I now have the privilege to inspire and challenge hundreds of people from all over the world to make educated decisions about their influence on the planet and the people that live here. So I think my background, studies, and passions have found a home at Good Hope Volunteers.

What changes do you hope to implement in volunteer programs in South Africa?

I have recently taken over the chairmanship position of Volunteer South Africa, which is a branch of the South African Youth Travel Confederation. This community of members overseas hundreds of volunteer projects around Southern Africa. I am hoping to use my influence here, and my position as manager of Good Hope Volunteers, to put in place a set of researched, ethically sound, and globally recognized standards that any organization who works with children, underprivileged communities, and with animals follows.

This will elevate South Africa as a global leader in volunteering, so that the money that volunteers pay, the work that they do, and the influence they have goes to the right causes at the right time. No longer will animals have to suffer for the pleasure of a “selfie” or a small child have to be picked up and stared at for a social media marketing ploy.

We need to put the right volunteers at the right projects, and make sure internationally we are known as a unique destination who cares for its animals and its community, not for profit, but for the betterment of the causes we support. It's a big ask, but it's the way the world needs to move. We need to avoid “voluntourism” and move towards true volunteering experiences, so each visitor learns as grows personally, as we do.

What makes Good Hope Volunteers special?

I think it's our size, to be honest, we are large enough and old enough to have a unique insight into the industry, and have experience with almost anything in this space. However, we are small enough to have personalized one on one service and service delivery. Volunteers who join us are known to our coordinators in CT and along the Garden Route personally. We chat with them every week—sometimes every day—and we go do activities with them and host BBQs (Braais) at their accommodations.

Our vision is not to have a huge global conglomerate where volunteers become a booking number and an invoice. I want personal, memorable service and influence over every volunteer that enters our program. They leave with a hug and become ambassadors for causes they are passionate about when they get home. It's a very simple model, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Why is South Africa an ideal location for traveling and volunteering?

Hands down, first and foremost, it's breathtakingly beautiful. The natural surroundings in this country stops you dead in your tracks—and makes you reach for your camera! So it serves as the perfect backdrop for the work we do. Then, it's the people, a mixing pot of culture, art, language, music, food, and business.

The people are friendly and welcoming, and even though we have a number of national challenges, we still smile, speak loudly, dance, and hope of a better life for our children. Hope brings us together—hope that our sports teams win, hope that our jobs are secure, or that the trains are running on time. Hope that our government works, or that our children are safe. But hope is a very powerful emotion, it’s neither positive nor negative, but it’s strong, and allows forward movement. And we are a country that really does want to keep moving forward.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

So many things—but I think, personally, meaningful travel means growing inside. That we have a minute to reflect on what we see, what we experience, who we meet, and what we do all around the world. And that we leave after a trip one of two ways.

Either 1) We go home with a greater appreciation for where we come from, a bit more gratitude perhaps about our home and family. We are thankful that we had the experience of travel, but we are glad to be home and thankful for what we have.

Or 2) We are irreversibly and monumentally changed deep down. This can manifest in a need to travel more, or help more, or see and do more. But we know that the minute we step on the plane leaving this country (or another), that our lives will never be the same again.

Both of these are positive, and I think that’s what meaningful travel is—personal growth and change. On a side note, I also believe that meaningful travel means not leaving your mark anywhere but in the hearts and minds of others. This means reducing waste and single use plastic. Choosing cruelty free products and meal choices. This means not scratching your name into the pyramids or writing on the baobab trees of Madagascar. Not leaving a mark other than a positive whisper of kindness and respect to the places you have been.

Why is it important to travel and experience new cultures?

As above, I think to change your outlook on life. Not get stuck in your ways, and then 10 years later you look up from your phone, and you are in the same job, in the same town, in the same suit, with the same bad posture from playing Candy Crush each day. Now is the time to travel while the earth still has a chance of survival and while we still have the chance to influence change. I think, also, travel allows many people to learn a sense of kindness that is sometimes missing. Kindness and respect for others—this is vital if we want any semblance of a world to hand down to our children.

What hopes do you have for the future of Good Hope Volunteers?

I would love to see us start our own center in the community. A place where families and groups, teams and choirs, cooks and bands can come together to practice, learn, or simply use the space. It would house an after schools project, perhaps a space for a mobile clinic. I would also love it to be used for education, helping people learn how to treat their pets for example, or how to save water, and cut down on waste.

It would be a place for our volunteers to work and learn, and the community to feel safe and supported. We would be able to host art classes, and first aid instruction. Perhaps a cooking class or a yoga workshop. We would have a space where members of the community can write CV’s or learn to use computers. All houses under one roof, a place that is safe and secure, and of benefit to a community. Perhaps we could use this model to create other centers around the country in impoverished areas that need them the most. That’s the five year plan, and we welcome all to be involved.