High School Volunteer & Adventure Experience in South Africa

This summer (2018), myself and a local youth group that i am part of decided to go volunteering for two weeks, and we chose GVI as the organisation to go with. We volunteered in Sports Teaching and Construction. The construction was helping to paint and re-decorate a story room and set up a sick bay within a crèche and the sports teaching was helping in a summer sports camp teaching games and sports to the children who went to school locally. The people who we were working with in South Africa were so incredibly grateful to everything we did, and everything they had which really opened my eyes to the world and people around us. This whole trip made me become more of a positive person, it has made me realise that even on a bad day, there is ALWAYS going to be someone worse off, and seeing it first hand, has made me realise how true that saying is. It has made me stop thinking about all the negatives in my life and to start focusing on the positive and instead of counting what I don’t have, to start counting what I do. It made me realise, that I am incredibly lucky to have a home, a decent government, a healthcare system that everyone has access to, an education, a family who love me and opportunities, I can go to college or university if I want, it’s my choice, and it’s a choice not many get and after this trip, I am so thankful to be privileged enough to have an option. My time here was unforgettable, and it is all thanks to the wonderful youth leaders, who without them, this trip wouldn’t have been possible, to GVI and the lovely GVI adults who stayed with us, who were so amazing for those two weeks and made our trip the best experience possible:)

I had a fantastic time in South Africa, helping to coordinate a holiday sports programme at the local primary school, serving lunch to the children taking part in the sports in the township and doing construction in a local crèche. It feels great knowing I took part in such an amazing project, and managed to make a difference in the community as well as leaving something permanent behind. My time in Cape Town has taught me so much about myself and has allowed me to take part in activities I never thought I was capable of. I've loved working in the community and making a change, and I've had so much fun along the way. GVI were so involved and informative during pre-departure and continued with this while we were on project. Our leaders, Jack and Charlotte, were lovely and such great volunteers, who both helped to make our time in Cape Town inspiring and educational. I'd thoroughly recommend GVI Cape Town, and I'd love to go on another GVI programme and help even more!

I stayed with GVI on an Under 18’s project in summer 2017 in Gordon’s Bay, Cape Town. Me and three other girls spent one week working in a township with pre school children, and one week travelling the Garden Route along the coast of South Africa. Our goal was to construct an eco-friendly greenhouse for a pre-school in a local township, it’s an amazing opportunity to experience the life in townships and great to play with the children as well. As we were such a small group, we ended up getting the most amazing holiday Home for accommodation- this was separate to the adult volunteer accommodation. However I also went inside the adult accommodation and it was still really nice and had a communal feel, although it was more basic. I’m vegetarian and the food was amazing, they have fresh meals made by a chef and cater for all dietry requirements. Tap water is drinkable and everyone was completely fine . Exploring the Garden route in the second week was one of the most memorable parts of the trip! It gave us a real chance to experience as much as South Africa as possible within the second week. There were a few ethical issues based around the excursions we did, however after further investigation GVI have said they will no longer be going to certain tourist attractions (one of the safaris). I am confident they put their ethics/morals at the forefront of the projects. Child safety and organisation is outstanding. No phones on project, everything is done to the highest standard. I was even put in contact with other volunteers before project and organised flights to Cape Town with another girl. GVI make you feel so comfortable and it really is like living with a big family (cliché I know!!) I was worried about getting home sick but it was absolutely fine, there’s WiFi and opportunity to message family/friends. GVI really tried to make my project memorable and I’m so glad I was brave enough to do it! Would recommend it to anyone and I definitely want to do another project in the future.