• help to deliver “learn through play” educational modules, as developed by a qualified pre-school educator
• make basic educational resources – from sustainable sources
• work with local preschool teachers and assistants
• help with after school groups on lifeskills, IT, sports and crafts
• develop a food garden or some basic improvement to the childrens facilities
Introduction
people and places was conceived to ensure meaningful experiences for volunteers and communities working together.
There is much debate about the validity of volunteering by the traditional "Gapper" - post school or university, but we believe that you DO have real skills to share, and that with good management and planning, your skills can help to make a real difference in the communities we serve.
We've worked with our local partners and communities with whom we already work to design volunteer placements for "Gappers" that will be meaningful, responsible and sustainable. You can be sure that you’re not replacing local employment and that your work will be part of a larger programme that is helping vulnerable communities build the future they would want for themselves.
A placement in this project will be challenging, rewarding, meaningful, frustrating ... and fun! It will help you develop your personal skills too - but that is not the priority - the priority is to help local people create a better future.
The project
The Minister of Education recently admitted that South Africa is still plagued by the scourge of sub standard education - 15 years after the end of Bantu Education and Apartheid. Funds have been allocated primarily to Adult Education, Tertiary Education and High and Primary school. Very little money is paid for Early Childhood Development. As a result many small, self started pre-schools are set up all over the township, with very little local knowledge of early childhood development. These pre-schools are often run in shack structures, community halls, or even converted shipping containers.
You will work together with qualified professionals in early childhood development on a pre-designed development programme. In small teams (maximum 6) you will work with township pre-schools and after school clubs improving their education and chid development skills by example. This is an opportunity to work with local people for local people.
The content of your placement will vary slightly depending on the needs of each organisation. You will however know where you are working and the goals of your programme well before you arrive. There will of course be orientation and training days on arrival.
Context
In the township areas of Port Elizabeth, nearly 25% of pregnant women are identified as being HIV positive. Added to this, the ravages of apartheid, poverty and rural migration patterns have had a devastating impact on families. Only a small minority of children grow up in 2 parent households, with close to 50% of children being raised by grandmothers, and the impact of AIDS has seen a steady increase of this percentage. The standard approach in dealing with the 4 million South African orphans is for them to be cared for within the community, through extended family structures and community based care.
The major issues and challenges affecting these children are
• food insecurity
• lack of support with school work
• few, if any, appropriate activities in the community
• lack of life skills, self awareness & self confidence
• patchy or inadequate emotional support
Our volunteer programme facilitates interventions around all these needs, with the skilled and appropriate mentoring and management of our local partners - people who are in and of their communities. You can be part of this programme - knowing that the children you work with will benefit from your work long after your placement.
This from our local partner:
"We have been operating a sustainable Volunteer Programme for the last 4 years with people and places. Our focus has been primarily on more mature, highly skilled volunteers. The reason has been that it was our understanding initially that we needed to facilitate skills development within local communities.
While we still maintain that responsible volunteer programmes are about the transfer of skills, we have also come to understand that the traditional volunteer market, or Gap Year Market, has much to offer and can have profound impact.
This is based on two primary facts:
1. Young people from the developed world have meaningful skills, and can be used effectively, if carefully selected and diligently managed.
2. Volunteers from the developed world undergo a profound change of life on well-structured, well-managed volunteer programmes. They develop a realistic understanding of poverty and development issues, and can in fact become profound agents of change within there own communities, societies and the world."
