Edge of Africa: Volunteering in South Africa
By Jo Lancaster, Edge of Africa
If you are considering joining a volunteer program in South Africa, then you are likely the kind of person who wants to make a positive contribution, be it to conservation or to a community in need. However, before deciding which project you want to join, there are a few things that you may want to consider.
Does the project have a genuine need for volunteers?
The whole idea of volunteering is for you to make a real and significant contribution to a cause through your specialist skills, or simply through your hard work and enthusiasm! Be sure that the project or organization is recruiting volunteers because they have a genuine need for them – any ethical organization should be interested in finding volunteers to assist with projects, not creating projects to attract volunteers.
Sport Clinics and Coaching in Knysna, South Africa with EDGE of AFRICA
Is the project sustainable?
Sustainability is a term you come across a lot these days and is definitely something you need to consider when thinking of volunteering. If a project is not sustainable, however much you may put into a project in the short term, in the grand scheme of things what is that project really contributing? Always think about the BIG PICTURE; choosing a project based on its long-term sustainability will help ensure that the project achieves its long term goals, and that all your hard work will have a lasting impact.
Conservation Education Volunteers working on the Kayalethu Eco Trail in Knysna, South Africa
What is your motivation for volunteering?
Question your own reasons for choosing to be a volunteer. For example, if you are thinking of volunteering for a conservation project ask yourself what you really hope to achieve – do you want to volunteer because you want to make a difference by helping the conservation initiative, or are you merely attracted to the opportunity because of cute cuddly animals? Obviously any animal lover would be thrilled by cute animals, but if you want to make a real contribution to a wildlife conservation project, make sure that it isn’t your only motivation, and that you understand the purpose of the project and what it big-picture goals and long-term contributions.
African Big Five Wildlife and Conservation Project on a private South African Game Reserve
Obviously for most people, volunteering isn’t a completely selfless act. It’s about you too; you want to see new places, meet new people, experience new things, and that’s great. Volunteering doesn’t have to be solely about contributing to a good cause. It can also be about you having a new experience and growing as a person. Taking some time to reflect on your own motivation, however, can not only help you find an ethical project, but also help you set realistic and meaningful goals for yourself.
Is the organization/project ethical?
Do some research and examine the way the organization describes its projects; for example, if you’re considering a community project in a developing country, take a careful look at how the organization is portraying the community. If they are telling you that you will be changing the world or suggesting that this community can’t function on its own, you should question the organization’s ethics and its approaches to volunteer programs. They should instead be inspiring you to come and work together with the community in need to help them achieve their goals.
Community EDGE Volunteer Program in Knysna, South Africa
In addition, gather as much information as you can about the project you are considering – an ethical organization offering volunteer opportunities based on genuine local needs won’t have anything to hide and therefore should be able to provide you with all the information you need about what the volunteer work entails, what your role will be, and how the project benefits the cause it aims to support.
You may feel that you can’t entirely trust the information provided by the organization because it’s the information they are choosing to give to you. It’s always a good idea to look for independent reviews, blogs, and reports by past volunteers and project stakeholders. You can ask the organization to put you in touch with a past volunteer, or request to review feedback by others.
EDGE of AFRICA Volunteer Projects
EDGE of AFRICA‘s South African volunteer projects are either self-initiated within existing organizations or independently established by the EDGE of AFRICA team. There are three categories for these volunteer projects, and most projects are easily accessible from the EDGE of AFRICA base in Knysna.
Conservation EDGE aims to assist valid, scientifically based conservation efforts and research in Africa involving communities and supporting local initiatives. These projects include wildlife research, elephant specific research, Big Five wildlife projects, game reserve volunteering placements, conservation projects, community conservation and conservation education in local schools.
Community EDGE entails self sustaining projects, which move away from the ‘hand-out’ culture and instead aim to empower locals through self motivation and education. These projects include working in pre-schools, teaching English, building schools, empowering disadvantaged youth, empowering women, business development and HIV/AIDS awareness.
Sports EDGE strives to develop skills within local communities through the universal language of sport, which can help develop personal focus and the ability to work as a team. The result is moving the emphasis from ‘what we don’t have’ to ‘what we can do’.
>> Learn more about EDGE of AFRICA
Photos: EDGE of AFRICA
Thanks for the information, I have never heard of Edge of Africa before, and will be visiting their website to get more information. I like to get involved in community projects and am hoping that they have a program that I can join….have you heard of Abang Africa? They also have some great projects volunteers can get involved in while on holiday in South Africa.
I am currently volunteering with EDGE of AFRICA as a medical nurse from Ireland on their HIV/AIDS Awareness project. They also run community and conservation projects and i can highly recommend them.
I am student going into my 3rd year at the University of Chester, studying Drama and Theatre. As part of my degree last year, I experienced 6 weeks of voluntary Work Based Learning during April, May and June 2010 in Knysna, South Africa. I volunteered for a project called Edge of Africa. Within this I was working locally at two community centres: MADaboutART and Sinethemba.
Sinethemba is a community centre for homeless and disadvantaged kids and youth between the ages of 4 and 25. In the safe and picturesque township of Kayalethu in South Africa, this project aims to give these kids another chance in life!
MADaboutART is a charity that exists to unite children around the world in understanding and fighting HIV and AIDS through art and education. They provide a unique mix of innovative arts-based education and narrative therapy, designed to increase children’s knowledge of HIV & AIDS and create more open communication as well as reduce risk-taking behaviour by increasing self-esteem and self-advocacy. Ultimately the aim is to reduce new HIV infections in children and young people.
Whilst I was out there volunteering I worked with 2 other girls putting together a short drama, music and dance performance for an event. The event was a collaboration of various communities in Knysna singing, acting and dancing their heart’s away at EDGE of AFRICA’s first ever talent contest.
The event took place at one of Knysna’s focal attractions, Woodmill Lane on Tuesday 25th May 2010. ‘The EDGE on Talent’ was a representation of what EDGE of AFRICA aspire to achieve, with the ethos to raise awareness of the REAL situation in Africa, establishing and supporting ethical community and conservation projects.
The aim of the event was to heighten understanding and recognition of the organisations community/conservation/educational projects and charities that EDGE of Africa support and closely work with.
I had the opportunity to learn more about the extraordinary work that takes place within the town and townships, allowing me the chance to be involved with and support this inspirational cause. I enjoyed every single minute I had over in Knysna and have decided to go back in June 2011 for a year, volunteering again!
I think I can speak for every volunteer, on every project when I say that they taught us the true meaning of happiness, they showed us that the everyday things we worry about just don’t matter, and they showed us, through their enthusiasm and trademark African smiles, that the tiniest things can make a huge huge difference.
The work Edge of Africa does is irreplaceable. The experience it gives to both its volunteers and the recipients of their efforts is life changing. We’ve all come home with the inevitable need to return.
I have spent some time in the past two years volunteering with Edge Of Africa on there community projects such as Sinethemba, and all I can say is it is definitaly the best thing I have ever done in my life and I would recommend them to anyone. I love this program to pieces and i honestly dont think you’d ever find a better one.
I was volunteering with Edge of Africa this year and it was the greatest experience. The projects, and the people are what really made it. I was amazed at how professional everything was, I really didn’t expect that at all. South Africa was very safe, everywhere we went I was gobsmacked by what I saw; so incredible! Edge of Africa was much more professional than many for-profit organizations I have seen in North America and Europe – hats off to Edge of Africa and the great people who run this organization. I was on the Everything Elephant project, got to see the townships and the highlight for sure was the Big Five Reserve at Garden Route Game Lodge – I will never ever forget one day of this journey. Hein, Kim and Piet were like an extension of family, so kind and went over the top to make my experience awesome! I am so thankful that there are honest, real and caring people in the world like you who make this happen; who are in it for the greater good, not selfish motivations. Anyways, I will be back! This organization is first class! Keep up the good work.
Another EDGE of AFRICA volunteer with nothing but praise.
Life-changing, character-defining, and one of the best things you can do with your time while you’re alive.
MJ’s completely right; you might be leaving one family, but you’re getting another one when you arrive.
The opportunities you’ll get from working in a HIV treatment clinic (known as the HAART Clinic) to shadowing a home-based carer in the townships are something unlike you’ve probably ever even seen, let alone experienced. You’ll definitely become a new person; I did.
The work you’ll be doing is so rewarding, so beneficial, and so worth it. If you have a heart that cares and mind that explores, then EDGE of AFRICA is the foundation to do amazing things. It’s definitely an opportunity to find yourself.
The projects are sustainable, just like Jo explains in the article. Projects like the HIV workshops, like the sports clinics, like the literacy lessons. You’ll be doing work that makes a difference in someone’s life, but it’s such a kind of work that it keeps on giving, through that person. Edge of Africa is not about handouts, but empowerment to make things actually work (not just look like they do).
Volunteer anywhere, anytime, in any place. If I had to recommend an organization to work with, though, EDGE of AFRICA would make it to the top without doubt.
Hi i am an actor and i am study television presenting in capetown ,want to volunteer in any project that motivate young peoples to work hard and become wht they want to be in life ,to think very positive with lot of expectation in life . How can i get started?
Check out The Travel Word article by an EDGE of AFRICA volunteer participant:
“As volunteers with EDGE of AFRICA, we were given the opportunity to learn about the extraordinary work that takes place on a local level in Knysna and I also believe we have learnt a lot about ourselves. The amazing people we met, including the EDGE of AFRICA staff, inspired me in many ways and I don’t think I could ever thank them enough for what I now recognise as an unforgettable experience…”
http://www.thetravelword.com/2010/09/22/a-university-students-account-of-volunteering-with-edge-of-africa/
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