Sports & Youth Development Project

Spend most of your day outdoors whilst enjoying the sunshine
Learn to assist in sport programs of varying age groups
Skills developments for the children
Learning about South African cultures and way of life
Develop new friendships

The Western Cape, where the program is based, is a very culturally diverse area of South Africa. There is a large integration of the poor with the wealthy. The children in this program range from 0 to 14 years old and live in the townships in Cape Town such as Dunoon or Site 5. Most of them can speak English, yet their mother tongue may be Afrikaans or Xhosa. The homes they live in are often built from scrap metal and second-hand wood and usually do not have running water. Forty percent of the families in these areas lack a male head of household and the children often have no one to monitor their educational progress or after-school activities. Furthermore, alcohol and drug abuse is common in the townships where they live and especially at this age they are susceptible to recruitment by local gangs.

Day 1: Welcome to South Africa (Saturday)
You are collected from the airport and taken to your accommodation. You will be shown around and given an understanding of the area. You have the day at your own leisure so you can explore the beach, shops, bars and restaurants. In the evening you are served a welcoming meal at the hostel.

Day 2: Cape Town City Walking Tour (Sunday)
Start the day with a self served breakfast. Your friendly project leader will teach you about the bus system before you head out to Cape Town City Center.

Cape Town City Walking Tour:
Do a walking tour visiting historical sites like the Castle of Good Hope and the Grand Parade. Learn about life under apartheid in South Africa at the Parliament Buildings and the District Six Museum. Shop for African arts and crafts in Greenmarket Square and St George’s Mall.

After the listed activity, you can take a bus or walk to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Sit back and sip a delicious coffee, enjoy some fresh fish and watch the ships in the busy working harbor or walk around and visit the shops, markets and listen to the musicians on the sidewalks.

Alternatively, you can take the cable car up Table Mountain and enjoy breath-taking views of the city, or visit the famous Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held in prison during the apartheid era. (Own Expense)

In the evening head back on the local bus to Table View where you can join the staff, guests and the locals at one of the restaurants or bars along the beachfront in Table View - all within rolling distance from the hostel where you will be staying the night.

There are 2 options to choose from when joining this project:
- Option 1
Participating in the existing sports programs as they are (skate, soccer, dance, boxing, swim, surf and other ball sports). Age appropriate to which the children you will be working with.

- Option 2
Run a sports program to teach the children a sport that they do not currently know of or participate in. This could mean running a short program for the duration of your time to expose the children to different sports from around the world. If the children show interest and we have the capabilities to continue with the project once you have left, we will do so. In this option, if there are any special equipment needs, you will be required to either bring said equipment with you or fund-raise for the equipment to be purchased once here. For example, we had a volunteer bring over boxing equipment and run a clinic to teach the children non-contact boxing fitness. It was a huge success and now we are currently still running the project with the children.

Please keep in mind that location for all sports varies according to needs and logistics. Soccer, for example, mostly happens in the township at the church center where the school is run but sometimes we take the children to Table View to do sports with them there at an indoor facility..

Volunteer Tasks
- Teaching kids sports
- Helping with classroom activities in preschool
- Running gross motor development lessons and activities for preschool children
- Being a positive role model through behaviour on the project
- Some basic building projects such as fixing soccer posts or building new sport facilities
- Volunteers will work 5 days a week with the children. Some days volunteers will work a full 8 hours and other days 4 to 5 hours, depending on the needs of the project. The volunteers’ mornings are spent assisting in SAMS school, on a rotational sporting programmer per age group and the afternoons are spent with older kids teaching them sport - this could be (but not limited to) soccer, netball, rugby or athletics, surfing, swimming, and skating.

Monday
AM: School Assistance and sports prep
PM: Volunteer meeting

Tuesday - Friday
AM: School Assistance and sport teaching
PM: Sport

Saturday
AM: Off OR Activities with kids
PM: Off

Sunday
Off

Please Note: Mondays afternoons involve a once a week meeting for new and current volunteers. New volunteers will receive their teacher introduction and additional information on our projects and the areas where they will be working. The Monday afternoon meeting serves as a time to gather all the information for the week ahead. Volunteers who have been with us for more than one week will assist with planning for the week, equipment maintenance, re-organising storage spaces, donation sorting, helping the new volunteers settle in etc.

This project runs all year round except over the season break when we are closed from the 23rd December to the 2nd January. During this time volunteers may still use the accommodation and will be provided food.

Holiday club
During the school holidays, our projects run differently and according to our holiday club schedule. The activities are dependent upon the weather, length of holiday and number of attendees. The aim of the holiday club program is for the kids to have fun and to keep them off the streets. The activities during this time are less structured and more focused on the enjoyment of the children.

Please note: If a holiday club activity requires the payment of an entrance fee, volunteers will have to pay for themselves. The programme fee is used to cover the entrance for the children only, however, we do try to plan as many free events as possible.

In addition there are a lot of public holidays spread throughout the year. Please note that during the holidays, it's a time for the kids to have fun, so the programs are less structured and may change depending on the number of children that arrive on the day.

Public Holidays 2024
16, 25-26 December

Public Holidays 2025
01 January
21 March
18, 21 & 27-28 April
01 May
16 June
09 August
24 September
16, 25-26 December

School Holidays 2024
14 Dec - 31 Dec

School Holidays 2025
01 Jan - 14 Jan
29 Mar - 07 Apr
28 Jun - 21 Jul
04 Oct - 12 Oct
13 Dec - 31 Dec

With every new arrival we have a safety and orientation briefing where we discuss issues such as general safety in South Africa for example, what to do in the settlements, where not to go, what to do in case of an emergency, sea currents, HIV AIDS and crime. There is a volunteer co-ordinator with our volunteers at all times while on project to ensure the safety of the children and volunteer. We offer all our volunteers 24/7 support and assistance.

Airport pick up
2 day Cape Town orientation
Accommodation
Three meals a day (Monday to Friday) - Dinners not included on weekends
Weekly social events
Transport to and from projects
24-hour support and supervision
Donation to the project
Certificate of appreciation

Minimum age of 18
CV/Resume
Police Clearance Certificate
Basic level of competency in English
Ability to swim
Acceptance subject to availability

Volunteers need to be flexible and keep an open mind concerning their placements as situations can arise beyond our control which could require you to be placed at a different project than the one you have initially chosen. We will of course always do our utmost to fulfill your initial wishes but do remember that where you are going is quite different from where you are coming and as such one should be prepared for things not always going according to plan.

Volunteering and intercultural travel share a common trait: the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. This program is designed for proactive individuals and groups that are prepared to adapt to the local environment and its current needs. Naturally, the scheduling and activities of our program are subject to change. Alterations in activities are mainly due to changes in local conditions, which we believe is part of what makes overseas programs the interesting adventure and incredible learning experience that they are.

Our projects range from 1 week up to approx. 30 weeks. Projects have a specified minimum stay, then it’s up to you how long you can commit. In our experience the longer you stay the more you will gain, as your understanding of the project broadens and you take on more responsibilities. Every volunteer will be given a certificate of appreciation at the end of their stay as a symbol of volunteering stay.