Backpacking South Africa

Background

• The school has 2 permanently employed care givers who are very dedicated but lack resources such as age specific teaching aides. The volunteer will therefore be expected to assist in a very creative manner making use of the most basic equipment to fulfil the daily program objectives.
• There is also an opportunity to establish a link with an established Montessori school in town and to use ideas, themes etc from this school. Also to bring the schools together by having outings to each others schools or going to the beach together.

Activities

Education for 40 children aged 3 to 5.

Daily program

- Arrival and playtime
- Bible
- reading
  Breakfast (porridge which is provided by the parents)
- Wash-up time (teeth, toilet)
- Music
- Creativity
- Tidy-up
- Snack/lunch
- Playtime (outside)
  Story-time
- Resting

Plans (short-term / long-term)

Since the group is quite large and the ages differ, the plan is to split up and create two groups. One for 3 years-olds and one for 4 and 5 years.

Needs

- Assistance in getting a registration from the municipality. After that she can apply for regular financial support by the municipality.
- A way to provide lunch for all children -since not all of them can bring their own
- Assistance in teaching so that Thandi can focus on organisational matters such as getting registration, attending meetings and so on.

We own and run Jeffreys Bay Surf School year round. It is the second oldest surf school in South Africa and one of the most established. Through our surf school we run surf lessons with children from the street twice per week. We work closely with the Joshua Project which runs a day program for these kids, and in order to “qualify” for the surf lessons the kids must abide by minimum criteria set by Joshua Project.

If you are able to surf – elementary is fine – and enjoy being on the beach you’ll enjoy this project. Our focus on sustainable projects means these lessons are run regularly, not only when there are volunteers. The kids are therefore not complete beginners and if you have never surfed you will not be able to teach them.

If you are a complete beginner and interested in this project and learning to surf, maybe do the community volunteering and join in as a participant with the street kids for their twice weekly sessions.

Our projects run through Island Vibe Backpackers Hostel and involve children mainly, however we often have ad hoc projects for example landscaping or maintenance (building or painting) which allow travelers to partake in.

Madiba Bay Creche has been in our care for 3 years now and is based in the heart of Tokyo Sexwale township.  It cares for about 30 children between the ages of 1 and 5 years old.  The needs of this school revolve around finance, equipment, security and teaching knowledge.

Although parents are encouraged to pay, most are not able to or tend not to and thus the school is reliant on donations and a very small government stipend.  Notwithstanding, the school still provides breakfast for the children as well as supporting the salaries of the 3 carers.

Due to financial restraints, equipment is not easily obtained.  However through past donations the school has managed to secure a few beneficial toys.  The challenge here is teach the carers how to use the equipment in an educational manner.

Security: the school has wire fence around it which is regularly stolen and puts the school at risk, as well as being dangerous for the children who could wonder off if not overseen correctly.  One of the main projects for 2010 is to gain enough donations to build a secure wall.

Teaching knowledge:  this is the biggest challenge of the school.  The aim here would be to formulate a easy to use manual which the carers could implement so as to stimulate the children during their day at the school.  Till now, carers merely sustain a calm environment without providing.