Amazing Details

South Africa Summer Community Service Program for Teenagers

Our adventure begins with an orientation to Africa as well as to one another with ropes course team building and whitewater rafting the Sabie River. Visit the Apartheid Museum and take a tour of Soccer City – one of the stadiums of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The Children of Acornhoek & Our Service/Cultural Exchange Program

Acornhoek is located in the semi-arid, but scenic, Eastern part of South Africa, a few kilometers away from the Orpen Gate and Numbi Gate entrances to the famous Kruger National Park. From 1984 - 1986, a half-million refugees fled the neighboring country of Mozambique trekking 200 miles on-foot, through the wild Kruger National Park and made themselves a home in villages such as Acornhoek.

The majority of these people are from the Tsonga Tribe and their main language is Shagaan. Post Apartheid, the South African Government built them a school and houses of cinder block with tin roofs with electricity and running water. The Shangaans are poor but proud people who place much importance on family.

Although the government provided a school and hired teachers, students cannot attend unless they buy a uniform, and given that many of the parents do not have expendable income, this factor continues to be a challenge.

English is taught as part of the curriculum however due to the fact that the children do not have an opportunity to practice their English, they are not able to excel. The school itself consists of a brick building and a few poorly lit classrooms that are drab and without character. The only amenity is a soccer field and a garden. The children range in age from 6 – 12 years and the school is coed.

Our mission will be to interact with the children and teach them English, land sports, games, and to beautify their school with painting, landscaping, and building projects. From planting mango trees, to planting vegetable gardens, to painting desks and building playground elements, we are sure to make the children happy.

And in return for our efforts, the children will teach us their local language, their version of games and land sports. Overall we will make new friends in a far away land, and change their lives as they change ours forever.

Our 14 day trip ends here and includes service and adventure highlights in South Africa only.

ST. LUCIA/DURBAN

The beautiful area of St Lucia which is located on the coast of the Indian Ocean is surrounded by communities that have HIV/AIDS infection rates of over 70%. We will be working in two villages near St Lucia, Ezwenelisha and Khula, where we have the opportunity to run a holiday camp for the children and orphans in the community. We will play soccer and games, run arts and crafts activities and help these amazing kids practice their English, all while learning about each other’s cultures. These communities run their nursery schools (crèches) out of one room mud and stone huts. They need our help to work on projects to construct fences to protect the crèches and the surrounding land, to build a playground or even start construction on a new crèche!

Get to know some of the local customs and learn a few words in Zulu as we partake in an interactive Zulu Cultural Evening. Take an evening game drive in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Park in search of the elusive Big 5! After traveling further down the coast to Durban, situated on the Indian Ocean, spend the day swimming and exploring the coast!

SIMON’S TOWN

By striking contrast to the rural communities we have worked with, we will experience the urban poverty of Red Hill or Masi Pamolailai and lend a hand where our help is desperately needed. In these townships multiple families share a water source and are unable to build any permanent structures on the land, thus leaving them in poor living conditions where our group will either work with crèches, run programs at a library or participate in a building project. Our participants will help teach the children English by singing songs and playing games in these informal settlements to support the families and communities.

Our adventure continues down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope where we experience spectacular views from some of the southernmost tips of South Africa. Stop off at the Cape Point Ostrich Farm before exploring Boulders Beach and the colony of African penguins which call this bay home. Experience a Seal Island boat cruise and see firsthand where some of the incredible scenes from Planet Earth were shot!

CAPE TOWN

Welcome to Cape Town, South Africa’s oldest and most striking city! We will hike up to the top of Table Mountain where you will be amazed by the sights and the views of this world class city, descend by cable car and then explore the V&A Waterfront for hidden treasures and to check out the seals basking on the wharves in the South African sun. Experience the UNESCO World Heritage site of Robben Island by taking a ferry out to the historical island and touring the Maximum Security Prison where Nelson Mandela spent many of his 27 years in prison.

Upon returning home, images of your journey will play like a slideshow in your mind – the soothing sunset from your safari, the first time a child reached out for your hand and made eye contact with you, the picturesque landscape of South Africa and the new YOU – a mentor, teacher, friend and volunteer. All of this made possible by you and a remarkable continent called Africa.