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Work with children with autism, special needs, or physical or mental impairment or with deprived children through assisting with care and teaching. This project may steal your heart!

Work with children with autism, special needs, or physical or mental impairment who need your help, or with deprived children who will benefit tremendously from your loving care and attention. The Centres are for local children who need extra special care and attention due to physical, mental or social disadvantages. You can work at one particular Centre or you can spread your time out between different institutes - the choice is yours.

These care projects are based in the beautiful and lively tourist destination of Cape Town and are utterly rewarding as well as highly enjoyable. You will fall completely in love with the children, the schools, and the country – you have been warned!

WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:

-> An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into Africa and the many diverse cultures in South Africa
-> The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and knowing that you made a difference to them.
-> New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.
-> An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market
-> And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!

WORKING WITH CHILDREN WITH AUTISM:

Autism is a severe, lifelong development disability and children affected by this suffer from a number of conditions. They have severe communication and language problems, they are unable to relate to other people and they display unusual and problematic behaviour. The extent to which a child is affected will vary from individual to individual. Autistic children need predictability in their lives. They cannot express their needs effectively and often have extreme reactions to changes in routine and unfamiliar events.

The School we work with here is a school for autistic children. There are 85 students here and 35 of these children are live-in learners, staying at the school hostel overnight. The rest are bought each day by their parents. The children are aged between 3 and 18 years and they are educated according to their ability with some moving on to other schools later on.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:

The Primary School, set in a beautiful location, has 250 pupils ranging from 3 to 13 years old. The school buildings are spacious and brightly decorated with art works done by the children and the grounds are immaculate and well-kept. There is a heated indoor swimming pool used largely for therapy. Part of the school day is allocated to sport and pupils take part in school leagues as well as sport for the disabled. On Mondays a group goes to a farm for Riding for the Disabled.

Some of today’s pupils have cerebral palsy, which refers to a group of permanent but non-progressive disorders of posture and movement. Some children have other syndromes or conditions such as muscular dystrophy, multiple physical impairment, ADHD and specific learning disabilities.

A lack of concentration, dyslexia or hyperactivity are often linked to these conditions and the children can get over excited by changes in routine, which means that teachers and assistants need to have endless patience in dealing with small upsets. The teachers are grateful for the help of volunteers – just the presence of another adult in the classroom makes the activities run more smoothly.

A Volunteer Placement at Vista Nova would be an unforgettable experience, as is shown by the return of some volunteers after completing their degrees.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN WITH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT:

The School we work with has just over 200 children with physical and intellectual impairments. The pupils are aged from 3 years old to 18. There are four sections covering nursery, junior, middle and senior pupils.

As the pupils are low functioning academically, the curriculum aims at fostering maximum independence and productivity in each pupil. It covers the development of self-sufficiency and socialism. Lessons are designed to improve motor and perceptual skills as well as functional academic skills. There is a strong emphasis on communication, household and vocational skills. Pupils are also encouraged to be aware of the environment and nature, and a visit to the school Farmyard is a daily occurrence.

There are two heated indoor swimming pools which are used for class swimming and physiotherapy.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN FROM DISADVANTAGED AREAS:

Our work with disadvantaged children is with a school that is part of a group of International Schools founded in order to help children around the world to break the cycle of poverty and become self-sufficient, contributing members of society.

In this School, children learn the key values of respect, responsibility, independence and integrity and are encouraged to develop a passion for learning.

The School was started in January 2001 and is certainly making a difference in the lives of its pupils. Some of these grow up in the patchwork of tiny dwellings made from salvaged materials which stretch for miles around Cape Town. These children live in neighbourhoods rife with gangs, violence, disease and drugs. Other students are orphaned or abandoned, living in orphanages or shelters.

These kids are eager to learn and the school feels that in these children lies the glimmer of a new social order. The students look forward to coming to school each day and their proficiency in everything from schoolwork to sport improves steadily as they progress throughout the school.

The school has parents’ workshops. The School's attitude is a very progressive one, attacking a serious problem within South Africa’s social strata with intelligence and sensitivity and reaping real results.

You will find this an incredible experience that you will never forget.

YOUR WORK:

You will be given an orientation and basic training on your arrival. You will have the support of the professional carers or teachers throughout your placement as you will be the assistant helper. You will most likely help out in many different areas during your project, as required at the time.

QUOTES:

Letter to Travellers from the School Principal:

"Here are some reasons why we value the volunteers who work at Vera School:
In many instances our learners pose challenging behaviour (cognitively, socially,
emotionally, physically, etc.) and it is invaluable to have extra help in a classroom when dealing with this.

Our learners often need one-on-one facilitation in certain aspects of their educational programme (computer, reading, etc.)

When going on outings and or camps, staff always needs extra hands to cope with the learners.

Hostel staff welcome extra hands to assist with the running of the afternoon programme in the hostels (playing simple games, going to the shop and going for walks).
Volunteers are also a great help when they assist learners with home work in the hostel. Some of this will entail helping with academic work, or practising making beds, learning how to wash and dry dishes, learning how to follow a programme in the school's gym, etc.).

A Friday is the Eurythmy day. This is exercises with movement and music. Most children take part and it is very therapeutic for them. However, it is "hands intensive". We cannot do this without volunteers.

Our learners sometimes struggle to follow instructions from different people. Volunteers bring variation and give our learners to the opportunity to practise their ability to generalise.

Volunteers often do very necessary chores which the staff struggle to find time for (photocopying, book binding, laminating, fetching keys, etc.)
These are just some of the reasons why we value our volunteers so much and why we are grateful for the ones who have been sent to us in the past and for those who will still come.

Once again thank you!"

Keriston Floris

Duration

Available all year round. Our placements are very flexible, you can choose your own start and finish dates.

Start Dates

Flexible start and finish dates you choose. Our placements are flexible and can be tailored to match your preferences. For availability please contact the office.

Costs / Benefits

Costs vary depending on length of placement, but starts at £845 for two weeks. You can participate for up to one year, subject to visa requirements.

Included is full support from the moment of booking and throughout your placement to your return home. There are support staff 24/7 in all our destinations worldwide and a 24 hour emergency international telephone line direct to the Head Office. All meals are provided, unless otherwise stated. Accommodation is provided (whether a rented house, a hotel/hostel, homestay, apartment or flat).

You’ll be met at the nearest airport on your arrival by our in-country manager who will take you to your accommodation and give you a full induction into the area. He/she will also be on call 24/7 and you’ll see them frequently.

Pre-departure you’ll receive comprehensive information about every aspect of your placement and necessary preparations, ranging from what to pack, to visa information, to what to do on your weekend travel in the country. Your safety, well being and happiness throughout your placement are our primary concerns and we will keep in touch with you throughout. International flights not included.

Requirements

No qualifications needed, just a big heart and a desire to provide care and support. Anyone who is qualified however will be well utilised! Everyone is welcome on a Travellers programme, whether gap year, undergraduate, on a career break - or even retired! From 17 years old upwards, and all nationalities. This placement would suit anyone who wants to make a real difference, wants first-hand experience of a different culture.