South Africa

Last summer I was two months in South Africa. It's was a good experience for me because I have meet a lot of different people and different culture. I think during my placement I have meet 60 persons. I have worked in game reserve with animauls and I gone to visit the african population. Kaya is a good company when I have a question they give me very quickly the answer. Thank you for this experence. I hope you will have the same feeling. If you have some question I'm free.

Elofte maak skuld! Promises are binding – and the promise I made to go back will not be broken... How can I sum it up? An experience of a lifetime. I found it intense - for a lot of the time I was exhausted but I had an unforgettable time. I went on the South Africa Wildlife project – we were working on a basic game reserve for 4 weeks –we also ventured out on a few trips which was good, but the best bit was spending time working around the animals. The staff were smiley and thoughtful as well and although they all had jobs to do they were very helpful with me and the other volunteers . We also had some really nice facilities like tennis court and pool tables and the food was great :) My highlight was probably spending time with the elephants and trying to feed them but also being close to lion cubs was fantastic. One thing though I wasn’t quite prepared for was the heat – really, really hot and I spent quite a lot of time just trying to stay out of the sun. I think I would of liked it combined with a community project as well though - I know a few people who did that as well so that was a shame. But I recommend it completely – if you love wildlife and animals like me it's an amazing experience!

I have been involved with a number of different projects through the Global Volunteer Network. I have done fundraising climbs, attended their 'Be the Change' program, worked with many of their partnering organizations and visited their offices in New Zealand. I cannot speak for every one of their partnering organizations, but I can speak for the ones I have visited, and for the overall dealings I have had with the GVN team in varying countries. To start with the latter, I have always found them to be supportive, informative, professional and experienced in the areas that they operate. They have a huge network and in regards to their partners, I found that they work with projects that they can effectively support and with individuals in each country that have experience. I found that they partner with organizations that show sound practices, or that they believe they can offer real benefit to. I cannot speak to the experiences that other people have had, I can only speak from my personal experiences, but a few points I would note is that I have always found GVN to be fully transparent. They discuss their practices in their programs and their reasons why, I have always felt I know exactly what is happening, and that is very important. Another point worth mentioning is about support and information before and during the program involvement. I have found this to be such a huge strength of GVN. I have dealt with them for over 4 years now, and their overall attention to emails, skype calls, phone calls, offered before, during and after volunteering and fundraising has always been so impressive for me. I also think it is important to keep in mind that volunteering experiences can vary greatly depending on the program, the country, the role, and the volunteer's expectations before starting. Some programs on the ground will need more and different types of support. The dynamics of NPOs or NGOs in general are also extremely multifaceted. The GVN has done amazing work and made major achievements internationally. I have seen the results of many of these efforts, and I have been able to achieve so much personally for organizations in various countries, with the support and help of GVN and their experienced staff.

For 5 incredible weeks, I was a wildlife research volunteer at Karongwe Big 5 Game Reserve in South Africa. Accommodation was right in the heart of the bush. No fences between us and the wildlife, just the walls of our lovely converted farm house... Sustainable management of small reserves requires close monitoring of prey and predator populations, movement, feeding, genetics and behaviour, and this is where GVI comes in at Karongwe. After the initial training week, you work in teams to track down exciting animals such as elephant, rhino, lion, cheetah. hyena and leopard. Drives are usually twice daily, and your role on drive can vary between telemetry duty, conservation duty, vehicle duty, data input duty or prey survival duty. When you have been looking for an animal for hours, or even days, it is overwhelmingly satisfying to finally find them, especially when you find large predators, such as the entire lion pride, on a kill! My whole experience with GVI was both rewarding and a lot of fun! The staff were so energetic and lively, with lots of stories to tell and knowledge to share. The other 17 volunteers sharing the experience with me were also brilliant fun! When you are living and working so closely together, you get to know each other very quickly, and I know I have made friends for life. In fact, we are planning a reunion this Novemeber! What I loved so much about my experience with GVI, was the variety in activities and spontaneous events that could only occur in the wild African bush! For example, one day we were in the middle of lunch, when there was news of a lioness darting nearby, and did we want to watch her operation? We did! With lunch forgotten about, we piled into the trucks and bombed up the reserve to the site of the operation. Considering this was my fourth day, it was quite exciting! Another highlight was definately an amazing bush camp out under the African stars, not far from the hyena den... Overall, I had the absolute time of my life!

This past summer I took 5 weeks to do a teaching project in Cape Town, South Africa, and I can easily say it was one of, if not the best time of my life. I was placed in a home-stay with a wonderful family outside of the city in a lower income suburb. The Majal family was as nice as anyone could be, they housed at least 4-5 volunteers in the house throughout my stay and they also had a large family themselves so it was always very loud and there were plenty of things to do. They were nice enough to help immerse us in their culture, taking us to mosque and family trips whenever we asked. I worked at a primary school not far from the area helping out with whatever they wanted, but I was mainly stationed in the 7th grade classes and the teachers would let us run a few lesson plans as well. The kids were great and I already miss them as I formed a great connection with some of my students. We would have the weekends off so we would take a train into the city and IVHQ has a volunteer hostile there, so you can meet up with all the other volunteers and go out for the night. I went there expecting to just volunteer, but the weekends were so much fun, the nightlife was great in Cape Town and there were always things to explore in the city, museums, great restaurants, etc. IVHQ provided me with a trip better then I ever could imagine, and I look forward to using their program again to volunteer in Kenya this winter.

from the moment we arrived in the airport the GVI team were there to pick us up and help us out with the luggage after such a long flight, the support, help and friendliness of the GVI staff never ceased, for the whole duration of my volunteer project someone was always there to help and everyone was more than willing to give you a hand with anything. Initially quite expensive but that majority of the cost was the flight, which is expected. Other than that I found everything to be fairly priced, including things we could but in the shops when we got there. The accommodation was clean and nice enough, a tight squeeze in the bedrooms but its easy enough to get along fine. It was just an amazing experience, the school itself is nothing like a school at home, they have much less than we do but the children are only too happy to learn and they just love to play with you. Honestly incredible place and amazing children. I would advise this to anyone considering it, 100%

My time here was even better than expected. All the staff is really nice and helpful, and willing to make you have a good time. The activities are always useful and I’ve learnt how to conserve an area. It’s a great programme and the fact that we are able to stop and enjoy all the animals around us from the smallest spider to the huge elephants. It’s fantastic because we are not only working but enjoying the wildlife of the place and the staff are always able to answer every question and explain you the features of the animals. I felt really comfortable here and I was able to learn and enjoy the beautiful place.

It was amazing! Everything from the scenery, wildlife sighting to staff and accommodation was awesome! Joe and Katie are so lovely and knowledgeable and the rest of the staff is just as nice and they are all ready to help as much as they can!! The work was a wonderful experience and you know you are doing something useful! I loved the place and really felt at home there. Cannot wait to go back for a longer stay.

I spent two life-changing months in Gordon’s Bay, South Africa as a Community Development Intern. Being an intern meant I got to spend time on each of the amazing projects GVI has in Gordon’s Bay. Each morning was spent teaching either at the nursery or the school which was certainly challenging but also so much fun: singing ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ to 50 bemused 7 year olds is not an experience I will forget (and neither, I hope, will they). The children were all so much fun and so eager to learn that they made my job easy. As interns we spent our afternoons developing a baker y in the Ikhayalethemba Village, attempting to make it sustainable and, hopefully, bring in a profit for the Sanctuary Trust. We were all novices of the business world, but I feel like we made a difference and got the bakery off on the right track. I also got to complete a BTEC in Team Leading while working on project which has allowed me to bring back valuable experience as well as amazing memories. I got to experience so much of South Africa while I was there. From Township Tours to Safaris, Table Mountain to Robben Island. There’s so much to see so expect your memory card to be full of photos by the time you get home. The only sad bit was leaving my new friends. Thankfully we’ve all kept in touch and I know we share so many epic stories that we’ll always be friends. It was the best two months of my life and I can’t wait to plan my next trip with GVI. Do it! I promise you won’t regret it.

I spent 8 weeks as Intern in Gordon's Bay, South Africa, for the Community Development Project. I was a teacher in the morning with children aged 4-6 and a communication assistant in the afternoon, helping with the launch of a bakery as sustainable local business. Those were the most eye-opening, intense and amazing 8 weeks of my life! It may sound an exaggeration but believe me, it's not! The people you meet, the children you teach to, the places you visit, the friendships you build everything together makes this experience truly inspiring. I didn't know what to expect, both in terms of living conditions and internship experience. Now I can say that I couldn't have asked for more. This is why I want to become a GVI Ambassador because it feels great talking and spreading the word about such a reliable organisation and, above all, the great experience I had!! If I could, I would fly back tomorrow. I miss the colours of the country, the wind, the fact that you never know what to expect that day (each day is different!!!), but most of all I miss my students! I felt loved and useful. Leaving them was unexpectedly harder then I thought. Find something you are passionate about…and jump! You won't regret it!