CAPE TOWN MEDICAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
CAPE TOWN

This project is based in an amazing rural community near Fishhoek/Simonstown on the outskirts of Cape Town, where volunteers can become involved in local medical and community development initiatives. Volunteers will assist and observe in local clinics and communities in Red Hill, Masiphumelele, Seawinds, Fish Hoek and Ocean View each morning and in various rural pre-schools and day care centres through the afternoon community work. This project is ideal for volunteers with a medical background or interest, or who may be embarking upon medical studies within the next year.

	Location:	CAPE TOWN	Dates:	Any date throughout the year.
	Fees:	£1,295 - 4 weeks £1,995 - 8 weeks	Payment:	£180 deposit at time of booking – balance of project fee due 8 weeks before departure
	Reference:	AV005

General Information

This project is based at Red Hill, a vibrant rural community within sight of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point the most south-western tip of the African Continent.

Medical Programme

In a city of great contrasts, Cape Town's private sector health care and provision is extensive, but it is the rural communities that suffer from a lack of facilities. Whilst there are some structures in place for an effective health service, there is a huge deficit in terms of staffing and resources. Thus the help that volunteers can give within these communities is highly appreciated and valued by nurses and doctors alike.

Volunteers will spend each morning of the week in the clinics of several communities in the area, assisting the supervisors who offer support to the many people desperate for their help. There are many sick children whose only medical support comes through these clinics which are open from 8.00 am – 12.30 pm daily.

Volunteers are able to make a positive impact on the health service in these communities which exist on the outskirts of Cape Town, and indeed on the lives of these people in general. The project is open to qualified and non-qualified volunteers but will be of most interest to those with a medical background or interest. Volunteers will equally take their expertise into the day-care centres for children with special needs at which they will be working in the afternoons.

Community Projects

Having spent their mornings assisting in one of the clinics mentioned above, volunteers will go on to help out in some of the local community projects in the afternoon, and will rotate through the following:

Building, painting and general maintenance and refurbishment

Schools in Red Hill lack facilities, and as a result are limited in the number of children they can take. Volunteers will help with general maintenance

– fixing fences, mending windows, rebuilding and painting – hard but rewarding work! Lighter work is also available for older, less physically able volunteers so that everyone can be accommodated!

Masakhane Educare Centre in Masiphumelele

115 children, 7 teachers – about 15 minutes' drive from the Red Hill Community

Volunteers will help with the afternoon care – helping to serve meals, playing games, reading on a one-to-one basis or during story time – or have the opportunity to use any particular skills they may have, either with the children – perhaps in art, music or dancing or with the teachers in computing, administration or finance. Any skills add huge value to the development of this Centre which was started in 1992 by the Valley Development Project and is now, with community involvement, a vibrant pre-school with a fully equipped school building, newly acquired classroom and office equipment and good educational material.

"Masakhane is about the communityh taking responsibility for their own upliftment and participating in the governing of their own lives … it is about empowering ourselves by creating good working relations between government structures, sponsors and communities for the benefit of everybody." Nelson Mandela, 14 October 1998

Valley Development Project (VDP)

This project developed to support orphans and children with HIV/AIDS living in and around the Masiphumelele area and used volunteers from the community to care for the children, many of whom were local mothers who lavished love and care to these youngsters who ages ranged between 3 and 12 years. The project now supports 12 pre-schools in the area and the help of volunteers who assist the teaching staff, play with the children or help with remedial work is very greatly valued.

• In general, the more volunteers put into a project, the more they get out of it. For those volunteers joining as teaching assistants, it is suggested that they come with simple lesson plans or ideas; perhaps they could make and bring charts of say body parts or maps of Africa, and thus take the initiative with these children whom they will very rapidly grow to love.
• Many of the children return to their families in the Eastern Cape for Christmas; the project is therefore closed between 15 December and 12 January. If volunteers wish to join the project during other periods of school holidays, they will be more involved in assisting the teachers in the community projects at Masakhane or VDP, but may also be involved in holiday clubs as well as some building or painting work. Projects at these times may be slightly less structured but there will be no shortage of exciting and worthwhile activities with which to get involved!
• Although Red Hill, Seawinds, Ocean View and Masiphumelele are essentially townships, they are both safe and peaceful and full of wonderful people. This is an exciting project with lots of opportunity to make a real impact on the lives of the people in these communities.
• Volunteers on this project will live with volunteers on the Cape Town Teaching and Community Programme, and depending on the project needs at the time, may be working alongside them in the afternoons on community work.
• It should be borne in mind that projects are continuously evolving, improving and adapting to local needs and areas of involvement may change from time to time. However, all activities with which volunteers will be involved will be extremely rewarding and exciting and leave wonderful and lasting memories.

A typical day in the life of a volunteer

Volunteers should see this as a typical day but itineraries may differ depending on the needs of the project and number of volunteers at any one time, but this is a good example:

7.00	Get up, have breakfast of cereals, toast, tea/coffee and get ready for the project
7.40	Head off on the short drive to the community clinic for that day
8.00	Assist in the local community clinic
12.30	Volunteers will be picked up and taken back to the volunteer house, where lunch will be waiting for them
13.30	Volunteers will leave for one of the community projects where they will spend the afternoon playing with the children, assisting with the Masakhane or VDP Projects, or helping to build or paint the classrooms.
16.30	End of the working day – when volunteers will be collected from their projects and taken back to the volunteer house. There the work of the day will be evaluated and the schedule for the following day discussed. Volunteers can also, if they wish, be dropped off in the town to check their emails.
18.30	Dinner at the volunteer house, following which volunteers often venture to one of the local night spots for a few drinks.

Weekend Highlights

Although these are not included in the fees paid, the local project managers will be happy to assist with any arrangements volunteers may wish to make. Below is a guideline of the prices volunteers should expect to pay for the most popular activities:

Aquila Private Game Reserve – a Big 5 Reserve, just 2 hours drive out of Cape Town – R850 per person including buffet breakfast and lunch on the Reserve and a 3 hour game drive – opportunities to pet cheetahs are also possible!!

City (Cape Town) hop-on-hop-off double decker bus

Garden Route Weekend

Support

Support and advice is available from your Project Managers whilst on the project and from the UK Amanzi Travel Team.

Find out more about Amanzi Travel support

Orientation

On arrival in Cape Town all volunteers undergo a comprehensive orientation programme, which is included in the fee, provided by the project manager, and including:

• An introduction to the town of Cape Town and the surrounding Cape Peninsula, together with the communities in which the volunteers will be working;
• An introduction to all the projects – so that as well as seeing the projects on which they will be working, volunteers will also see where their fellow volunteers will be spending their days;
• A detailed "welcome pack" containing further useful information for your time on the project.
  

Accommodation and Meals

Volunteers will reside in a fully furnished house in the seaside town of Fish Hoek, within easy walking distance of the safe and beautiful Fish Hoek beach, and only a short drive from Cape Town itself. Fish Hoek is a delightful small town situated on False Bay and the volunteer house is comfortable and staffed with a cook/cleaning lady. The house has a large living/dining area, bathrooms, a large garden and a safe for valuables. All bedding is provided.

Please Note: Experience has shown that volunteers living together and working closely with their project managers is the best way of guaranteeing their safety, and being able to attend to their most pressing needs. The assistant project manager will reside with the volunteers and it is expected that all volunteers will stay only in the accommodation provided for them. It is not permitted for volunteers to spend nights away from the house in nearby towns or villages unless on pre-arranged sightseeing excusions.

Volunteers will be provided with three meals a day; breakfast is on a self-serve basis and usually consists of cereals or porridge, toast, tea and coffee. Lunch and dinner are full meals, cooked or prepared by the cook at the volunteer house. Please note that sometimes at weekends during staff time off, volunteers will need to prepare and cook their own meals with ingredients provided. Weekends are usually good times for tourist activities and exploration of the surrounding area, so many volunteers are out and about at these times anyway.

Whilst everything is done to provide varied and interesting meals, they will generally be quite simple and volunteers are requested not to be overly fussy or ungrateful with what is provided for them. However, advance notice of any food allergies or specific food requirements is essential.

 

Getting There

Fly into Cape Town Airport where you will met by a member of staff and taken to the volunteer house

Project Fees

What is included

• Project Fee – financing that goes directly back into the project with which the volunteer is placed including funding of items such as medical supplies, building materials, equipment and supplies. These fees can also be used to buy vehicles, equipment and even new housing for volunteers in order to expand the project.
• Airport transfers to and from Cape Town International Airport on arrival and departure
• Full orientation programme
• Daily transfers to and from projects for the duration of the visit
• Full board and lodging at the volunteer house including 3 meals a day
• Weekly laundry service
• On-the-ground assistance from local project managers
• Outings to Cape Point – the most south-western tip of Africa; Boulder Beach to see the African Penguin Colony; and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years

What is excluded

• Personal travel insurance for the duration of the placement which must include cover for repatriation
• Flights to Cape Town
• All items of a personal nature – curios, gifts, clothing
• Email/internet and all telephone calls
• Soft drinks, wines and spirits
• All visas for border crossings if appropriate
• Any excusions over and above the planned itinerary in Cape Town (see above). For example volunteers may wish to travel down the Garden Route, do some shark diving etc. The local project managers can help plan these for you.