SA EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
PORT St JOHNS, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

This rewarding and varied project offers volunteers a unique cultural experience in the heart of rural South Africa where they can contribute to an exciting Sustainable Village Development Project.  Based near beautiful Port St Johns, a vibrant African town set on South Africa's Wild Coast volunteers help with the educational enrichment activities in the local schools and with important and sustainable community development initiatives.  

	Location:	PORT St JOHNS, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA	Dates:	Project starts most Fridays throughout the year.
	Fees:	£775 - 2 weeks £1,095 - 4 weeks £1,415 - 6 weeks £1,715 - 8 weeks	Payment:	£180 deposit at time of booking – balance of project fee due 8 weeks before departure
	Reference:	AV015

General Information

Volunteers will be based in the town of Port St Johns for the duration of their project and will experience the spectacular sight of the Indian Ocean rolling up on the shores and perhaps even see the whales and dolphins who inhabit these waters.  The incredible area is rich with local traditions, culture, flora and fauna, bird life, incredible scenery, pristine natural environments, and some of the warmest and most welcoming people you will ever meet.  Volunteers will join well established projects that have a track record in improving the education of the local children and improving the lifestyles of the local communities by helping them begin and maintain sustainable development projects. During volunteers spare time there are some fantastic local trips that will allow them to appreciate the natural beauty of the region and become a part of the land and communities their hard work is benefiting.

Highlights

• Take an active part in the day to day education activities of the local youngsters. Your help and encouragement is an invaluable source of motivation for them and provides opportunities they simply would not otherwise have.  Volunteers can help to bring the classes alive with fresh ideas.  The children who have so little are so enthusiatic and eager to learn
• During the school holidays you can join in with the activities of the Holiday Club to provide extra-curricular entertaining activities for the children.
• Empower local people to create self-sustaining projects in their local villages
• Help establish community facilities that can make a real difference for the long term well being of the populace
• Whale and dolphin watching from the shores of the Indian Ocean
• Observe traditional tribal life and ceremonies
• Tours to the local areas of outstanding natural beauty
• Kayaking on the Umzimvubu River
• Optional week long excursion to Cape Town either at the beginning or conclusion of your adventure
• Relax on the beach or if you have any energy left try your hand at surfing the Indian Ocean

Educational Project

Education is extremely poorly funded in the rural Transkei area of the Eastern Cape. Unfortunately due to the rural nature of the region, education funding remains a low priority in light of the hardships faced by the local communities. It is for this reason that this educational project was established. Under the guidance of the project's volunteer coordinators your role will be very much hands on with the children. You will help them by providing a safe and supportive environment for them to learn in. The focus is on the individual and this will give you the opportunity to encourage the creative skills of the youngsters you come into contact with. Even being in contact with volunteers is a great benefit for the language and basic arithmetic skills of the students.

Although this element of the project originally began life as an "after school educational enrichment" project, it proved to be so successful that it now provides full day schooling to over 70 rural children.

Lessons normally run from 8.00 - 12.30 (13.30 for the older children) during term times and currently the school is educating children between the ages of 4 - 12 years.  The centre is equipped with 3 classrooms each capable of taking approximately 20 children at a time.

During the school holidays volunteers help run a holiday club where children can come to join us for a range of fun educational activities during the day.  Volunteers might also have the opportunity to get involved in adult education classes in the evenings.

Community Project

The focus of the community project is the initiatition and evolution of sustainable development programmes that will significantly benefit of the local population. Volunteers might help to build new communal facilities,  work with the community to launch a local sustainable business, assisting in the repairs of poorly built traditional huts or establishing clean water facilities.  These projects empowers the local people to make a difference and take a controlling hand in the future of their community. Locally available resources are used in all possible cases to aid the long term development of the villages. Some other activities  that volunteers might get involved with include manufacturing bricks for building, planting in the permaculture gardens, repairs to pre-existing huts and buildings and developing energy efficient systems to supply power and water. These community development initiatives have helped to establish a real community spirit and provide a sense of hope and achievment.

Some aims of the project:

• To encourage individuals to take responsibility for their own actions, their lives, their communities and their environment
• To equip people to survive harmoniously in a world whose natural resources are rapidly being depleted and destroyed.
• To reserve the trend of uncontrolled urbanisation
• To collect and disseminate practical knowledge on the application of sustainable technologies

Other Included Activities

On your days off, the hardest decision you will have to make is whether to relax on the beach for the day, or to take advantage of one of the many free activities provided below.  Please note that these are subject to change. Depending on how long you spend on the project, you will do some of all of the following:

• Kayaking on the Umzimvubu River.
• Day trip to the Magwa Falls – a dramatic 106 metre tall falls plummeting into a 240 metre deep gorge in an area of outstanding natural beauty and tribal culture.
• The Gap and Blowhole day trip – less than an hour's walk along the coast is a subterranean cave system that funnels the incoming waves and swells at high tide into an explosive burst of sea mist.
• Green Mamba Pools and Waterfall Bluff – a fantastic day trip to two locally renowned sites and one of only 5 waterfalls in the world that falls directly into the sea.
• Sangoma Experience – experience firsthand the local culture and traditional beliefs. You may even be lucky enough to witness a genuine a real Sangoma initiation ceremony. A real highlight of the trip.
• Mount Thesiger sundowners – this local high point offers the best views to unwind with a well earned cold beer at the end of the day.
• Whale and dolphin spotting from the shore or for the more energetic surfing the breaks of the Indian Ocean.
• Moon parties on the beach.
• Isinuka Sulphur Springs – take in the renowned healing properties of these local springs and mud baths.
• Cliff jumping at the Bulolo Waterfall – test your nerve with the 5 and 7 metre jumps.

Optional Extra Activities

Cape Town week - £300 to include 7 nights of accomodation in Cape Town and self service breakfast, and return transfers from Port St John to Cape Town as well as the three tours below:

• Full day peninsula tour to include Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak Drive, Cape Point, Simon's Town, Boulders Beach Penguin Colony and more.
• Half day cultural tour to include an introduction to the history of South Africa both pre and post Apartheid, includes a visit to Khayelitsha the second largest township.
• Full day Cape Winelands tour to include the Paarl, Franschoek and Stellenbosch regions and wine tastings.

Why not also try some holistic and reflexology treatments or go horse riding along the coast and around the local villages.

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

A comprehensive information pack will be sent to all our volunteers upon booking their trip and further advice and information will be provided by telephone and email before departure. A full orientation will be provided when you arrive at the project by the local support team.

Accommodation and Meals

Educational Project

Accommodation will be in a spacious river cottage on the banks of the Umzimvubu River. The cottage is set in beautiful surroundings and you have direct access to the river which is hippo and crocodile free and therefore safe for swimming or kayaking. The cottage can accommodate up to 8 people and rooms are shared or double rooms for couples, there is a communal living/kitchen area with showers, toilets and electricity provided. There is also an outside area where volunteers can relax at the end of the day. All bedding is provided for your stay and a laundry service available. Breakfast is self service and lunch and dinner are made for you. The nearest shops are 3km from the cottage but there will be regular opportunities to go to the shops for extra provisions. Internet access is available at the project headquarters for a nominal fee.

Community Project

Accommodation will be in a Backpackers close to Port St Johns beautiful second beech. A wing of the Backpackers is reserved for volunteers and rooms are shared or double rooms. All bedding is provided for your stay and a laundry service available. Showers, toilets and electricity are provided. Paul, the resident chef, will make all your meals for you with much of the produce source from the local permaculture garden. Daily shuttles are provided to the town centre in case you need to pick up extra supplies. Internet access is available for a nominal fee.

If you opt to work on both projects during your stay you will have the option of staying in the same accommodation for the duration of your stay.

Getting There

Fly into Johannesburg International airport on a Friday where you will be met by a project representative who will escort you to local accommodation for an overnight stay. We will arrange your transfer from Johannesburg to Port St Johns via coach on Saturday evening. Your coach departs from Johannesburg at 18:45 and will arrive in the city of Umtata at approximately 06:50 on Sunday morning.  A member of the project team will be there to meet you and they will
escort you to Port St Johns, a wonderful 1-hour drive to the coast.  If you are adding the optional Cape Town Week before joining this project, you should aim to arrive in Cape Town one week before your chosen start date. In this case a member of the project team will meet you at Cape Town Airport and escort you to the volunteer accommodation in Cape Town. At the end of your Cape Town Week we will be transfered to Umtata by overnight coach to meet up with the project team as above.

Please note:

• All in-country transfers and escorts are included with your project – you will not need to worry about finding your own way around.
• If you can get a cheaper flight that arrives in Johannesburg before your Friday start date, that is fine too, as you can add extra night’s accommodation for approximately £15 per night.

(There may be a number of ways to reach your destination airport - for further information or advice please contact Amanzi Travel)

Project Fees

What is included

• Johannesburg Airport collection and drop-off.
• Overnight  accommodation in Johannesburg, one night before, and one night after your project.
• Return transfers between Johannesburg and Port St John.
• A welcome brief from a member of the on-site project team.
• Accommodation for the duration of your project with all bedding provided.
• All your meals at the project.
• All project related transfers between your accommodation, the school centre, rural villages and Port St John.
• A range of free activities
• An attractive certificate recognising your contribution to the project.

What is excluded

• International flights
• Travel Insurance
• Personal items eg clothes, travel goods
• Use of internet and telephone
• Soft drinks, alcohol
• Visas and any trips undertaken other than in the planned programme