South Africa: Medical Volunteering Program.

Volunteer Work Schedule

A typical volunteer schedule in Cape Town depends on the accommodation provided to the volunteers. Volunteering Solutions provide accommodation in Cape Town with a local host family or at a volunteer house; depending upon the availability of rooms. Volunteers, too, are given a choice to choose from the two kinds of accommodations. While the volunteer house is located in the city area, the host family resides on the outskirts of the mainland Cape Town. The schedule for the volunteers remains as follows;

• Sunday – Arrival at Cape Town (all volunteers stay in volunteer house for the first day)
• Monday – Orientation + transfer to the respective accommodations. Orientation session will be conducted by the local coordinator, covering topic areas; such as safety, culture, language, places to visit, behavior, food, and other suggestion over things to do in South Africa, Cape Town.
• Tuesday to Fri – Volunteer work
  • Breakfast – 06:30 am to 07:30 am (provided at the accommodation)
  • Leave for the project – 07:30 am
  • Working hours at the placement – 08:00 am to 03:00 pm
  • Lunch – 12:30 pm to 02:00 onwards (volunteers staying in the volunteer house need to manage lunch on their own)
  • Dinner – 06:00 pm onwards (at host family accommodation)

Volunteers living at volunteer house accommodation eat our at a nearby restaurant or cook at home with other participants.
The same volunteer work schedule continues from the second week onwards
Weekends – Free to explore the city, and do activities such as;

Note: Please note, the schedule may vary depending on the particular project the volunteer is participating on.

Living

Travellers Africa makes great efforts to provide best of living standards to its volunteers. In Cape Town, our international volunteers are picked up from the airport and put in volunteer houses or with host families, equipped with all modern amenities. We also make sure that we help our volunteers with their local requirements, sightseeing or weekend tours.

Airport Transfer

Volunteers are picked up from the Cape Town International Airport by a representative and transferred to the volunteers hostel accommodation by a shuttle transfer. Those volunteers who are arriving overland or are already in South Africa will have to arrive at the accommodation on own and will not be provided with a pickup.

Orientation

A half day orientation will be provided by the local staff on the program start date. The orientation would cover topics such as introduction to the program, General information about South Africa, Safety Tips / Guidelines, customs, health guidelines, communities, projects, host families, support services, travel and tours. Participants also receive a Walking City Tour which is a 2 hour walk around the City Centre area.

Accommodation

Travellers Africa arranges accommodation for volunteers in a Volunteer hostel or in home stays in local communities. The Volunteer hostel is a dormitory-style accommodations situated in Observatory area of Cape Town. The rooms in the hostel typically have 4-8 people per room. The Observatory accommodation is located in a beautiful suburb of Cape Town, about 20 minutes from the city center. The hostel is perfectly situated close to shops, restaurants, public transport, and some of the best beaches in the world! The areas are also very safe. 

Living in the hostel is a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” because you will meet and live with many other volunteers from all over the globe. It’s a great opportunity to make lifelong friends and learn about different cultures. Each day you will travel to your project, usually by mini-bus taxi which is a very cheap and efficient way to travel in Cape Town, and is also a lot of fun! After you finish your project for the day you usually spend your evenings doing different activities with the other volunteers in the house like, movie nights in the lounge or having a braai, which is a South African barbeque.

When staying with a host family while volunteering in South Africa you will live in one of the local communities of Cape Town. There you will experience life of a typical South African family which will be a great cultural experience. You will travel a short distance to your project in the morning and in the evenings you will spend time bonding with your host family. On the weekends you can either spend your leisure time with your host family or book yourself into a backpacker in town to explore the city centre during the day and experience Cape Town night life. 

Meals

Volunteers staying at the hostel accommodation are provided with self-service breakfast at the hostel on weekdays (Monday – Friday).Supplies such as cereals, eggs, bread with various toppings, coffee/tea, and selection of fruits are provided. Lunch, dinner and weekend meals are not included but can be eaten out at any of the affordable eateries or ordered to home as well. Volunteers can also purchase supplies locally and prepare meals in the house kitchen.

For those staying in a host family, you will be provided 3 meals a day, prepared by your host. Breakfast before your project, a packed lunch to take with you and a delicious home cooked meal for dinner.