Internships in Africa with African Impact

This internship exceeded all of my expectations and having given up my job back in the UK after volunteering with African Impact for 3 weeks I could not be more happy or proud of my achievements during this internship.

On a day to day basis I managed physical and monetary donations, managed online campaigns, used social media to broadcast the amazing efforts of The Happy Africa Foundation and organised fundraising events in the volunteer house and in the local community involving the local residents of the surrounding town of St Lucia.

No day was ever the same and this meant I had so much fun during my 6 months in St Lucia and I met some amazing people along the way, some of which have become life long friends!

Going out on projects with volunteers was great as it allowed me to see exactly where the money needed to go within the communities and I was able to build relationships with community members.

Some of my proudest moments during my internship was raising enough money to complete Inkanyezi Crèche, a Focal project that I had grown very fond of having taught there as a volunteer. Over seeing a building project in my final week as the intern saw a family reunited in their home that had been badly damaged by the storms that hit rural KwaZulu-Natal. Raising the profile of the charity back home in the UK and in the local towns enabled me to gain so much more support especially from the local residents who learnt more about exactly what we do in the communities of 30,000 that surround St Lucia.

There were some tough days where having to deal with the reality of the HIV epidemic was hard to swallow but doing this internship has changed my life completely. I have a new found passion for charity work and especially The Happy Africa Foundation and African Impact, their dedication and drive to succeed and produce sustainable living for thousands of people all over Africa is second to none.

'Educate, Enrich, Empower'

I could not recommend this internship enough, if you have always thought of doing something like this then go for it, you will not regret it!!

It was certainly a lot more epic that I thought it would be. The marketing and social media internship is certainly not your typical internship. I did not make a single cup of coffee during, I did no filing and I only learned how to use the photocopier on my very last day. I was perhaps a very poor intern. I think that the internship that I did with African Impact reflects well on African Impact and it’s core values. Nothing that African Impact does is typical or mundane. Its work transcends the ordinary and dances with the giants of awesomeness. So it is perhaps fitting that my intern experience with them reflects this.

I was from my very first day given challenging tasks to complete that allowed me to revaluate what I thought I was capable of. I was at all times encouraged to suggest new and innovative ways of telling the African Impact story. Whilst with African Impact I was given the chance to thoroughly explore and develop my creative side, I suspect that this involved a good deal of indulgence and patience on their end but it has opened up a whole new world of opportunities for me. I learned a new set of skills that will undoubtedly help me on whatever path I choose for my future.

Aside from personal development that one should expect from any internship programme; African Impact gave me all the knowledge and advice that I needed to create my own adventures. The people that work for African Impact are all fiercely proud of their home city (Cape Town) and will stop at nothing to make sure that you experience absolutely everything that it has to offer. I cannot think of better tour guides. I was given insider information, on which mountains to climb, which breaks to surf, where to eat, where to drink, what to see and what to avoid. I can honestly say that some of my exploits in Cape Town will remain with me for the rest of my life. Even if the internship programme were crap, which it was not, the opportunity to spend three months exploring Cape Town would have been worthwhile in itself.

So how do I end this review? I suppose pretty much how I began; it was epic and thoroughly succeeded my expectations. People often ask whether or not I would recommend the programme to a friend or not. I don’t like this question because I have weird friends, some of them are afraid of wind and might not like Cape Town. If, however, you want to have an awesome experience, learn new skills and explore one of the most beautiful cities in the world then I would thoroughly recommend the Social Media and Marketing internship that I did.

This internship is one of the best things I've ever done. After my degree I couldn't decide whether to start looking for work or to take a gap year and travel, so this was the best of both worlds. Cape Town is amazing - my new favourite city! When I first arrived everyone told me that I wouldn't want to leave and they were so right. There's so much to see and do. Beaches, mountains, shopping, bars, museums, sports, vineyards... The list goes on. Shark-cage diving was a particular highlight.

Working in the African Impact office was great. The Marketing and Social Media Managers are both lovely and I learnt a lot from them. You get to take on a fair amount of responsibility in this role as well so it was a great opportunity to develop practical knowledge/skills. When I eventually came home and started applying for jobs every interviewer just wanted to ask about the internship! It really stands out on a CV.

I'd recommend an internship with African Impact in a heartbeat. A return visit to Cape Town has also been added to my bucket list.

This was the perfect opportunity for me to learn about a possible future career as well as the chance to explore the stunning Cape Town.

The accommodation and staff are wonderful. The best part was living with people from all over the world and making new friends who I have already seen and stayed in touch with since returning home.

The office is welcoming and offer you all the support you need. The day to day tasks included working closely with the Marketing Manager to update all of the online listings, create marketing material, support staff with marketing duties all over Africa and promote the numerous projects that African Impact have to offer. It will make you want to volunteer on each one.

You will fall in love with the people and the country. I wish I never had to leave.