Why did you decide to volunteer abroad with SAVE in South Africa?
Amanda: I decided to volunteer abroad for my internship in the program I'm studying at Gothenburg university in Sweden. We have an 8 week long internship and I wanted to go abroad to see how other cultures work with children and to see if my studies in Sweden would be helpful abroad.
Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Amanda: My day to day activities is separated into two blocks, in the mornings I work in a township at a crèche with children from the ages of 1 to 6-7, how many children depends from day to day but it's approximately around 45 kids. We do preschool activities such as cutting, pasting and coloring. We try to make it as fun as possible for them.
During the afternoons I go to another settlement project in another township where we do everything from playing outside with kids in all ages, to keep them of the streets, to building houses for families that needs it. It all depends on how much money we've got in the project at the moment.
Ten years from now, what’s the one thing you think you’ll remember from the trip?
Amanda: Ten years from now I definitely think I still will remember the progress the kids in the crèche made during my time there, all those happy faces I won't ever forget!
Has your worldview changed as a result of your trip?
Amanda: I've always believed that every person is unique and has equal value all over the world but of course my worldwiew will be different cause of this trip. To actually see the poverty and differences in the world so up close as I've been able to see here has changed a lot. I'm lucky I was born in Sweden, but no matter were you are born in the world we all deserve all the love we can get!
What did you wish you knew before going to South Africa?
Amanda: I wish I'd known a little bit more about traditions in the townships, so that it would've been easier to adept in the work with the children.