Program Reviews

I was very excited when I was coming here and after my trip I can say that it was the best 5 months that I ever had.
The program was really cool, the kids had always a lot of fun and the staff was also nice and friendly.
It was a good experience for me to learn something about myself and what I want to do after my study.
I met so many new people and I'm already miss them all.
Thank you SAVE for these 5 months!

In December 2014 my husband and I joined the SAVE Team in Cape Town and it is without doubt the best decision we could have made.

We worked at both the Babes Creche in the Du Noon Township and at the Sunshine Educare School in the Skandaal Settlement in Cape Town, both built by the tremendous SAVE Organization.

During our time there I was proud to play a role in redecorating the Creche ahead of the new term, building a new Toilet Block, Putting up fences, working on the Vegetable Garden, the Adventure Surf Club (getting taught to Surf was an amazing bonus!) and most precious of all spending time with the fantastic children who live there and who will be a constant inspiration to me of how we can be happy even through the toughest of circumstances.

The whole experience of volunteering with SAVE was great, the staff are so passionate about what they do and go above and beyond to improve the lives of the communities they are working with, and they take such good care of their Volunteers, the accomodations great, the foods great and the social life - wow, I think i'm still a little bit hungover :)

We tell anyone thinking about volunteering that SAVE is the best choice, spending time there will change you forever in the best possible way and you will be sure to make friends for life.

First time I had ever done something like this, and I loved it so much, I kept extending. My project was settlement and from the first day I enjoyed every second of it, from the teaching and seeing the children actually learning what you taught them, to making them a schedule and making a gold star reward chart, which when they received a gold star you saw their little face light up. I liked how I was able to get so involved in the school, and little things I introduced to the school with hopefully stay there, like when they leave the class, they have to say 'thank you teacher' before leaving. Also how we did work on the school after the children had gone for nap time. Volunteering at Sunshine has changed me, which I can only thank everyone at SAVE for and I will have to come to back, as I need to see those children again, as I felt as I was there for so long, that I built up proper bonds with the children.The staff were approachable and most of them made me feel like the volunteers and staff were on the same level.

Volunteering with SAVE is without a doubt the best decision I've made in my life. I have already gone back and I plan on going again and again, that's how great it is.
The first time I stayed for two months and then I went straight home to make more money to go back and see my babies at Skandaal camp. And after 9 months I found my self back in South Africa and their are no words to describe the feeling I felt my first day back, seeing all the kids again and see how they have grown. Lithemba was more involved in the classes and not as shy, Alulo looked healthier and happier, Thumelo and Pinky got some new dance moves, Asanda was eating much more, Olona had learned a lot and China as well, Trevano had learned to play with the kids and was much more active during the classes, always wanting to sing about the tiger and Santei hadn't changed a bit. I can go on and on. These kids really changed my life and I love the all. Each day I miss them more and more. I can´t wait to book my third time.
Cape Town feels like home to me, the SAVE staff is amazing and the environment is extremely beautiful.

I've been lucky enough to travel my entire life, and interact with many cultures. However, this is my first time doing any sort of volunteer work. I thoroughly researched before as to what organization to volunteer with, and I could not be happier with my decision volunteering with SAVE.

The staff at SAVE made everything easy and were welcoming from start to finish. Everyone who you meet at the end of the experience becomes family. By doing volunteer work and exploring one of the most beautiful places in the world, you end up creating a lifetime full of memories in a short period of time.

I can't thank the people at SAVE enough for the experience. The enthusiasm,care, and effort they put in showed how incredibly important doing volunteer work is.

This is what travels all about, the people you meet along the way and how they and everything else you see and do changes you.

Theres tons and tons of great and breathtaking stories worth sharing.
But that shouldn´t be the goal of travelling there.
The best thing of working with SAVE is changing things all the while changing yourself.

On my first day working on project at one of the preschools and 'trying' to teach I was overwhelmed and I had no idea of what I had to do. On my last day at project I had about a 100 kids dancing and singing along with me on their favorite song.
Doing volunteering work for SAVE changed the way I look at the daily things in life. It has been an amazing experience, from making kids smile every day to developing myself on so many levels.
Besides working on the projects every day I also met a lot of really cool people. By living together with all of the other volunteers, working together and discover Cape Town together you will end up with some unique friendships all over the world.
I have been back in the Netherlands for six weeks now. I still think of my time in Cape Town every single day. I miss the kids, I miss all the amazing people working for SAVE and I miss Cape Town itself. I will be traveling to Denmark in 3 weeks to visit some of my friends and I hope to be traveling back to Cape Town next December.

I came to South Africa knowing I had to be there for three months. In the beginning everything was overwhelming. You never really know what it is, before yogurt there, you know? but i was only positively surprised. After a few weeks, you start feeling very home. You make friends you would't think possible, and the work with this kids is Amazing. Cape Town itself is quite extraordinary, which you're going to realize really fast. But it would never have been the same, if i hadn't been volunteering. You get to see the other side of all the beautiful nature and the sweet food. The experiences you get with the other volunteers gives you a friendship, you can't compare with anything else. The time you spent with the kids makes you happy and sad at the same time. But this is the kind of thing you can't write down, you have to go down there to see it yourself. When I think back now, i know, that I learned more from them and this trip, than i could never give back to the kids I went down to help. Expensive, indeed, but you can never calculate the kids and the love you get, in money. Sounds cliché? But this is my story. And it changed my life forever. hopefully something changed a little for the kids as well.

I have traveled before but never volunteered abroad. This gave me a whole different perspective of the culture. It was so rewarding to work with children and help them learn as well as learn from them. The other volunteers and SAVE staff were all great and I did not want to leave this project once it was over. It was the most well rounded traveling experience I have ever had.

Throughout the duration of my five weeks spent in South Africa I had the pleasure of teaching a class of 0-3 year olds at Babes Educare in the township of Du Noon. These were some of the most affectionate children I have ever encountered in my entire life. I woke up every morning excited to arrive at the school knowing that as soon as I cracked open the front door I would be bombarded with an endless amount of hugs and kisses as the kids chanted “teacher! teacher!” I will never forget my first day at the crèche- I had absolutely no idea what I was doing… Taming the classroom was way harder than I ever expected. The principal of the school heard the ruckus from outside the classroom and as soon as she entered, the kids immediately scurried to their seats and threw on their most pleasant and innocent smiles- they had such a genuine admiration for her. She explained to me the dynamics of the classroom; 5 students on the reading carpet, 6 students with the building blocks and 6 students with the toys. Easy enough, right? Well, it took some time, but after about a week and a half of attempting to master my “angry face” I finally gained some respect. Every day was truly an adventure with these hooligans, they never failed to make me laugh until I had tears strolling down my face. After five weeks you can only imagine the connection I formed with each and every one of my students- I never thought it would be so hard to say goodbye. On my last day of project, the principal visited my classroom once again… this time, as opposed to helping me control the kids, she came to inform me of what an incredible job I had done working with them. She recognized how much I loved them and said she’s never seen anything like it. She wished me safe travels and hoped that I would return to Cape Town in the near future. This warmed my heart more than you will ever know. My time spent in Cape Town, was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I will never forget the feeling of utter bliss that filled my entire body when I would return to the hostel after a work day. Knowing that I was making an impact on these children’s lives was enough to satisfy me. I will be returning to Cape Town hopefully this December and I cannot wait to watch my students continue to grow and excel in all of their endeavors.