ISV - Volunteer Projects in South Africa

ISV is a great way to combine tourism and volunteering in a compacted, busy and meaningful way. I saw parts of South Africa and Swaziland I would never have though of seeing with ISV and really enjoyed my experience. ISV encourages active participation in sustainable tourism and contributing to a community. I would encourage everyone and anyone to take the opportunity to experience this gorgeous country with the local ISV leaders and have a meaningful and fulfilling holiday!

The only difficulties I had were with the taste of the water and apparent lack of meat hygiene! I never got sick and this has more to do with the area than the tour company. I could honestly say it was up there with, if not the best, month of my life. The host organisation is amazing and such a good resource for learning about the sad history of South Africa.
Some would say it's too expensive and I was inclined to think the same before I went, but it is worth it to have everything done, a perfect balance of fun and more meaningful work.

Food: deliscious, lots of different kinds of meat

Safety: couldn't have been safer if I was wrapped in a bubble, the people around you [both from the program and not] educate you on what you should know about the country and stay with you all the time

People: they are some of my greatest friendships now : )

Travel: no thoughts, as in I never had to think about it; all travel arrangements from our everyday volunteering to our weekend activities were made for us.

Volunteering: I miss the kids, they were the sweetest, most adorable children who just wanted to have fun and be held. I got a work out for sure, chasing them and picking them up [sometimes 2 at a time]. I still stay in contact over there. I want to go back and see them because emails are not the same. Their backgrounds and current lives are not usually pleasant and brought tears to many of our eyes, but every day that we saw them, they had the biggest smiles on their faces.

Adventure Tour: So many beautiful sites from so many angles. We did more than anyone I know will probably ever do. It was great to not have to worry about if something or someplace was safe because it was checked into already and our leader knew the people personally. We were on the ride of our lives and the track was already set, inspected, and tested. My highlight was definitely swimming WITH a whale shark.

My experience with ISV is something that I will never forget. I worked for 2 weeks with cheetahs, wild dogs, vultures and other various animals that I could only imagine being near in my dreams. Between feeding and working with the cheetahs, I had once in a lifetime experiences on a daily basis! I learned so much about the different animals and culture in the area that it gave me a whole new appreciation for the wildlife and how people are affecting the environment, good and bad. I also helped clear the roads in the centre to make it easier to get around the grounds. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard while doing physical labor in my life! It was such a blast and each moment has a special place in my heart.
After work was always a blast as well no matter how tired I was. Whether we went to play with some lions or go on ziplines, it was never dull! I had an amazing group of people as well that all share a passion for helping the world and was able to relate and connect! I am now fortunate enough to call them some of my best friends and my family. Before I left I was nervous that I would be spending every moment with strangers but after we all spent time in the airport going to South Africa, I couldn't imagine my life without them and still talk to them constantly.
For the third and fourth weeks of my trip, we travelled around South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique. It was fast paced and absolutely fabulous to see so much! Honestly, who can say that they went on a horseback riding safari and caving in Swaziland, snorkeled with whale sharks while watching humpback whales breach and pods of dolphins swimming around our boats, surf in the Indian Ocean, ride horses on along the beach, ride quads to remote areas and interact with a beautiful culture all in Mozambique and then go through Kruger National Park and watch a lion take down a warthog along with many other fabulous animals! And there was so much more! We went kloofing and bonded around fires while the wild animals surrounded us. All packed into two weeks it was insane but the best time in the world!
ISV took care of everything and it was so planned out, I felt I was in the best hands possible. They honestly were there around the clock providing us with the best food and best accommodations. The thing that really impressed me was that ISV received one bad review on an accommodation and refused to use them again. They always makes sure that everyone is taken care of and happy. While on the trip, I lost someone very close to me at home. I had a lot of pain but my ISV family was there to keep me cheerful and support me in any way. ISV also made sure everything was ok and they put me in contact with home to make sure everything was alright.
I have had such an amazing experience traveling with ISV that I really can't imagine going anywhere without them. Everything was made so easily and they were always there when there were questions or concerns. Their organization is the best that is offered and provides life changing opportunities. I have gained so much new insight to the world and to see the true beauty that it has to offer and it is all thanks to ISV.

As a kid, I’ve always wanted to go South Africa and to have that opportunity and to be able to make a difference in the lives of young children, was something I was not about to miss out on. I had the opportunity to not only volunteer for two weeks, but add an additional two weeks in adventure travel too.

Upon arriving, I worked in a school where we kept children occupied by playing games with them, doing arts and crafts, and played sports. After they went home, we helped further by planting a garden, building a preschool at a local settlement, and painting. It was very difficult at times, but well worth the effort. I will never forget the looks on the kids' faces when I left.

All of our accomodations were set up and varied depending on where we were. All of our meals were paid for during the first two weeks and half during the 2nd two weeks.

After two weeks of volunteering, I went on an Adventure Tour where I did such things, but definitely not limited to skydiving in Cape Town, abseiling down Table Mountain, visiting an Elephant Sanctuary, snorkeling with Whale sharks in the Indian Ocean, Quad Biking through a field of palm trees in Mozambique, Horseback Riding in Swaziland, and an infamous 2-Day Safari in Kruger National Park. I guarantee you that this will be one of the best decisions you will ever make and be something that will stick with you for the rest of your life. You will indeed do more in one month, or even two weeks, than most people can dream of doing in their lifetime. ISV opened up the world to me and I can't wait to volunteer with them again.

Volunteering with ISV in Africa was a life changing experience. After I graduated from high school, I took a year off to work and save money. I saved relentlessly despite not knowing what I was saving for. Then one day I came across a flyer on a bulletin board at the University of Victoria and immediately knew what all my hard work was going to go towards. I applied right away and was the second person that year to be accepted. After a year of working and a year of waiting to leave, I finally departed for my adventure on August 4th, 2011. Now, two months later, I still think about Africa and the people I met there every single day. I volunteered at the De Wildt cheetah reserve in South Africa with some of the most amazing and diverse people I have ever met. We spent our first two weeks feeding cheetahs and wild dogs, cleaning their dishes, and removing invasive plant species that threatened the native ecosystems there. Before I went to Africa, I didn’t care much for cheetahs and was honestly more excited to see a lion or leopard; however, all of that changed the minute I was licked by a large, purring cheetah. I went cliff jumping, caving, saw lions in the wild, swam in one of the seven natural wonders of the world (Victoria Falls), and still that moment, that cheetah kiss remains the highlight. On the last day of my trip, while in Zambia, I went microlighting, which is sort of like a chair with wings, and while I soared above Victoria Falls, soaking up all the beauty of Africa, my pilot said something that meant more than any of the other famous quotes about Africa that I’ve heard (and trust me, there are many of them). He said, “When you go to Africa, it breaks your heart, so you have to go back to pick up the pieces.” De Wildt and Scarlett the cheetah both have pieces of my heart, as do Victoria Falls in Zambia, Chobe National Park in Botswana, a small island off of Mozambique that we kayaked to, and every single amazing person we met along the way. And one day, I will revisit them all to pick up the pieces. I think this is a trip everyone needs to take at some point in their lives and find out what will steal and break their heart while there.

I absolutely loved the time I spent in South Africa. I did my service project at the Ann Van Dyke Cheetah Center. One of my favorite parts of my whole service project was waking up every morning, going to the Cheetah Center, and going up to one of the cheetah's cages, Scarlett, and letting her lick my fingers to say hello. After we left, this was by far one of the things I missed the most. The staff were great and were super nice and friendly. I'll never forget the time I spent with the workers learning Africaan and other dialects. I will also never forget the great spell of dead horse meat, and how fun it was to chuck a hunk of it over a fence to feed the cheetahs.

Day to day was the same yet so different. It was june so it was winter over in South Africa. The children had a 3 week holiday. We ran a holiday camp in the morning for them from 8-2. We did things like arts and crafts and playing games. We also had some local athletes come and teach soccer and rugby camps. We really got raw interaction with these kids and developed close relationships with them. The non-profit organizer is names Toni and she was amazing. She told us the stories of the kids and made us cry and laugh and really dug into our emotions and for me personally how I see a lot of things now. In the afternoons we usually did some sort of manual labor like painting or digging out trenches or planting a garden. We also helped build a primary school on a settlement (township) and while there we got to interact with those children too. The highlights of my trips was definitely the kids, so happy and worry free, yet with so much darkness in their lives. The difficulty that I encountered was leaving. I couldn't bear the fact that I was helping these children, these beautiful children and then I had to leave.