Volunteering at a Special Care Centre

My name is Hannah Elliott-Higgins and I am currently a junior studying psychology and art/art history at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. During my senior year of high school, I spent some time debating the idea of taking a gap year and volunteering before heading off to college but eventually decided against it as the excitement of starting college set in. However, half way through my sophomore year of college I began to think again about how wonderful it would be to be able to take some time to simply volunteer and experience the world through my own eyes and not through a strictly scholarly lens.
I worked with a gap year/semester coordinator to decide what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to work with children and if possible work with those with developmental disabilities. I was put in contact with Projects Abroad South Africa (Cape Town) and I could not be happier with the way everything went. From my first email contact with Projects Abroad I could tell it would be a wonderful experience. They were prompt to respond, answered every question I had, and provided me with all the information regarding my placement and living situation in a vert timely manner.
During my time in Cape Town, I volunteered at the Sunrise Special Care Centre 5 days a week and had the weekends to myself, I absolutely loved the work, which consisted of basic occupational therapy and physical therapy as well as care taking. There was a bit of an age range with the majority of the children begin between the ages of 6 and 14 and then a few young adults (early 20s). Everyone I worked with was kind and welcoming and spoke very highly of their past Projects Abroad Volunteers.. Every week, I would meet with volunteers from other projects to talk with one of the volunteer coordinators from Projects Abroad. If there were any issues, they were always available to help out.
I lived with a host family who lived one street over from the Sunrise Special Care Centre and I cannot speak highly enough of them. They were wonderful and made me feel completely at home. They gave me and the two other volunteers I lived with breakfast, lunch, and dinner an the mother was a wonderful cook. I have certain dietary restrictions and they were wonderful about making accommodations for me.
Overall, this was an incredible experience for me and I would strongly recommend Projects Abroad for anyone who is looking to take a gap year, semester, or even just a few weeks off to do service work. It is an unforgettable time and i would do it over again in a heartbeat.