Internships in Cape Town with VACorps

My experience as a VACorps volunteer in Cape Town, SA really opened my eyes to a whole other side of the world. I was able to gain useful knowledge and skills that have helped guide me to my career as a future physician assistant. My time in South Africa also enhanced my cultural awareness and understand of South African culture and history which has given me a deeper interest in learning about other world cultures. Being a VACorps volunteer teaches you things that you cannot read in a book or watch in a documentary.

I contacted VACorps in 2015 as I was looking to do my M.A. internship in South Africa but couldn't really find anything interesting on my own. I was quickly invited to have a Skype session with one of the team members and was immediately made comfortable and felt part of a family. Within a week after officially signing up, I received my first opportunity and before I knew it, was on my way to Cape Town.
Upon arrival, I was greeted by a different team member in my new accomodation. She gave me an introduction to my new neighborhood, general recommandations about Cape Town and helped me settle in. The free Friday VACtivities, an organized trip to Mozambique and the overall support of the whole team made my stay some of the best times of my life.
Choosing VACorps was a great decision and allowed me to grow so much as an individual. If you're looking into going to Cape Town, then look no further and contact VACorps, they will have something in stock for you.

I absolutely loved my study/work abroad experience which couldn’t have happened without VAcorps. I first heard about VAcorps through one of their alumni and was instantly hooked. His unbridled excitement about the program intrigued me so I quickly applied for the program. The application/interview process was simple and done over Skype. All my questions about the program and Cape Town were quickly answered during the video calls. After being admitted, VAcorps helped me find an internship with a well-respected video/photo production company.
In the weeks leading up to my departure for Cape Town, VAcorps helped me find housing with other students which was a huge relief. Once I arrived, a VAcorps employee picked me up at the airport and dropped me off at my house providing me with a cellphone so I could let my family know I had arrived safely. Over the next few days, I was given an orientation of Cape Town which helped me get familiarized with the city. In addition to the orientation, on my first day of work a VAcorps employee came along on my commute to show me how the trains worked as well where my office would be.
Between work and my new friends, the next four months were some of the best times I can remember. At work, I learned a great deal through hands-on experience while also still having plenty of time to explore this new country. The weekly VAcorps activities were always fun and provided a great way to bond with other students in the program. Over the next few months, I explored South Africa with the help of VAcorps which organized scuba diving courses, hiking trips as well as a week long adventure to Mozambique.
What stood out to me about VAcorps was its integration of housing, job placement and trips. Through its various programs, I quickly made friends from across the world while exploring this beautiful nation. These friendships make the study abroad experience exponentially more enjoyable.

I would highly recommend VAcorps to anyone looking do an internship in Cape Town. The owner of VAcorps, Sean, is a top-notch guy who goes out of his way to make sure that all of the students in the program love their stay in the mother city.

From the very beginning VACorps was excellent at helping me meet my university requirements overseas. I was placed at a shelter that did not go well. Being so far away from home and my support network was scary during this time. I was able to find support within the VAC team. They were very kind about the situation and helped me find a new and better placement that was more willing to meet my university requirements. I am very thankful for that help and support.
They not only helped with the placements but helped me get out of my comfort zone and try new and exciting things in Cape Town. I am very happy that I made this decision to come to Cape Town it was full of hurdles but in the end there was triumph.

I worked as a VA Corp Intern at Retreat Medical Clinic. I was a pre-med college student the summer before my senior year. My goal in participating in the VA Corp program was to gain international medical experience. The living environment was wonderful and having an organization I could turn to if anything came up (example I lost my debit card while in Cape Town, my only means of obtaining cash from the ATMs, and they were able to provide me cash and charged a credit card), but the relationship between the Retreat Clinic and VA Corp was clearly only loosely established. I was introduced to a few nurses on day one, but on day two it was new staff who did not know I was going to be there and did not know what I should do (or what I was able to do). One nurse had me drawing blood, and then the next day I was told I could not touch a patient. The rest of my three month internship was me walking around the clinic asking to help in random divisions, but there was no structure and I was not able to do or see much. This is not how my housemates' internships were at other clinics, but for this particular clinic, the experience was not very valuable. Cape Town itself was amazing though and I do not regret my decision to experience the country in this way with this organization. Had I been placed in a different clinic I think my experience would have been very different.

My time with BAC was absolutely he best time of my life. I grew so much and learned a ton about life in Cape Town and met some amazing friends. Honestly, the program was pretty expensive for what they weee offering; it would've been a lot less for the same experience just to get housing on my own. However for a first time traveler to Cape Town, it was nice to have a support system. Also, it isn't the fault oF VAC, but safety was really an issue, and I wish they would have warned us more prior to going, and accompanied us more when going home after events at night.

I'd like to say I chose Cape Town because of the many different opportunities and experiences it had to offer, but in reality, Cape Town chose me Cape Town has allowed me to grow as an individual and meet so many different people from all over the world. VAC has given me the experience and opportunity to grow as a professional and give me lifelong skills and memories that I can use to become a better social worker. With the help of VAC, I would have never found the friends that very quickly became family. This is a once and a lifetime experience that shouldn't be missed out upon. I was able to call Cape Town my home for 3 months and interned at Baphumelele Children's Home in Khayelitsha. My internship placement has given me so much insight on the cultural differences around the world. It has given me a better understanding of how the unequal distribution of wealth really impacts a nation. My internship placement has also shown me that even though the people living in the townships may have it worse than some they never once give up their will or hope to keep moving forward.

I finally got the email, I finally got it! I open it and my heart shatters; my biggest desire for the last two weeks had been to go to Cape Town. The email I opened was telling me that I submitted my Application incorrectly and would not be accepted to University of Cape Town that Fall. I was devastated. Naturally the entrepreneur in me decided to start searching for another option. I applied to about 100 tech companies in South Africa and kept getting the same response. “Sorry but we don’t hire foreigners, if you make it to cape town perhaps we can meet for coffee”. None of the companies I wanted to work for wanted me to come work for them.
That’s when at about 2AM on a Tuesday I came across VACorps. I got a response to my email within minutes and was set up with an interview the following day. Finally, someone would at least listen to me. VACorps set me up with the elusive internship that I had been looking for within a couple days, and when I finally arrived the internship exceeded expectations.
The second thing that exceeded expectations was the other Interns. For me the people I meet in Cape Town and the Family that I build during my VAC internship made a lifelong impact on who I am as a person and will forever hold an incredibly important place in my heart. I know I will remember the day I left for the rest of my life, VAC was the beginning of a lifelong journey. The incredible opportunity VAC has given me is the single most important trip of my life up until this point.