Why did you decide to volunteer with African Impact in South Africa?
Lily: I had had bad experiences with volunteer projects before so wanted to find one where I was worked hard and that made a difference. I found African Impact when I searched online and noticed that for this particular medical project you did not need to be studying medicine. I was also very interested in doing some work in HIV awareness as KwaZulu-natal has a very high prevalence of it.
What made me decide to go with African Impact was that when I emailed them for more information they emailed me back promptly offering to phone me to discuss any questions I had. They were so friendly and efficient that I decided they would be a good company to volunteer for.
What made this experience unique and special?
Lily: The project manager explained their vision and how the project was aiming to be sustainable. You really got to understand what they were doing and how you were helping. We were volunteering in local villages and helping in severely poor areas that really needed help. The local village people were so friendly and smiley, they were a pleasure to be around.
Besides from the volunteering, the project is based in iSimangaliso Wetland Park giving volunteers great opportunities for safari activities at the weekend. There was also the opportunity to go to a cheetah park, swim with dolphins in Mozambique, cruise on St.Lucia estuary to see crocodiles and hippos or if you are really brave have a go at canoeing on it. Not to be missed is the Zulu night which is run in the local village of Khula. You get to sample local food, music, dance and have a peek at their culture.
How has this experience impacted your future?
Lily: I left the project with a slightly heavy heart because so much needed to be done there and the conditions the people had to live in were terrible. Nevertheless I feel like I really did contribute to something great. I keep up to date with what the project is currently doing and I really do hope I can return someday for longer.
In terms of jobs and academia, I get asked about the experience in job interviews and I always include it on my CV or when applying for university places. I got to broaden my experiences and work on my initiative. I got involved in so many different things that it can really be applied to any job application.
Morning: We all had an early morning start at 7am and helped ourselves to breakfast; a choice of fruit, cereal, yoghurt, tea and coffee. The volunteer house was home for the volunteers of the Medical Outreach/HIV Awareness project and of the Orphan Day Care/HIV Awareness Project. However the activities of both projects often over-lapped. All the volunteers made sure each of the three vehicles were packed up, we piled into each one and went off to our different activities for the morning.
I was on the medical outreach project but for my first week I was teaching HIV education to primary school kids. In the morning we would arrive at the crèche in Khula village and play with the children until it was time to walk to the school. Other volunteers remained at the crèche to teach there. The walk took at least a good thirty minutes and it wound through the local village. We passed many locals who would warmly shout "Sawubona". Right on queue we would reply with "Yebo. Unjani?", trying to use as much of the Zulu language we learnt in our induction. At the school we picked up the chalk from the office and headed to the classroom. When the bell rang the class piled in and took their seats. We taught in English and planned the lesson plans the night before. The class would have six lessons over two weeks.
On the final lesson the kids would take a test. It was up to us to make sure they understood the information so they could not only pass their test but be aware of the risks of HIV transmission. After the lesson we would walk back to the crèche to help out there until we headed back to the volunteer house to all have lunch together.
Afternoon: After we had all finished lunch we packed up the jeeps again ready for our afternoon work. This tended to be different everyday. I got involved in the after school club in one of the local villages, gave medical help in local homes, made bricks to build a new crèche, taught adults HIV education, attended women support groups and weeded the vegetable patches that were made by the local women to feed families and give them an income.
Every day was different. Some of it was physically hard work and emotionally tough but it was always rewarding. We were usually supervised by one of two local women who were a good laugh and they could translate for us during conversations with the local people. The afternoon sessions ended before dinner time where again we all joined up at the volunteer house to eat and tell everyone about the progress we had made during the day. With so many volunteers at the table it was never quiet. Beofre dinner there was always time to head into the town of St.Lucia to grab a coffee or a slice of cake. (The illy cafe does an amazing variety of flavoured lattes).
Evening: The evening time was our free time but, if like me, you had lessons to give in the morning, it was often first spent discussing with your fellow volunteers the proposed plan for the next days lesson. The volunteer house has a pool but believe me South Africa's winter is cold! A couple brave ones jumped in and quickly got out shaking like a leaf.
A couple of us every night would head down to the Babooshka bar to have a boogie or get to know the local people. We had to watch out for hippos on the walk home though - yes we encountered hippos on the road!
Highlights: It is so hard to pick just one highlight because there were so many of them: most of my class passing their school test, hearing Primrose continually laugh at after school club and getting easily beat in a game of netball against the village's girls team on national women's day. I enjoyed the project so much that I extended my stay and I'm still trying to find a time when I can go back to it.
Beside the volunteering I made amazing friends who I am still in contact with and even came face-to-face with a hippo!