Program Reviews

When I discovered VACorps in September, I applied immediately on a whim, but the thought of actually coming to South Africa and doing an internship here in the midst of a pandemic seemed laughable and almost dream-like. But there was the VACorps staff, instantly walking me through the rest of my application, meeting with me with less than a few hours’ notice, asking me about my personal and professional interests and my preferred internship placement. They were so dedicated to making this happen for me, and for that, I am beyond grateful.

When I finally arrived in Cape Town, halfway across the world and knowing no one, I was so nervous. But VACorps made the transition so fluid. Within two hours of landing, we were already on a hike and then exploring the city’s neighborhoods. The orientation week was absolutely perfect; it provided an ideal mix of structure and independence such that I could instantly acclimate to my new home.

It is hard to pinpoint the highlight of this journey because every part of it has met and surpassed my expectations. My internship (where I work with and teach refugees) has been so interesting and fulfilling—I genuinely look forward to going to work each day. Weekends in Cape Town are even more amazing. There are an endless amount of once-in-a-lifetime activities to do here: snorkeling with seals, sandboarding, wine tasting, hiking Table Mountain, skydiving, bungee jumping, shark cage diving, seeing wild animals on a safari, swimming with penguins, surfing, or tanning at the most gorgeous beaches. Cape Town is undoubtedly the coolest place I have ever been to. I’ve spent three months here, and I can say with absolute certainty that I could spend three more and never run out of things to do.

I am so sad to be leaving Cape Town, but I will cherish the people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve had for a very long time. Coming here has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and easily the highlight of my gap year. I would recommend VACorps to any independent and adventurous individual enthusiastically and without reservation.

Being a part of VACorps has been amazing for a number of reasons. Not only did I learn about myself as an individual living alone, but I also learned about the unique cultures and people of South Africa. At my internship, I was given incredible opportunities and responsibilities that taught me more than 4 years in a classroom could have. I especially loved when I was thrown right into the deep end at my internship site and was asked to fill in for a guest on live TV on my second day of work. I loved the community here and the freedom, not to mention the insane landscape and natural beauty. I stayed for three months and enjoyed every second of it, though at some points I did feel very far from home. I loved every member of the staff and especially loved hanging out with Kholi and Kuselwa. I am grateful for the accessibility and generosity of the staff. No matter the issue, I was always able to text Oliver, Leanne, or any others with questions and the response was quick and helpful. I will miss everything about Cape Town but mostly the food and the group of interns at VACorps.

I found VACorps when I was looking for a program to travel and learn during the pandemic. VACorps turned out to be an extremely reliable and consistent organization that always answered my questions and shared my and my parent's values of safety, fun, and learning abroad. They placed me with an internship that aligned with my career ambitions but was more virtual than I would have liked, were very accommodating when I decided to switch internships, and found me a better fit at an NGO. While working at my internship site, I learned a lot about the inner workings of NGOs, how to propose a budget, public schools in South Africa, and much more. It was a great learning experience and will be very helpful as a resume addition in the future.

My time in Cape Town was an experience I will never forget. I made lots of friends, tried many new things I have never done before, like bungee jumping, canyoning, and paragliding, and had an overall amazing time. I especially loved the VACorps Friday activities and outings, like camping at Cederbergs, Garden Route, and Kruger. Living in Obz and getting to know the area was also great, and by the end, I definitely felt at home there.

The last three months in Cape Town were undoubtedly some of the best of my life! The city itself is unrivaled in natural beauty. VACorps provides a program packed with interesting experiences, and the community we formed embarked on more adventures than some have in a lifetime. The summer months were heavenly with perfect temperatures for beach days, hikes, surfing, and pool parties. Cape Town is insanely trending with very cool venues. I loved every minute. I also really feel blessed to have worked at my internship site, a psychiatric clinic for adolescents, where each employee was professional and pleasant to work with. I’ll never forget the lessons I learned or the people I’ve met. Thank you VACorps for making so many dreams come true and for providing us with a community to experience it all with.

I was terrified to come to Cape Town and live in an apartment with seven strangers, but after three months here I can confidently say that it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. After the first week, I had already become amazing friends with my roommates and now we are inseparable. My internship was the perfect fit for me as a future nursing student and I learned so much more than I could have imagined. I loved all of our Friday activities from wine tasting to Cape Point. But what I loved most about my time here in Cape Town was just spending time at 197 with everyone on a Friday night or going to Ferdinando’s with my roomies on two for one Tuesday. Those moments are what I will miss the most- spending time with the amazing group of people I have gotten to know here. I am so grateful to VACorps for allowing me to learn so much not just about nursing, but about South Africa and all of its beauty. It is sad to leave but I am grateful for all the memories that I get to take home with me.

Visiting Cape Town had always been on my bucket list, so I was ecstatic when I learned that I had the chance to live here for three months. Since the first half of my gap year had been mostly traveling for fun, I wanted to spend the second half doing something that would involve work and would help prepare me for college. Arriving in Cape Town I was both excited and apprehensive about what I would experience over the next three months. Any doubts I had quickly evaporated though, as I spent my orientation week meeting fellow interns and beginning to explore Cape Town. After living here for three months, I can definitely say that Cape Town is one of the coolest places I have ever been. The amount of activities that you can do here is insane, let alone the incredible food, culture, and scenery. My favorite times here were the weekends because we got chances to do fun activities like skydiving, sandboarding, wine tasting, hiking, and many other things. I particularly enjoyed the VACorps weekly activities because they allowed us to do things that would otherwise be difficult to organize, like visiting Cape Point. I am so grateful for my time in South Africa and I will miss it dearly once I am gone.

I decided to take a gap year pretty late in the summer, and due to that decision, I did not have much time to plan. In the fall, I visited family and worked in Norway, but I knew that I wanted to find something more exciting and I wanted to travel to a new country. So I decided to look for some gap year programs, and VACorps seemed like the best fit for me. They helped me get set up in Cape Town with an internship, housing, and activities, but we were also given the freedom to explore the city and have fun. It was also nice to know that if I got into any trouble, VAC would help me out and make sure I was well taken care of. Orientation week was amazing, I was able to get a sense of the city. Also, the support from the VACorps staff was great.

I have had plenty of memorable experiences here, from going on a safari in Kruger, surfing at Muizenberg, going up to Table Mountain, and also plenty of memories from working on Manelisi’s Urban Farm. At the farm, I worked with two other interns and we made a pretty sizeable impact. We were able to help them start their sizeable renovation, help them with their daily tasks, and it was also an opportunity to learn more about the people on the farm, their background, and also make meaningful connections. Finally, Cape Town was a beautiful city, I will miss it a lot and hopefully, I will come here again.

After the COVID-19 hit the globe, I was worried I would not be able to have an experience out of the United States. I loved the community of people that I met through both VACorps and my internship site. I loved learning about South African culture from Buddy Chats with Kuselwa and Kholi.

I hope to keep in contact with both VACorps and my internship site, as I hope to visit South Africa one day in the future. I really enjoyed the projects I was given because they afforded me the opportunity to learn and develop a new skill. I never had to create an informational brochure or a workbook before, but I am glad I got the opportunity to do so.

I chose a remote internship in South Africa because of the projects offered by the program-- it matched with what I want to do professionally in the future. What I loved the most about my remote internship was the people I worked with; communicating with my colleagues was fun and easy. What I learned about myself is that I do well when working with others and can take constructive criticism and create something everyone can agree on. What I will miss the most is creating and planning projects with my team.

Prior to the start of my remote internship experience, I wanted to become more comfortable and practice creating social media posts and I was able to accomplish this goal! I also enjoyed editing a project proposal for funding because I was able to put my excel skills to use!

I originally chose South Africa to do an internship in-person, but unfortunately Covid-19 ruined those chances. I wanted to intern in South Africa because I believe it has a very interesting culture, it is a place that comes with a sense of adventure and I wanted to be doing something that was positive and helping those in need. I chose to do Human Rights Law with a South African company because I wanted to gain industry experience that I could use in my future career as a lawyer in Australia.

I learnt a lot about South African law, the struggles many people face in SA and the difficulties of Zimbabwean refugees. I learnt a lot from my cultural sessions and wish I had more time with my team. I will miss the calls with the VACorps staff, they were really friendly and did their best to deliver an authentic experience for me.

There is a lot of value I received from working with a NGO that defends the rights of refugees living in South Africa-- personally, I think I developed a lot as a person because of this experience. I am more culturally aware because of this experience. Working with my internship site supervisor was great. It was really inspiring to see someone work so hard for making the world a better place.