Affordable Sports Volunteer Programs with IVHQ

Volunteering in Rio de Janeiro was an unforgettable experience. I will always cherish the time I spent playing rugby on Ipanema Beach, soccer in Vasco, and the amazing friendships I created with other volunteers. I went to Rio to learn more about the sports programs they offer to support youth in their communities. I was able to observe and participate in these programs in several capacities, which helped me gain knowledge on the subject that I will use for years to come in my future career as a social worker.

I had a really good time during my 2 week stay at IVHQ Cordoba, and would definitely consider coming back. The coaching itself was probably the best part - despite my lack of Spanish I found myself able to really get involved and have fun with the kids, mainly because of the excellent coaches who I worked alongside. The accommodation is basic but nice - clean bathrooms & bedrooms, as well as a nice communal living area. The volunteer house itself is further outside Cordoba than I had expected, but this turned out to be no bad thing - the town of Villa Allende is pleasant enough, and there is easy access to some good country walks just a short bus ride away. I think if you were staying longer, the distance from Cordoba would be more of an issue, but for 2 weeks it really wasn´t! The food at the accommodation was excellent - home cooked Argentine meals that were really tasty! I found the project staff to be very welcoming and helpful, and they were able to organise Spanish lessons for me with a first class teacher. Overall a great experience and one I would recommend!

My programme concentrated on sports teaching in the town of Frankadua in the eastern region of Ghana. 20 minutes down the road was another town called Asikuma where there was an orphanage in which volunteers from a separate programme were working. After a discussion with these volunteers, along with one of the project leaders it became clear that sport, in particular football was a real passion to many of the boys here, although no real coaching was in place. During my second week I added football coaching at the orphanage to my schedule and although of a lack of equipment coupled with the football pitch being in a poor condition all the boys showed real talent and more importantly a huge passion for the game. Over a short period of time I formed a real close bond with all the players. I then came up with the idea to organise a friendly game with the junior team from frankadua who i was also coaching. When mentioning this to the boys a real energy and excitement was clear to see as these boys had never played a proper football match on a full size pitch with actual grass before. The match was arranged for a weeks time with many things having to be organised including acquiring football boots for the players who didn't have any. In total 6 pairs of football boots were bought and i will never forget how thankful the children were. On game day i had arranged a mini bus to take the boys from Asikuma to Frankadua, the atmosphere during the journey was incredible with all the boys chanting and singing songs, a moment I will never forget. When we arrived at the football pitch there was maybe 100 people there to watch the game. I could see the orphanage team were nervous and this reflected on the match result with Franakdua winning 4-0. In my opinion the score was irrelevant as this was the first ever match for the orphanage and as a football coach i knew that for a team to grow and improve they must learn that there are going to be better teams and in turn defeats. The next day I returned to the orphanage expecting the boys to still be down, however this wasn't the case with all the boys up beat, training hard and asking when the next match would be. This for me meant everything as I gave these boys an incentive to keep playing football and working hard. In Africa life is hard for children and even more so for orphaned children and to just give them something to look forward too and concentrate on was the reason i started the coaching at the orphanage in the first place and I hope future sports volunteers carry this on too.

I recently came back from 4 weeks in Ghana coaching football. I was based in Frankadua located 2 hours away from Accra. It was a really rewarding trip and I feel like I got a lot out of it. I was able to immerse myself in the culture and get to know many of the locals both young and old. The locals were all very friendly and welcoming, greeting you doing the 'snappy handshake' that feels strange but you get hold of soon enough.

During my time I coached two sets of teams, the local town team 'Frankadua bright stars' and one of the local schools EP. This worked well as I was able to engage with a range of ages from 10 to around 25 (total guesses). It can be daunting working with people older than you so be prepared if you are coaching the senior local team but you soon relax into it and there is plenty of help on hand if wanted. I was able to join in with the senior team and make friends with them which made the sessions more enjoyable. Along with the town team we (myself and another volunteer) coached a local school team for an upcoming tournament. We won the original tournament which was a great feeling to see the work paying off and the excitement of the players.

Evans was a great cook and made the best pancakes for breakfast, he also helped me out when I was ill as he took me to the local clinic to be seen for which I am thankful for. I felt very safe in Frankadua as I could walk down the main road and see people I knew from either coaching or otherwise. I met loads of amazing people both fellow volunteers and locals who I spent some fun days and nights with. On the weekends we travelled to various places including the Wli waterfalls which I recommend to anyone. I miss Frankadua a lot and am considering returning in the future.

I spent 6 weeks volunteering with the sports development program and it was a great experience. It was really eye opening seeing how families and children were living and it was great to be able to make a positive impact on their lives. I met so many new people during the program, people I'll definitely stay in contact with. Rio De Janeiro is an amazing city and the volunteer house is in a great location. Zac and Vivi are both really helpful with supporting you and helping you with stuff around the city. The house manager Miguel is also a great guy and lots of fun to be with. Id recommend this program to anyone and encourage people to visit Rio De janeiro. I only wish I was able to stay longer!

The volunteering and social of this programme in Argentina was really good, always fun and offering surprises. On one day for example, myself and the fellow volunteers on my programme left the house after breakfast, and when we arrived at the sports camp we were immediately greeted by all the excited children who were interested in what we had planned for them today! After discussing plans for the day with those who ran the camp, we divided into separate groups and created a big poster for the sports camp. Then we played some football and various smaller games with the kids, and we were able to introduce new games if we knew any! After some food and drink, the kids were very excited to go swimming, and that was fun as after practice they had free time in the pool. It was then the end of camp for the day, so the fellow volunteers and I returned to the house, to be told that we had been invited to the grand events house next door, as this evening it was a 15th Birthday celebration! The gardens and house were amazing and we arrived dressed for the occasion, it was a great experience and we were all very appreciative of being invited! We then celebrated, dancing after a great meal, before returning to the volunteer house!

I volunteered in the surf/swim outreach program through SaltyCrax backpacker outside of Cape Town. SaltyCrax is owned by a woman who is very involved in non-profit work. The backpacker is very nice and all of your meals are prepared for you while volunteering. It is in a much safer location in the suburbs of Cape Town as well.

For the program, we would teach computer classes at a local school in the morning. In the afternoon we would teach the kids how to swim and surf. On cold days, we would play other sports, cook, etc. In addition to our volunteer work, we received free surfing lessons through the program. I was able to surf six times in only two weeks.

The staff at SaltyCrax is awesome. They are all so friendly and very knowledgeable about excursions if you are interested. The IVHQ program also has a volunteer house in Cape Town if you wish to go into town for the weekends. The town around our program and the staff at SaltyCrax were so great that I chose to stay over the weekends.

I was there over Easter, so we were able to go to some local settlements and host an Easter egg hunt as well as hand out our gifts we had brought. The children and families that I met during this program have made a huge impact on my view of the world. This program has so many benefits.

It is a little pricey, but if you have the money I insist that it will be worth it!