ISV - Volunteer Projects in South Africa

When volunteering on Chintsa South Africa, I had the opportunity to feel like a part of the community. During the day we worked at a primary school; we put up a fence while a herd of cows sat and watched us, plastered a new classroom and built the trusses for the roof, cleaned up and repainted another classroom for the younger kids and spent recess playing with the kids. Then after work we explored local areas:beaches, sand dunes, the township, and of course the local hangout The Barefoot Cafe. The owners of said cafe were warm and welcoming, even letting me help out on a particularily busy night. After the 2 weeks of volunteering, the adventure tour opened the door to numerous opportunities. Walking with elephants, taking food to an orphanage, jumping off cliffs and leaning to surf. I did more in these 4 weeks than the rest of the year!

This program literally changed my life. After volunteering with ISV I realized how much I loved volunteering and completely changed my career plans in hopes of one day working for a Non-profit organization. One year of school left and then out to the real world but I will be forever looking for opportunities to make the lives of others better because of the time I spent in South Africa.

I have been traveling since I was a little girl when my parents started sending me abroad. I love to visit new places and by far South Africa is my favorite place. Meeting new people and seeing new places is my favorite thing. ISV was able to give me this opportunity while helping people in need. My group just happened to be composed of 11 girls from ages 19-24 and for me growing up going to all girl schools this was completely fine for me! We were told we were going to be building a playground and honestly I wondered how we would finished in two short weeks but we worked so hard we finished it before the two weeks ended. We were working at a daycare in a little village and we got to interact with the children, which was my favorite part. This one little boy at the daycare every morning when he saw me he would smile crawl over to me and lift his hands up as to ask me to pick him up. He wasn't even a year old and he made my days better everyday. We had a very diverse group of girls we worked with so when we had discussions we got to broaden our views by seeing the viewpoints of others. ISV made sure we learned about the country we were in and the problems this country we were in were facing and have gone through. This made it an amazing learning experience. After completing 80 hours of service we went on to the adventure part which was so much fun. This adventures pushed our comfort zones to say the least. I sadly misplaced/stolen so I had to go on an adventure of my own to get a new passport in a foreign country. This was definitely pushing myself out of my comfort zone but ISV helped me find accommodation and made sure I was safe along the way and got me caught back up to the group after my two day delay. We got to not only visit South Africa but we visited Swaziland and Mozambique as well. Who cannot complain when going on one trip and seeing three different countries. It was a three for one deal. I learned a lot about myself on this trip. For example, I never knew I didn't like enclosed spaces until some of the activities we did. I also got to learn about the people I met and how much their lifestyles are different than mine. Because of ISV and this opportunity I have changed my major and I am not changing schools to be able to follow my dreams of starting a nonprofit school or orphanage one day and I am forever grateful of that!

I have always loved to travel and I have been a lot of places, but they way I travelled with ISV was different and amazing. Being able to really connect with and impact the community you are visiting really changes how you experience a place. I loved getting to know some of the people in Chintsa East where I was involved in a community development project.

The tour part of the trip was also great. You get to know a group of new, interesting people from other volunteer projects and you get to see crazy stuff. I miss the people I was grouped with and I hope I get to see them again someday. Something about sharing this kind of experience with someone (or a bunch of someones) creates a quick connection.

This program lets you get to know people and places that you wouldn't otherwise get to see.

My only advice if you are thinking about doing a trip through ISV is to contact your in country group leader about what to pack based on your specific project. The more generic packing lists your given are sometimes not entirely accurate.

Overall a great trip that I would definitely recommend!!

This opportunity was completely life changing and turned my world upside down. We were completely immersed in the culture of South Africa. Living in a village surrounded by 7 others, next to a game reserve. We spent two weeks participating in hands on volunteer works in the private reserve. We were able to see many of the iconic animals of Africa, getting up close and personal as we took game drives and assessments. We assisted in collecting data on the flora and fauna of the land, which is amazing experience for students studying in the Environmental fields. We ventured to breathtaking and luxurious parts of South Africa, Swaziland, and finally ending the adventure tour on the beautiful beaches of Mozambique. The adventure tour in itself is worth the cost of the four week+ trip. We packed in more activities than you would be able to do spending months in these counties. Some of the incredible activities we did were hiking, an elephant encounter, visited a wildlife rehabilitation center, kloofing, caving, surfing, scuba diving, swimming in hot springs and making memories with amazing people I will remember forever. This is a once in a lifetime experience I recommend for everyone!

Traveling with ISV to South Africa was the most amazing experience. I positively impacted the community, I met amazing people in my group and throughout our tour, and had so many unforgettable moments. I can't wait to do more traveling abroad.

If anyone is debating whether or not to they should go on this trip, I would highly recommend that they should definitely take the opportunity and do it!!! This truly is the experience of a life time and it will change how you view everything. Volunteering in a third world country is a real eye-opener and it really makes you appreciate life a lot more. The best part of the program is that you're completely immersed in the culture and lifestyle of the country in which you're volunteering. You get tointeract with the locals and see what it's really like for them. ISV makes the experience even better because you're with a group of like-minded students who all share similar interests. I've met some amazing new people and made some lifelong friendships on this trip. Other than the volunteer work, you also get to do and see a bunch of other cool things on your free time. The adventure tour gives you a nice break from all the work and allows you to have fun and travel the country. Overall, this has to be the best experience of my life, and I'm so glad I got to participate in one of ISV's volunteer programs!

I had the most amazing experience with the most amazing people. The volunteering portion will melt your heart and open your eyes while also getting to learn about different cultures. The adventure tour portion is nonstop fun and exploring the whole time.

While all that is great, what made my trip was the staff and the other members of the group. They were all amazing people from all over and I would do it again in a heartbeat.