SAVE Volunteering Humanitarian Projects

I was working with SAVE Foundation, in Cape Town for 3 and a half months and what an experience it was! I was part of both the Educare Programme and the 'Teach, Surf & Skate Project'. Save Foundation work with the children and schools based within Dunoon, which is one of Cape Towns biggest townships. The staff in the Cape Town are truly amazing, ensuring that all volunteers are safe and happy at all times, nothing was ever too much to ask. They ensured our safety and well being during our stay as well as making sure we had fun and all the resources to help the schools and children we work with. The sense of community between Save Foundation and locals in Dunoon is extraordinary - seeing families and children running after the minibus or just simply calling Shannon (Cape Town coordinator) when she’s dropping the volunteers off. The children in this community are truly wonderful, warm hearted and have so much love. Even with extremely limited resources, all the children are so happy to see the volunteers at school with them. The schools and volunteers are important for the children so they have a focus during their time; especially the older children who can easily get into the wrong crowd at such a young age.
When working on the educare programme, I worked at Sunshine Educare based in Wolvervier (a settlement just outside of Dunoon) and Good Hope Educare. Sunshine Educare is a pre-school and learning centre for an extremely neglected community which has recently been relocated to a new site called Wolwerivier. There was no safe place for children during the day and no access to an educational facility before the age of 6 years old. During my time at Sunshine, it was the Holiday Club programme where all children from the settlement were allowed to come to the school for a safe place to play and be kids. The volunteers would organise sports games, activities, arts and crafts for the children as well as be there to love and nurture the younger children, caring for each child with great enthusiasm.
Sunshine Educare also run a Christmas project where they supply each child with a Christmas present that has been funded by volunteers fundraisers and donations. All donations of presents and toys were set out like a toy store for the children to come into the room and chose one toy they would like to take home. For most of the children, this is the only time they will receive their own present that they have chosen. The joy and excitement on the kids faces were so warming, and immediately after receiving the toy they were playing with their friends in the settlement.
The second school I worked at was Good Hope Educare, based in Dunoon. Good Hope had been moved to a new building in Dunoon, therefore at the start of the programme we set up the school, clearing and cleaning out the building so it was sanitised for a safe place for children to play and learn in. We also painted and decorated all the classrooms, to make it a more inviting and vibrant space for the children to be in.
The children in this school were aged 1-7 years and the volunteers have the joy of watching each child learn and develop through the process. Each volunteer is assigned to a class and teaches the children maths, English, colours, science, shapes, art in fun and engaging ways. Most of the teaching is taught through play and vocabulary stimulation, which enables the children to stay engaged and understand the volunteers. Volunteers helped stimulate the babies and toddlers with developmental toys, touch and by speaking English to them.
The final project I was apart of was the Adventure Surf Club, where the children from Vissershook primary would come to learn swimming, skating, sports and surfing with the volunteers after school. Before this programme, I had never surfed or skated before, however thanks to the fantastic staff members I was able to learn a new skill too! The afternoon project for these children was a fun activity they could do each day, knowing they would be in a safe place and leave with a huge smile on their faces! It is all about learning whilst having fun for these children and I know that I certainly had fun with these kids! They bring so much joy and enthusiasm to the programme, that makes it so rewarding to work with them everyday!
The accommodation that SAVE provides is always clean and tidy, not to mention the fantastic meals we received, cooked by the amazing mumma Coll. The social side with the Volunteers was also great, being able to spend your free time in the heart of Cape Town or just chilling at the beach. Overall, I had a fantastic experience and can't wait to go back to South Africa and work with this incredible organisation!

My time at SAVE was incredible! I’ve done a few volunteer trips now with different organisations and in different countries but SAVE by far was the most organised and fulfilling. The team in the Cape Town base are amazing, nothing was too much or too little. From keeping us all safe, making sure we had fun and had the right tools to help the organisation! I did 3 weeks in the sports program, we visited schools through the day and helped out where needed. On a normal school day we were working with children ages 1 to 7 teaching basic English, Maths and life skills along with lots of loving cuddles and dancing. The kids in the schools are truly heart warming and wrenching all at the same time, be prepared to get attached! The school I was in was in a township and the head teacher was a truly incredible woman, she taught me the ways of the people in SA, took us on a tour of the township and opened my eyes to many walks of life. In the afternoon the kids would come to our accommodation where we would teach them how to swim, in the swimming pool by the houses, take them out to skate board along the side of Blouberg beach, or take them to other beaches to surf. On arrival, I had never skated or surfed don’t let this put you off the permanent staff there were amazing, they taught all us rookies new skills and the kids didn’t even care! In fact I think they enjoyed giggling at me attempting the skate board! It’s all about having fun and those kids there know exactly how to do it if you’re willing to dive in and go for it! Accommodation is clean and maintained, and mama Cols cooking is DELICIOUS! There are varied options and lots of social nights where everyone from different protects get time to have dinner together! Overall my experience was 11/10, your days are long but so rewarding, your downtime is incredible and you’re encouraged to go see as much of Cape Town as you can, staff will help out with where to go what to see and there is always someone on call! I’ll be definitely paying my SA family a visit in the future! Until then my lovely’s xx

A friend told me about the SAVE Adventure program and he was so excited I immediately booked my trip. When I left I really needed the escape from Holland since it was super busy and stressful with university and social life. Form the moment of arriving I was in good hands. They showed us around Capetown and the group of fellow volunteers were beyond amazing and we became good friends very fast. I never wanted to go to bed, just to spend more hours awake at SAVE. Also, waking up was never so easy and fun since I got to work with all the people around me and the kids again. I felt like a kid myself and enjoyed every bit of it. It made me reflect on my own life, and I found out what is important in life for me. I would have never been the person who I now am, without the SAVE experience. Everything was well arranged, there was plenty room for own projects, if anything they support that. So to conclude; take on this adventure! It is definitely worth everything. The organisation takes care of its volunteers, its staff and its kids in the Townships. It is very trustworthy. Have fun!

My experience with SAVE volunteering was so incredible that it’s hard to find words to give justice to everything I gained from working with all the kids in Cape Town. From each activity, I have personally learned many valuable life lessons in helping others. I began to realize that there is nothing more valuable than helping people who are not able to help themselves. In a world today that's so revolved and obsessed with money, it was fulfilling that I did something to make a real difference in the life of these little kids.

Overall the work was far more rewarding than I expected. I've learnt so much and I wouldn't trade this experience with anything else. I’ll never forget the smile some of the children gave me. I've volunteered three times with SAVE by now and I can recommend everyone to volunteer with SAVE :)!!! I don't know when, but I know that I'll go back one day!

I volunteered with save for three month on their educare program and it was the best three months of my life! The kids and the teachers gave me so much life and inspiration. The relationship I built with the two teacher at Good Hope will forever be a most valued memory. I am so happy to be back and working with SAVE. Working in the community everyday is a true privilege i’m very grateful for. I think volunteering with the projects save offers is a valuable and educational time spent that everyone will take wisdom from. Instead of a nice vacation in fancy places, you should come here and do something meaningful for our dear kids and community. The accommodation the volunteers stay in feels like a home and the staff is always very helpful if we feel like we are missing something and making sure we are comfortable.

It’s amazing to be a part of something bigger than yourself. I met such an amazing people, every single one had a different way of living. Togheter you help the kids to have a better life. You will love the kids with you’re whole heart. Education is the best weapon to change the world. Save is not just a organization, save is a family where you can be a part of. The food was cooked by such a sweet women. But you have to understand that she has to cook for more than 40 people, and they also need the money for food in the townships. So the food is good! But different than you maybe used to. The location is perfect, close to the beach, supermarket, shoppingmall, little restaurants, 30 minutes to the center of Cape Town and there is a swimmingpool.

The staff at SAVE absolutely make this experience amazing. Cool, down to earth, helpful, I can’t say enough about them. The projects are fun and impactful. The kids are great and you can see this program is making a difference for them. I did the holiday project which consisted of beach days, surfing, educational scavenger hunts at the waterfront, hiking and more. The Table View location is a short walk from a nice beach with plenty stores and anything else you could need nearby. You will have some down time and days off to explore. There are some amazing hikes nearby like Lion’s Head and Table Mountain. Downtown Cape Town isn’t far at all. This was an experience I will be forever grateful for and hope to come back soon! Thank you SAVE!!!!!

I’ve been volunteering at save foundation for 8 weeks and I totally loved it. It was easy to get into the program as the staff is really welcoming and concerning about that everyone feels well. The orientation helped a lot at the beginning. The program itself is good organized and a lot of diverse things are going on. The organization is really open if you would like to do any adventures. Also the surf was such a fun time!! All in all it has been a very good time there and I would highly recommend to go there :)