Through our many years of experience, we have built up fruitful relationships with a great number of different institutions in Cape Town. The institutions cover a wide range of humanitarian work with vulnerable people of any age and suits the needs of volunteers and students who wish to make a difference and learn in the process.
Contact Cecilie or Ida for more information on specific institutions and how they could match your needs.
Children Homes
The children homes are divided in the age groups infant to preschool children and children of school going age. The children are either neglected, abandoned, abused, orphaned and are accepted at the homes irrespective of HIV status, general health, race or gender. If the situation allows it, the aim is to reunite the child with the family working intensively within the children’s communities and families to improve the circumstances from which they were removed.
The overall objective of any children’s home is to create a homely, safe and friendly environment for the children. The daily work is to improve the quality of life, see to individual needs of therapy and health issues and stimulate the child accordingly to the age of development.
Youth home
A place for young disadvantaged men who is learning to stand on their own two feet. The young men come from diverse backgrounds and cultures but have the same in common – they grew up underprivileged in shelters or on the street. The home is a true home were the men and the staff is committed to pursuit independence for each of the members of the family, because that is what they call themselves – a family. Daily, attending school and educating oneself and staying healthy is prioritized. This is a place for youth who wants to make a change in life – a change for the better.
Schools
Ordinary schools deal with learners that come from the poorer communities and informal settlements of diverse backgrounds where poverty and abuse are present. The daily challenges are to find the time to assist the learners’ needs on an individual level often having to accommodate behavioural problems.
One of the schools offer workshops for the older learners to prepare them for providing for themselves later on. The learners in that school have been abandoned from the regular school system.
Schools for learners with specials needs care for both mental and physical disabilities in the range of cerebral palsy, muscle dystrophy, spina bifida, severe arthritis, certain syndromes or genetic abnormalities, Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The environment is multi-disciplinary and the work takes place both indoor in classrooms, in the rehabilitation facilities and outdoors e.g. workshops, sports, gardening, swimming and horse riding.
Hospitals
Cape Town hospitals come in any sizes and specialty levels. It is possible to do both great volunteer work and inspiring internships in an environment challenged by economics and ethics so different from Scandinavia. The hospitals and clinics are all public and the exposure to diverse diseases, cultures and languages is enormous.
As a volunteer the work is predominantly in the children ward but because of admin duties one is exposed to the whole hospital. An elective as a student, no matter profession, will be challenging – the academic level is high and very educational.
Women homes
Abused women and their children enrol at one of these homes to get back on track in life. The women are attending treatment, counselling, skills workshops like keeping a household, keeping a budget, health, hygiene, HIV, addiction awareness, AIDS awareness, CV writing, house hunting, beadwork, sewing, decoupage, card making, fabric painting, and computer literacy classes.
The children are taking care of at the home’s daycare or they attend schools. Initially, the women and children live in rooms within a communal house with 24-hour staff but later they move into the second stage housing of more individual living to prepare them for eventually living on the own providing for their children.
Educational support and skills development centre
This project is in the township. The objective is to provide comprehensive after school care & remedial teaching to vulnerable children in the township, aged 6-14 years and support families who care for vulnerable children and orphans through our Parent Centre providing holistic education to adults.
Children benefit from a safe environment where they feel safe, nurtured and loved; where they learn, play and grow and are encouraged to develop hope for the future.
