The information below has been provided for you by the supported placement organisation running the placement. You can contact the company for more information using the links at the bottom of this page.
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This placement would suit... Adventurous travellers who would like to spend their time on the beautiful coast of South Africa involved with local community support and development initiatives.
 St. Lucia is situated within the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, a beautiful area that was declared as South Africa’s first Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO and which is called by many Africa’s premier bush-and-beach destination. Encompassing almost half a million acres, it is a stunning and ecologically diverse area, where five different eco-systems join, and where you find savannahs, wetlands, swamps, beaches, and a great wealth of wildlife. The area is home to the Zulu tribe; a group of people with a very lively and colourful culture. St. Lucia itself is a comfortable and charismatic town, within walking distance from the beach. In this impressive setting, we offer you the opportunity to interact with and educate AIDS orphans in an orphan day care centre, as well as to get involved in educating the local community about the HIV virus.
Orphan Day Care
The St. Lucia area is heavily affected by HIV/AIDS. It is believed that in some communities, up to 70 percent of people are infected with the virus. As a result, many children are orphaned.
 Most of these children live with their relatives, but they are often left by themselves during the day, as their caretakers have day jobs. To keeps these children off the streets, and to make sure they are well looked after and educated, a local pastor started an orphan day care centre a few years ago. The centre is a heart-warming place, where up to 80 children, ages 1 to 5, get dropped off each morning. The orphans are looked after by a few dedicated local women, who bravely do a fantastic job, but are overwhelmed by the number of children.
As a volunteer, you will help take care of the orphans, and give them the individual attention they desperately need.
You will be involved in the following: - Teaching the children simple English lessons
- Read children’s books to them
- Play general games, sing songs, and do drawings
- Help refurbish the very basic orphanage building
- Help cook for the orphans and bathe them
 HIV/AIDS Education
In St. Lucia’s local community, many myths about HIV/AIDS still prevail. A large percentage of local South Africans believe that the virus is a result of witchcraft, and people infected with it are often rejected from their own communities and families. As a result, many people who are infected do not admit to having the virus. Not many people know how to prevent infection, and even fewer people know how to deal with the virus once they have it.
Working together with a local organization dedicated to fighting the existing myths surrounding HIV/AIDS (and run mostly by people infected with the virus), you will go out into the local communities to help educate people on the nature of the virus. During your project, you will visit both schools and community centres, and do the following: - Explain, through a simple method approved by the UN what the HIV/AIDS virus actually is, and how it affects a human body
- Educate people about how the virus is transmitted, and how infection can be prevented
- Explain how, after infection, life can be prolonged through medication, healthy food, and a more healthy lifestyle
 Additional Community Projects
Besides looking after orphaned children and raising awareness about the HIV/AIDS virus, you will be involved in the following community projects: - Home Based Care Project
Run by a small group of local women, the St. Lucia Home Based Care Project provides sick people with support and medical assistance in their own homes. The patients generally have HIV, TB or Malaria and often cannot afford to go the clinic or hospital. The Home Based Care Project brings food and medical supplies and the patients are given advice on nutrition and the correct way to take their medication. The support group also sometimes cooks and cleans for patients who have no family. As a volunteer, you have the opportunity to join the women on their visits to patients in the community, and contribute to the support they offer.
- Building and Refurbishing Classrooms
Primary schools in St. Lucia are often run down, and have a lack of classrooms, particularly in the more rural and remote areas. As a volunteer, you will visit these schools, and help fix roofs and windows, paint walls and help build new classrooms. You will find that the children and teachers greatly appreciate your presence and support and your work will be highly rewarding.
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08717205439 |
 | Welcome to African Impact - Africa's top on-the-ground facilitator of volunteer work. Our projects focus on making a measurable impact on the people and wildlife in Africa, while ensuring that our volunteers have a safe, enjoyable, adventurous, unforgettable and life-changing experience. We firmly believe that Africa needs to be 'experienced' and not just 'seen' - hence our motto: Explore, Inspire, Impact. We invite you to be more than a tourist - to be a traveller, a conservationist and a humanitarian. |
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