Volunteer at a pre-school set in an impoverished semi-rural community in South Africa. Our partner pre-school, situated 40 km outside Pretoria, serves the rural community and the nearby traditional Ndebele village. The pre-school is the only one in the area and serves a growing community need. The facilities have been upgraded with the help of previous volunteers. All kind of teaching / tutoring support and further upgrading of the facility is welcome.

All types of volunteers are needed to increase Sibongile's skills, to help with the children and improve the facilities. The crèche was established in 2005 by Sibongile Mthimunye and originally accommodated 8 children, ages 2 to 6. The school was originally housed in a rented, old un-electrified cinema building with below-basic facilities. 

Sibongile now owns her own house and crèche thanks to the help of our volunteers! In 2006, Sibongile moved to her own 3-roomed house and ran her crèche from one of the rooms. The brightly painted school attracted the attention of the local community who enrolled more and more children. The numbers swelled and soon the one room became too small for all the children. In 2007 Sibongile's dream came true and our volunteers built a 45 square metre room for her use. The numbers have again swelled to around 19 children aged from 2 to 6 years. 

This is our most popular volunteer project because volunteers want to meet, live with and share their time with people on the ground in South Africa. You can stay either in the community in one of the local homes or be accommodated in a traditional Ndebele village in their Lodge - the choice is yours! During your stay you will come to terms with much of the hardships and realities of rural life in South Africa. It may take a while coming from an urbanised city to get used to the way of life and realities on the ground, however, the riches you gather are well worth it.

This rural community has been historically marginalised, as it fell under the "independent homeland" of Bophutatswana under the old Apartheid regime. The lack of infrastructure and economic development are still evident to this day even under the new South Africa as rural development takes a back seat to urbanisation and upgrading of major townships like Soweto. Mapoch Ndebele Village also finds itself in the same marginalised position as the Ndebele were forcibly removed under the Group Areas Act of the Apartheid government to their present site.

Our Home-stay option gives our volunteers the opportunity to interact at a grass root level. The benefits that your homestay provides economically cannot be under-estimated. Many of the households are impoverished and your fees will provide much welcome income to the homes we have identified. Regular meals are supplemented by the volunteer's fees and are enjoyed with the family. Voluntours has personally visited each home that is selected and met with the people you will be staying with. We have identified a few homes in the community that have sufficient infra-structure and facilities for our volunteers to stay in. All our homeowners are well briefed on the volunteer programme and are pleased to be able to accommodate you. We have provided education and information to them in preparation for your stay. However, no amount of preparation can hide their initial nervousness and desire to "spoil" you.

On the other hand, if you prefer more creature comforts, then the Lodge in the nearby Ndebele village is more suited to your needs. The Lodge has comfortable twin bed rooms, TV, flush toilets and a shower. YOU may enjoy your meal either in the small conference centre / restaurant or share it with a family in the village. The village inhabitants still live in a traditional manner and practice their time-old customs, despite the influence of modernisation. The village is relatively un-commercialised and you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself and experience life from a unique perspective. The houses and enclosures are painted with the colourful geometric patterns for which the Ndebele are famous. Our volunteers are welcome to see and experience their traditional customs should they coincide with your stay

The "Project Contribution" included in your overall fee will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the project during your actual volunteer stay on the ground. On your return home you may continue to support the project financially with donations via TravAid, a UK-based charity, or via our separate Donations Account. Please enquire with our office for further information.