Volunteer Work South Africa

The South Africa of today bears the scars of yesteryear when it was ruled under a white apartheid regime and blacks were considered second or even third class citizens. Although it has made a successful transition to a stable democracy, the years of oppression have left a legacy of cultural violence, lack of education for a generation and widespread poverty, particularly outside the major conurbations.

Today South Africa is ranked in 109th place out of 191 countries and territories in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and living standards in 2021 making it, on paper, a better place to live than in most of Africa, yet it still falls below median global standards.

There are many volunteer organisations to help face the challenges South Africa faces including rampant HIV (nearly 20% of the adult population suffer from the virus), poor education, preventable health care (50,000 children in South Africa die each year from curable diseases or malnutrition) decent housing (one in three children live in inadequate housing), secure food and water sources (half of all South Africa's children do not have access to safe water supplies) to name but a few of these challenges. The key though to undertaking volunteer work in South Africa is to go local. It's a country widely promoted by the big volunteer organisations who make a small fortune out of sending volunteers there, but your experience will be so much more worthwhile if you work in a volunteer project on the ground run by South Africans rather than geared towards the volunteer tourist industry.

Please note that many volunteer opportunities in South Africa were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to the permanent closure of some volunteer opportunities and restrictions on others. Hopefully things are now beginning to return to normal. If you run or know of a volunteer work project in South Africa let us know by contacting us here. We look forward to hearing from you!

Volunteer Work South Africa
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Volunteer South Africa

Volunteer South Africa

Volunteer South Africa

Volunteer South Africa

 


Saep

Volunteer Work South Africa: Volunteer Work South Africa: South African Education and Environment Project

This project empowers young people who are neglected by South Africa's education system.
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Rustic Volunteers

Volunteer Work South Africa: Rustic Volunteers

Volunteer work with orphans and street children in South Africa abandoned due to poverty and HIV/AIDS.
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Zulu Child

Zulu Child

About daily life for a Zulu child in South Africa in information & facts with details of support projects.
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Volunteer Work South Africa
Volunteer Work South Africa

If you are considering undertaking a period of volunteer work in South Africa check out our South Africa profiles page to explore the country before you visit and learn how to make the most of your volunteer work in South Africa.

South Africa Profile  
 
 


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