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Make a real difference...
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to communities across Africa.
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Share skills and knowledge...
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and sponsor children...
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to develop a better future
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...and change lives forever!
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The
history of South Africa, with its population of 58.56 million (2019),
has been well documented elsewhere, especially the country's long
walk to freedom from its oppressive apartheid regime. After the ANC's
success in the country's first non-racial elections in 1994,
installing Nelson Mandela as President, the country has become a
much more liberal society. However 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 in 114th place out of 189 countries and territories in 2019 when
ranked in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and the living
standards of a country. This is significantly above the standing of other
countries in sub-Saharan Africa and places it within the high human
development category signifying progress over the past few years from the position of 121 in 2013.
Despite this, South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world with more than 50% of its population living in poverty and 18.9% in extreme poverty, nearly one in five. Infant mortality rates are running at 27.5 for every 1000 births (compared to 3.4% in the EU for the same period,) with most of thse dying mostly from preventable and treatable causes. UNICEF found that 11.4% of deaths of South African children under five can be attributed to low weight, making low birth weight the second most prominent cause of children's death in the country. South Africa also still has the biggest HIV epidemic in the world, with 7.7 million people (20.4%) living with the condition and it is estimated 1.7 million children have
lost a parent to AIDS and overall roughly 14 percent of all children in South Africa are orphans.
Recent reports indicate five million people in South Africa, mainly in rural areas, lack access to safe water being forced to rely on unsafe streams to drink from, 1.5 million children have no access to proper sanitation and 1.7
million of them live in shacks, with no proper bedding, cooking or washing
facilities. Despite this, South Africa is an emerging market with an
abundant supply of metals and minerals including gold, diamonds and platinum,
however an outdated infrastructure and high rates of unemployment have as yet to
realise the country's full economic potential. Volunteer Work in South Africa focuses on the provision of
education (not least the health effects of Aids), clean water
projects, immunisation and health programs. Our South Africa country profile pages explore many of these
issues from the history of South Africa, its apartheid period to
facts about life in South Africa today.
South Africa Profile: Volunteer in South Africa
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South Africa Profile: South Africa History
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South Africa Profile: South Africa Apartheid
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South Africa Profile: Life in South Africa
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Child Sponsor South Africa: South Africa Children
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South Africa Profile: Zulu Children
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South Africa Profile: South Africa Poverty
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South Africa Profile: South Africa HIV
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South Africa Profile: South Africa Images
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South Africa Profile: South Africa Crime
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South Africa Profile: South Africa Quiz
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South Africa Profile: Child Sponsor South Africa
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South Africa Profile: South Africa Map
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South Africa Profile: South Africa News
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Details of current volunteer work
opportunities in each of the
countries of Africa.
Find how to sponsor a child in Africa
with our list of organisations,
charities, programs and projects.
Discover all about Africa, its tourist
attractions, history, people, culture
and daily life there.
