About the Program

The South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (SANCCOB), a non-profit organization in Port Elizabeth, South Africa; is focused on the care of sick or injured African Penguins (also known as Jackass Penguins) as well as other marine birds such as gannets, cormorants and seagulls. The work of SANCCOB is vital for the safety of the largest breeding colony of African Penguins in the world which is situated on St Croix Island right off the shore of Port Elizabeth in the Indian Ocean.

This is the only centre in Port Elizabeth that has the capacity to collect washed-up penguins who are sick, hurt or exhausted; and to treat any diseases they may have, give them a vitamin boost, fatten them up and release them into the bay again.

They will re-learn how to catch fish independently with a definite advantage, being made fit and fat by volunteers.

There are currently only 25 000 breeding pairs of African Penguins left in the world, and 21000 of those are mostly right here on our doorstep in Algoa Bay.

The centre’s purpose isn´t just to rescue and rehabilitate, but also to inform and educate the general public through their different programs. The extensive displays at the centre give tourists, school groups and other visitors the opportunity to learn about these endangered birds but also a wider variety of marine life in the beautiful and incredibly diverse Algoa Bay.

Volunteers are needed for the diversity of tasks that come with caring for the penguins and other rescued birds, as well as the educational purpose of the centre. Volunteers will feed and clean the penguins, maintain their enclosures, welcome visitors and guide them through the educational centre, go out on occasional rescues and assist with releases. 

HOW CAN I HELP?

Fundraising & Donations 

Fundraising is an ongoing task when running non-profit programs. You will be charged for a compulsory donation, but if you feel motivated to do even more just let us know and we will provide any information you might need. Volunteer your time and energy! 

Days: 

The centre is open 365 days of the year and needs volunteers throughout the year. Volunteers work 5 days per week from Monday to Sunday from about 8h00-17h00 with a lunch break 13h00-14h00 and short tea breaks during the morning and afternoon. This means that you will be asked to work on weekends but then you will have two days off during the week. Some days might start earlier or later and in summertime, due to the heat, hours can change. 

Supervision: 

You will be supervised by our Volunteer Coordinators who will pick you up upon arrival, make sure you are settled in, show you around the city and prepare your work activities at SANCCOB. They will transfer you to and from the project, make sure the shopping is done and organize fun outings for the weekends. At SANCCOB your work will be supervised by one of the staff members who will allocate daily tasks and activities to you. They will also be the people to report to in the mornings and sign out before you leave again at the end of the day.

BUT IS SOUTH AFRICA SAFE?

Despite general ideas of South Africa being very unsafe, it is important to know that South Africa is known to many as very friendly and welcoming. But please remember that you must realise that in big cities you must stick to a certain behaviour to avoid complicated situations. As 70% of people live in poverty and few are extremely rich, the differences in life and hope for a better future creates a situation that fuels crime, lack of education, substance abuse, domestic violence and many more problems. 

Your safety is very important, and your host will look after you to the best of their ability. We do expect you to do your bit and keep to our safety guidelines. Common sense if you best friend when it comes to safety, but here are a few guidelines:

• Do not walk alone or at night, use an Uber.
• Walk in a group where possible and stay on roads where you are in sight of other people.
• Do not walk around with visible valuables.
• Do not carry a backpack on your stomach; it shows you have valuables and are a tourist.
• Be confident and know where you are going without standing on corners looking at your phone.
• Have a phone on you but do not walk around while calling.
• The project manager at the project will give you additional guidelines that must be followed.