Social Work and Youth Development

Join a team of caring childcare workers in South Africa at a daily drop-off centre for youth at risk. This is fantastic project for educators, counsellors, social work, psychologists or those with similar interests. The main aim is to assist and support the social worker and auxiliary social worker in their daily program with the youth that are all there voluntary. For those wishing to do this project as a social work internship, that can be arranged too.

The centre is set in one of the poorer areas of Knysna, the town in which the project is based, and the youth that attended the centre are fetched every morning and dropped off later. There is a daily program and the youth have programs from life skills, art therapy, sports, numeracy, literacy, reading, music to personal development and more.

As many of the youth are school dropouts, the project runs in the school term with the long term aim of facilitating the youth back into local schools if at all possible and preparing them to deal with the challenges that they face in the education system and in life.

Many of the youth have challenges at school due to learning disabilities which in the long run ends up with them dropping out of school. The childcare workers try and address those challenges so that help can be given. They also actively have parenting sessions too so that families are equipped to be a solid support structure.

Occasionally adolescent development programs are run in nearby schools to try and prevent future dropping out of schools by leaners who are battling.

We love any volunteers with a passion for youth upliftment and helping with socio-economic issues so any skills or just enthusiasm will be of a great benefit. Please let us know if you have any special interests or talents that we can utilize to enhance your time and to benefit the project

There are a few activities that you can take part in after-school. You can either help with the children at the local safe house with their homework, the after-school club with the youth development centre, assist with grassroots soccer coaching, visit the local elephant park, shopping, have lunch at the Waterfront on the estuary edge, hike the Pledge nature reserve or just getting a well deserved nap as the children can be exhausting as they have so much energy. Please note that after-school activities do not take place every afternoon.

7.30 to 8am- Get up, get ready and have a bite to eat. It is advisable to prepare a snack for the day especially if you are staying for the after-school group. 

8.30am - Be collected at your volunteer accommodation and taken to the centre. The youth that attend the centre will be arriving around the same time after being collected from 8am and they will also make sure the centre is tidy for the day's activities

9am - Sylvia the cook serves the youth a nutritious breakfast to give them energy for the day. This is the perfect time to get acquainted with the youth and form a rapport. You can also assist Sylvia if you have some ideas for a fun breakfast- or even prepare a typical breakfast found in your country. After breakfast some of the youth will take care of the chore of washing dishes

9.30am- Now it is time for a fun short session of motivation  which has lots of singing and dancing to set the mood for the day and get energy levels up. It is also a great icebreaker for new volunteers and new youth registered at the centre

10am- The daily sessions now start and depending on the day of the week could be any of numeracy lessons, literacy lessons, art therapy in the form of working with clay or banner painting projects, personal development sessions dealing with topics like anger management, peer group pressure, substance abuse, children's rights, bullying and skills development like cooking and sewing 

13pm- Lunch is served for the youth followed by some last minute chores of making sure the dishes are done and the centre is tidy. After lunch is a perfect time to enjoy some sports development with the youth before they get dropped off for the day

2 to 2.30pm- The youth are dropped off for the day and you will be fetched and taken back to your volunteer accommodation unless you are staying for the after-school club. Your time is now your own for a little shopping, sightseeing or other activities that the project offers like helping with homework at a local children's safe house

Volunteers are also welcome to stay later for the optional after-school club which takes place between 3.30pm and 5pm. The after-school club  is open for all school attending  children in the community and sports, board games, helping with homework and other fun and educational activities take place

There is a wealth of activities in the area to suit most volunteers from the extreme sports lovers who would like to jump the world's highest bridge bungee which is only an hour away, paraglide, skydive, hike the magical forest home to the last most southern free-roaming elephants, take a surfing lesson or snorkel one of the ship wrecks in the lagoon to those who love animals and wildlife with primate, bird, predator and elephant sanctuaries in the vicinity, horseback and vehicle wildlife safaris and whale and dolphin boat based viewing. For those who enjoy shopping there are plenty of interesting shops and many local weekend markets filled with delicious food and unique arts and crafts. A variety of restaurants cater for those looking to try some of the delicious food South Africa is known for and also included is a Saturday tour of markets and wildlife viewing and a Sunday South African braai (BBQ)