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Name: Kelly Aldersley
Gap Year Project: Sarah Fox, Cape Town Volunteers
How was your experience in Africa?
I love Cape Town. It has everything you could possibly want from a city - great shopping, crazy nightlife, more cafes and diverse restaurants than you could ever possibly eat in, adventure activities, spectacular scenery, stunning beaches, and that's just the city centre!
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On free weekends we travelled along the garden route, went on safari, took a wine tasting tour, and travelled down the peninsular to see the very cute penguins at boulders beach and cape point. People make a big fuss about the crime rates there, but as long as you're sensible and work out which areas to avoid, it's safe. The people of South Africa contributed so much to my experience; I met so many friendly people and had some very funny conversations with all kinds of people on buses and in supermarkets!
Volunteering in Cape Town and staying for 2 months meant that I really got to immerse myself in the culture and experience a side of the city that most tourists never see.
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What did you think of the Project?
The only problem with Sarah Fox was that I had to leave! I got so attached to the kids that I was tempted to stick a few in my backpack and smuggle them home!! The hospital is very modern and well equipped, the nurses are lovely, and the kids are awesome.
There are 3 main areas; the babies, the big-littles, and school. You can spend as much or as little time in each area as you like, but most volunteers try to spend a few weeks in each. On an average day in the babies (where I spent the most time) my job would include feeding the kids breakfast lunch and dinner, comforting the small babies, and putting the bigger ones in a play area where we could stimulate them and try to get them to interact and play to help them develop properly.
While I was there 2 babies started walking, and it was so rewarding to think that I had helped them. I felt as proud as if they were my own children!! |
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The kids all sleep for 2 hrs after their lunch so volunteers have an hour to eat and an hour to sort donations, make name signs for new kids and organise fund raising sales or township drop-offs. Volunteers also give basic computer lessons to any nurses that want them. We also organised some fun things for the kids, such as an easter egg hunt, a face-painting clown and a bouncy castle!!
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There were some depressing parts:
Finding out the terrible things that had happened to some of the children to put them in hospital in the first place, and seeing the pain that some of the children constantly had to deal with was at times overwhelming, but the overall atmosphere at the hospital was so upbeat and cheerful that it was difficult to be depressed for very long, especially with a giggling 3 yr old clinging to your hand and asking you to come play!
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What was the accommodation like?
I was so glad I chose a home-stay in South Africa. The woman I stayed with was a little eccentric, but nice, and an excellent cook! I got to try so many delicious traditional South African dishes! The house was small but very comfortable, and after a few days I felt totally at home.
Living in a home-stay ensures that you get a really authentic experience, as you are living in an area that is completely unaffected by tourism. This means that you're getting public transport, doing your shopping and eating in restaurants with local people, which adds so much to the experience.
Were you pleased you went with Real Gap?
Yes, everything was well organised and ran smoothly, and I felt that there was always somebody available to contact if there was a problem.
 Further information on the South Africa Cape Town Volunteer Project
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