Volunteer in South Africa

The stunning natural beauty of South Africa is a backdrop for a country with staggering challenges—and a major one is inadequate childcare. The AIDS crisis has left an estimated 1.2 million children orphaned, and help is needed to assist in the healthy physical and emotional development of these children. Our various social development volunteer projects focus largely, though not exclusively, on the issue of child welfare in South Africa.

Program Details

You’ll spend your time assisting in important child welfare programs in and around the capital city of Johannesburg. Volunteer activities generally consist of kitchen (food preparation) and cleaning duties, as well as activities related to the care and social development of children. Other projects may include assisting local women with sewing and beadwork, and construction and maintenance of facilities.

Volunteer placements include:

  • A children's home in Soweto that offers residential care to babies, infants, and children. Many of these children are abused, abandoned, neglected, or orphaned.  Some are HIV-positive and require constant attention
  • A home for abandoned children, babies in the process of being adopted, and a place of safety for young mothers or pregnant girls whose families have rejected them
  • A center for orphaned and vulnerable children living in the Kliptown, Slovo park and Eldorado Park areas. The aim of the center is to enable children whose parents have died of AIDS to continue functioning as a family unit in their own environment.  This includes facilitating their return to the educational system and providing them the chance to attend life-skills and development programs.
  • An Mpumalanga-based organization for vulnerable children and their families who are victims of social marginalization
  • A foundation that seeks to alleviate the consequences of HIV/AIDS for rural South Africans, particularly children, through home-based care and community outreach, in-house care, and training and poverty alleviation

As a Volunteer in South Africa, you’ll receive:

  • A volunteer placement
  • Airport pickup
  • Housing and most meals
  • Access to discounted international accident and sickness insurance
  • An arrival pack with phone SIM card
  • A cultural tour of Johannesburg
  • Project-related transportation
  • Monthly social events
  • 24-hour support for the duration of the project

Program Length

5 or 9 weeks

Program Start Dates

Child Welfare program: First Tuesday of every month
Race Against Extinction Program: Year-round; arrive on Sunday

Program Fee

  • $1,395 for 5 weeks
  • $1,695 for 9 weeks

Accommodation Type

Various, including host families and on-premises volunteer quarters

Participant Requirements

To Volunteer in South Africa, you must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age
  • Be a US, Canadian, or European Union citizen
  • Be covered by accident and sickness insurance

Interested? Request Information

Ready to Get Started? Apply Now