New Volunteer South Africa Project for Football Fans: Come Play with Us.

While football fever takes over South Africa, IEP has a unique volunteer project that is sure to interest sport lovers . The ‘Come Play With Me’ project provides the opportunity to work with a number of local communities, helping kids get off the streets and onto sports fields. Focusing on teaching youngsters the skills of team sport as well as some valuable life skills-this project will expose young South Africans to activities they would otherwise miss out on due to lack of resources at their schools.

Placements are for 17 days with an optional 4 day tour to see some of South Africa’s beauty.

There are two arrival dates to choose from:

8 June 2010 - 26 June 2010
22 June 2010 - 10 July 2010

Cost: $2625 (includes 1 month insurance)

Project:

The programme provides local learners with the opportunity to interact with other members of local communities whilst giving them a safe and healthy environment to have fun in. The program creates a bigger awareness of the benefits of sports and using it as a vehicle for life skills.

Roles of the volunteer:

• Volunteers will assist with running of sports, including soccer activities and fun activities
• Volunteers will receive specific sports training and also implement a training program for the different sports codes
• Volunteers will assist in setting up and training teams for the local “Street Soccer” events
• Volunteers will assist in life skills initiatives during the sports program

What is the reason behind this project?

There are approximately 3.3 million young people between the ages of 13-15 participating in sport in South Africa. Facilities at local schools are extremely limited; some are using parking areas as sporting grounds. Equipment is also very limited, with some areas having just two soccer balls for an entire school.

The children come from a wide range of areas; many bussed in from various townships. Many local schools face huge challenges in trying to improve the lives of these children and local sports development programs provide learners with alternatives to turning to drugs and gangs, and give them hope for the future.

The Cape Flats in the Western Cape is the product of the old government policy in South Africa and can be described fairly accurately as “the dumping ground of apartheid”; people from widely divergent backgrounds and cultures were uprooted from their various communities and relocated to the Cape Flats.

The landscape is largely wind-blown and predominantly flat, giving it a wasteland kind of feel but despite this, the region is home to over a million people with the diverse cultural spread has resulted in a residential area, aptly known as the Cape Flats that stands in stark contrast to the more affluent suburbs in Cape Town.
What’s Included?

Program includes:

• Airport pick- up and drop off
• Meals and accommodation (meals at own expense during tours)
• Orientation booklet and guide
• T- shirt and Vuvuzela (traditional horn)
• Full in- country support
• Access to 24 hour emergency number
• Donation to MITS (Making a Difference through Sports)
• Transport to accommodation and project placement
• Certificate
• Welcome and Farewell Supper
• Fully comprehensive Travel Insurance
• South Africa Lonely Planet Guide

Program excludes:

Airfares, weekend excursions, meals when on tour

Optional Tour: $576.00

4 day tour of the Garden Route which is a scenic stretch of the south eastern coast of South Africa. It is well known for its indigenous forests, unspoilt beaches, lagoons and adventure sports

Applications:

Applications are now open and there are limited spaces available so interested applicants should contact IEP as soon as possible to enquire about the program. Click here to start your application now.