Wildlife Teaching 🐾

Teaching Local Kids about Wild Animals - Wildlife Experience

Volunteering at Daktari, which is which a local NGO located in South Africa. The volunteers will be teaching in groups of 8 children. The children are in between the ages 9-18.The lessons will be about; Ecosystem, wildlife crime, anti-poaching, animal tracks and increasing knowledge, with the aim of improving South Africa's community and animals.

What the volunteer has to do?

25 hours per week of the following:

✔ Animal Care

✔ Teaching

✔ Building and Repairing

✔ Cleaning  

Requirements:

✔ Intermediate English

✔ Over 18 years old

✔ Accepts Solo & Couples

About the Program:

📚 Teaching Children:

From Monday-Friday, we are required to teach from 9:00-16:30.
Teaching will be in groups of 8 children, aged between 13-15 years old. The lessons will cover topics such as ecosystems, wildlife crimes, combating illegal hunting, animal tracks and increasing knowledge, with the aim of improving South Africa for both the community and animals.
During the lessons, various group discussions will be held with the children on social issues such as safe sex or drug abuse, which are very important and prevalent issues in South Africa, especially in the areas where the children come from.
A part of the lessons will take place in the classroom and the other part in the forest or morning work with the animals. All lessons include non-formal and enjoyable activities.
Certainly, there is dedicated time for playing with the children and volunteers can swim with them in the reserve's swimming pool and dance to music.

🐾 Animal Care:
Animals in the reserve play a significant role in the educational program. Many animals in the reserve cannot return to the wild because they are injured or require special care. The reserve provides them with a safe life, contributing to increased awareness within the community.
There are many children who come to the sanctuary and have no idea about local wildlife. In the sanctuary, they will encounter animals for the first time, fostering their love for African wildlife.
As a volunteer, you will gain knowledge and experience about different animals, helping to maintain their good health. The work includes cleaning and repairing shelters, feeding animals and preparing enrichment or animal toys. Working with animals, you will find that each day is different and enjoyable. The tasks may involve providing basic veterinary care to specific animals or hand-rearing orphaned animals. In any case, you will work with the resident animals at the reserve on a daily basis.
No previous experience is required, as the tasks assigned to you will be under the supervision of a reserve staff member and a complete explanation will be provided.

🗺️ Reserve Location:

The reserve is situated in a town called Hoedspruit in South Africa, nestled in a natural reserve located on the mountains. The reserve hosts a variety of animals, including lions, foxes, wildebeests, antelopes, wild donkeys and giraffes.. all of which roam freely within the reserve.
The camp is located within the sanctuary, where we will work with the children. However, we will also enter and exit the reserve to explore the surrounding nature.

✈️ Getting to the Reserve:

Your journey begins from your country to South Africa (Johannesburg Airport). From Johannesburg, you need to purchase an airline ticket to a town called Hoedspruit (an hour's flight) or you can take a bus from Johannesburg to Hoedspruit (the bus is well-organized and operated by a reputable company, with only 10 seats, air conditioning and the possibility to charge your electronic devices. The bus is punctual, with two rest stops during the 6-hour journey).
Upon your arrival at the airport / bus station, the reserve staff will pick you up and take you to the sanctuary. Arrival and departure days to and from the reserve are only on Saturdays. The first day includes a tour inside the reserve and Sunday is a day of relaxation and rest, getting to know your fellow volunteers and preparing for the next day.

💤 Sleeping at the Reserve:

Volunteers sleep in African-style cabins called "Chalets" located within the sanctuary. There are four chalets in the sanctuary, each accommodating 3-5 beds. Each room has its private bathroom.
In every chalet, you'll find sleeping essentials such as pillows and blankets, which the sanctuary staff wash weekly. The staff also cleans the chalets daily and washes the laundry daily (except on Sundays). There are no electrical sockets in the chalets for charging your electronic devices, but there are designated charging areas in the camp during daylight hours.
The electricity in the reserve operates on solar power, so the use of hairdryers is prohibited as they consume a lot of electricity.

• Shared rooms and bathrooms - males in a shared accommodation and females in another shared accommodation.

🕶️ Activities for Days Off:

Every Friday morning, the children's group bids us farewell to return to the village, leaving the rest of the day as a day off for you to enjoy. You can stay in the reserve to relax by the swimming pool or venture out to see the waterfall in the area, experience the zipline, take a guided tour in Kruger National Park with freely roaming wildlife, go horseback riding and participate in various other activities.
On certain days, visits to the village where the children come from, called "The Oaks," are planned. The residents, while simple, unfortunately face challenges of street pollution and poverty in the village. You can coordinate with the reserve to visit a family in the village, learn about their customs and traditions, share a meal with them, visit schools and meet the students.

🍽️ Meals:

The kitchen staff prepares the meals, but you are required to assist. There are meals available for vegetarians and vegans, but unfortunately, gluten-free meals are not provided due to their high cost for the reserve. Those with gluten sensitivity will need to prepare their own meals. In addition, on Saturdays, there will be an opportunity to go out and buy supplies and there are many restaurants in the area.

⛅ Weather in South Africa:

• Summer Months: December - March
• Autumn Months: April - May
• Winter Months: June - August
• Spring Months: September - November

The weather in South Africa is European, as in the evening hours, you may need a jacket even in the summer months.

📆 Registration Dates:

Registration for this program is available all year (except during the exam period for students, as they will not be present in the reserve).
According to the reserve, the dates during which registration is not possible are -
22/5/2024 - 9/6/2024
13/11/2024 - 1/12/2024

Volunteering in the reserve starts and ends on Saturdays.

Regarding registration fees, flight costs and living expenses in South Africa, this opportunity is invaluable. A regular tourist trip would undoubtedly cost more. Here, the experiences you will have with HomeAwe are unique. And the daily life is relatively affordable.

• Days off: 2 days per week.
• Minimum period for volunteering: 1 week (Preference is given to those who choose a longer period)

💳 Registration Fees: (Does not include HomeAwe Fees)

📋 Registration Process:

1. Sign Up through the program's link down below - your details and answers to the questions will be reviewed and based on that, your acceptance will be determined. (It is preferable not to hesitate in providing clear and explicit answers to the questions without any sense of shyness. The clearer, more spontaneous and heartfelt your answers are, the higher the likelihood of your acceptance).
If we do not contact you within 2 weeks, it means that you have not been accepted.
If you are accepted, we will communicate with you via email to arrange the payment of the registration fees to reserve your spot in the program.

2. After you Sign Up, you'll receive an email that has a link to pay the registration fees of $400 to HomeAwe to reserve your spot in the program and to arrange a personal interview.

3. Have a personal interview with HomeAwe for introduction and further explanation of details.
If you didn't make it in the interview, we will refund you with the registration fees ($400).

4. Lana will update the reserve about the date you have picked to volunteer.

5. The volunteer fills out an application form specific to the reserve, and Lana sends it to the reserve's team.
(In some reserves, they may require documents like insurance policies, so the volunteer handles it and Lana sends it to them as well).

6. You send an electronic signature in a PDF file and Lana sends it to the reserve.

7. We start look for a flight ticket for you that matches your volunteer start date.

8. Complete registration fees at least one month before the start date of your program to reserve your spot!