Disabled Children/Special Education/Old Age Care Project
 Volunteers in this project can choose between working with disabled children, helping children who need special education, or assisting senior citizens remain active. The general age ranges of the people varies from 5 to 44 years old and, have a variety of physical and mental disabilities like cerebral palsy, down syndrome, water heads, hemiplegics, hearing, speech, sight, autism, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and TB. Rustic Volunteer Travel collaborates with a locally-operated service provider for disabled/elderly individuals – supplying various levels of support such as: physical and occupational therapy, education and recreational activities. Rustic Volunteer Travel seek volunteers who wish to offer a sense of hope to the disabled and special education, show compassion and offer attention to the older citizens as well as other significantly important services that illustrate you care.
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FAQs South Africa
| Application Process: |
Please read Rustic Volunteer Travel's 5 steps of application
- You can either apply online or download the application and mail it to us after filling out the form. To complete your application process, we’ll need an application fee of $200. Without the fee, you’re application won’t be processed.
- When we receive your completed application, it will then be forwarded to the country coordinator of South Africa for processing. The coordinator will thoroughly check your application and search for the project you mentioned. The coordinator will also fix the details regarding your accommodation and meal. Your accommodation will either be fixed in a home stay, where you’ll stay with a South Africa family and enjoy local food, or you’ll be accommodated in a project hostel.
- After the country coordinator finalizes the details of your program, the information will then passed on to us. We then forward the details to you, along with the final invoice. You will have to make your final payment six weeks before the start of your program. If your application has been expedited, the payment has to be settled as soon as possible. The placement details have local contact information, which you can use while applying for South Africa Visa or to get in touch with the local staff and host family.
- You’ll then start to prepare for your trip to South Africa. You’ll have to immunization required before travelling to South Africa, get a visa to enter the country (for details on this, check the Visa section of FAQ) and book air tickets. If you want to contact us any time during your preparation, we’re only a phone call away and eagerly waiting to help and advise you.
- Once you have confirmed your tickets and arrival details, please pass on the information to us (US Office). We’ll inform your flight timing to the South Africa country coordinator and you will be picked up at the airport, upon arrival. You can also email the country coordinator directly.
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| Visa : |
We strongly recommend to our volunteers to obtain a tourist visa in their home country prior to departing for South Africa. This saves time and any associated hassles of filling-out forms, and waiting in long, slow-moving lines at the airport. Your visa is your entry permit allowing you into any foreign country - without which you may be denied access - a risk Rustic Volunteer Travel suggests avoiding at any and all costs. Volunteers stay in South Africa within the capacity of a tourist visa. When applying for you visa, please use the name and address of our in-country coordinator and office (provided in the pre-departure package) as a contact address in South Africa. |
| Health and safety : |
Being informed is your first defense against disease and safety risks. We recommend visiting some of the following websites for health and safety information:
WHO website for international travelers ( http://www.who.int/csr/ihr/en/ )
General Health Tips for volunteer in South Africa
- Avoid drinking tap water directly. Do not also drink fountain drinks and ice cubes. Always drink bottled, boiled water or carbonated drinks in cans or bottles.
- There have been cases of many fake bottled waters being sold in South Africa. They don’t stand up to the standards. When you buy bottled water from stores, make sure the seal of the bottle isn’t tampered with.
- Do not eat hot or very spicy food. They can create stomach upset. Stay away from salads also as leaves not cleaned properly can contain insects. Eat from good, clean restaurants and don’t try your luck with roadside vendors.
- Always use an insect repellent if you find yourself in a mosquito-prone area. But remember, not every place is mosquito-infested and low temperatures in winters (when most tourists come to Cambodia) kill most bugs in the northern plains and hills.
- If traveling in scorching heat, remember to drink enough water, use hats, sunglasses & UV lotions. Beware of the health effects that the mid day sun may cause, most importantly SUN BURN or DEHYDRATION.
- If you need doctor, ask your host family, hotel or our country coordinator. You’ll find plenty of helping hand. Most of the towns and villages in South Africa have pharmacies and chemists, if you want to purchase any medical supplies. The medication and the fees for the doctors are usually low.
- Bring drugs you require with you. Although you can find most modern medicines in the drugstores of South Africa, they can be named differently and come with different level of dosage. Carry a health kit and include medications for upset stomachs, some antiseptic cream, mosquito repellant, sun block, band aids, etc.
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| Vaccination : |
We use the Center for Disease Control traveler's health recommendations (www.cdc.gov.) Your travel doctor should be consulted about current epidemics.
See your doctor at least 4-6 weeks before your trip to allow time for shots to take effect. If it is less than 4 weeks before you leave, you should still see your doctor. It might not be too late to get your shots or medications as well as other information about how to protect yourself from illness and injury while traveling.
Recommended Vaccinations and Preventive Medications
The following vaccines may be recommended for your travel to Southern Africa . Discuss your travel plans and personal health with a health-care provider to determine which vaccines you will need.
- Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG). Transmission of hepatitis A virus can occur through direct person-to-person contact; through exposure to contaminated water, ice, or shellfish harvested in contaminated water; or from fruits, vegetables, or other foods that are eaten uncooked and that were contaminated during harvesting or subsequent handling.
- Hepatitis B , especially if you might be exposed to blood or body fluids (for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, or be exposed through medical treatment. Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for children ages 11-12 years who did not receive the series as infants.
- Malaria: the risk of catching malaria may be high in all countries in Southern Africa, including cities. See your health care provider for a prescription anti-malarial drug. For details concerning risk and preventive medications, see Malaria Information for Travelers to Southern Africa .
- Rabies, if you might have extensive unprotected outdoor exposure in rural areas, such as might occur during camping, hiking, or bicycling, or engaging in certain occupational activities.
- Typhoid vaccine. Typhoid fever can be contracted through contaminated drinking water or food, or by eating food or drinking beverages that have been handled by a person who is infected. Large outbreaks are most often related to fecal contamination of water supplies or foods sold by street vendors.
- As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria , measles , and a one-time dose of polio vaccine for adults.
Required Vaccinations
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| Money Matter : |
Find the Exchange Rate for South African Rand at http://www.xe.com/ucc/
With a favorable exchange rate for many international currencies, you'll find South Africa a very inexpensive destination compared with Europe and North America. And an easy one - financial institutions are world-class, with no shortage of banks, bureau exchanges and automatic tellers. South Africa's unit of currency is the Rand, which is divided into 100 cents. Coins come in denominations of 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, R1, R2 and R5, and notes in denominations of R10, R20, R50, R100 and R200. The airport offers convenient, international-standard banking, forex and car rental services.
Cash and travelers checks are suggested to settle most accounts. You will have trouble paying with traveler's checks, but you will be able to exchange them at local banks or post offices. Traveler's checks are recommended as a safe way to carry money with you, make sure you write down the check numbers and contact information you need to cancel stolen checks. Different brands of traveler's checks work better in different countries so consult your local financial institution about which company you should buy your checks from.
Travelers should have a credit card for large and emergency purchases so you won't go broke if something goes wrong. If you've requested a pin number for your credit card, you can use it to get cash advances at the ATM.
You can also carry a debit card that can be used at ATM's (Cirrus Network) to withdraw local currency. When using ATM's be advised to bring a friend along, travel directly from the bank back to your home and stash your cash in a reliable safe. When you are carrying cash, break it up into different amounts and keep it in different pockets so if you get robbed you won't lose everything.
Debit card is the best way of getting money and ATM vendors are available. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted in some of the large stores and hotels in larger cities but may not be widely accepted in smaller cities and not at all in the villages.
How much money you bring depends on your personal spending habits. Thrifty people can get by on less than $15/day. Your budget should also include money to explore during free time as well as for your personal use. |
| Field Support and supervision: |
How does Rustic Volunteer and Travel help me when I am in the field? How can I maintain communication? Does Rustic Volunteer Travel visit volunteers?
Once the volunteer program starts, our local staff will stay in touch with volunteers. In South Africa, our projects are approximately 10-25 km from our office (and usually located in rural settings outside of the highway). Our coordinators stay in touch with volunteers via personal visits, telephone calls or emails. The director of each project will serve as the participants' immediate supervisor. Rustic Volunteer Travel's Kenya coordinator maintains a mobile phone so participants are able to reach him with questions and concerns. |
| Communication : |
How do I communicate with my family? Rustic Volunteer Travel staffs? Is there internet?
You will have plenty of opportunity to use the internet in Cape Town as it is widely available. There are several 'Internet Cafes' where you can use the computer to browse the net and send email. Most hotels and hostels as have this facility. International phone calling at Private Phone Centers is pay in cash phone calling from widely available locations. The phone facilities are good, but you'll pay for it. You can expect international calls to cost around $1US per minute. Post offices are open weekdays with reliable but slow service. Try not to mail anything of value, but sending a nice note home is definitely an option. |
| Climate of South Africa: |
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The climate in South Africa is generally warm and dry. In the winter, the temperature rarely falls below freezing. In the summer months - December, January, and February- the temperature in the drier regions may rise above 40C. But South Africa is a land of great contrasts and includes regions that are extremely dry and some where rainfalls pretty regularly. The heaviest rainfall occurs along the eastern coastline. As much as 6 feet of rain may be recorded in one year in this region. In the extreme northwest part of the country, in parts of the Kalahari desert, there is virtually no rain at all.
Cape Town is located on the Atlantic coast; it is South Africa's major seaport. It has pleasant and dry climate most of the year and beautiful beaches. The ocean water is cold and the constant winds create tremendously strong and unruly currents, causing most people not to swim in the ocean here. |
| Materials to Bring |
Passport and Documents
Volunteers should hold a valid passport and necessary documents while traveling in South Africa. Please carry photocopies of your passport and travelers checks while in South Africa, to make replacement easy if they are lost.
Medicine
If you are under medication, please do not forget to pack enough medicine for your entire trip; your brands of medicines may not be available in South Africa
Footwear
Normal leather shoes or tennis shoes, which can be brushed off or wiped off, are appropriate for working in the placements. You will want light comfortable footwear for evening walks and other leisure activities.
Clothes
Rule of thumb - bring things you won't be bothered losing, ruining, or throwing away.
T-shirts, jeans, and shorts are common. Bring your bathing suit.
Please note that while it may get quite warm during the day, it may get chilly after dark, and you may need a sweater.
Medical Kit
It is always useful to carry a small personal medical kit. This should include: plasters (Band-Aids), personal medication to last the duration of the program, fungicidal foot powder/cream, antiseptic cream, mild painkiller (aspirin), tweezers, scissors etc.
Insect Repellent
Do not forget to bring insect repellent, and use it often to reduce the possibility of mosquito-borne illness, if you are traveling in the jungle find a repellant with DEET, the more the better, you can pick it up from a local sporting goods store like REI.
Other
Please do not forget to pack a torch (flashlight) some rural villages won't have electricity all day or after dark and you may have to use an outdoor bathroom (at night) at some point. Also pack a camera, film and maybe a personal stereo. You may wish to bring a diary, pens and pencils, and a book to read on the plane. Bring a rain coat during the rainy season. |
| Gift for Host Family and Project |
If you want to bring gifts for your project] please bring practical items and enough for everyone; books, pencils, color pens, toys and games. If you have the ability to bring gifts, bring as much as you can. |
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