Food for Thought in Chintsa, South Africa

The Friends Fortnight Fast is a brand new campaign which aims to raise much needed money for the Friends of Chintsa Feeding Scheme in Chintsa East School.

Group Volunteers Aim to Make a Huge Impact on Chintsa

It's Winter again and here at VA32 we're loving having our first ISV Volunteer group here. This is the first of ten groups in total. Six groups will work on our well established initiatives based in community development; completing and maintaining upliftment projects in local rural schools and public spaces. The remaining four groups will pioneer our first group Sports Development initiatives  which aim to provide sporting workshops and skills training for the young learners of the wider Chintsa area. We can't wait!  And we're aiming high...

New Computers for South African Computer Literacy Project

Chintsa East School gets new computers donated to up-grade their struggling computer lab!

The computers waiting to be shipped
from the UK

The last month has been extremely busy for volunteers, our co-ordinator Ash and computer technician Pete! On last month a shipping of 40 second-hand desktop computers finally landed in PE. The computers have had a loooong journey from the UK to South Africa and this huge donation from Afrinspire has been in the pipeline for many months. Once the goodies arrived it was up to our Wild Coast Schools volunteers to unpack, check and list all of the contents of the shipment. Ashley then helped to decide where the computers would be best put to use.

The Adventures of Ali: A Fair Trade Volunteer

Ali, a young Israeli come Cape Townian, recently joined the Fair Trade Travel Pass to explore the country that she now calls home. Travelling from Cape Town to Jo'burg on the BazBus, Ali enjoyed a 21 day adventure and had a very eye opening experience!

During the pass she spent a week in Chintsa, a night at Buccaneers Backpackers followed by a week on the Wild Coast Schools Project. She documented her time here with some stunning blogs and photos highlighting the volunteers experiences and day-to-day life on this Fair Trade volunteer project. 

Below you will find excerpts of Ali's blog and some of our favorite photos. Click on the link at the end of each section to read the original blog in full and see more of Ali's stunning photos.

The First Day on Project

The kids lining up outside the mobile
computer lab "being birds" with
Ash - the volunteer co-ordinator

"Today we were teaching grades 0 - 2; children between the ages of 3 to 8 years old. 

Responsible Travel in South Africa: The Fair Trade Travel Pass

The Fair Trade Travel Pass is a travel package which was launched in 2012 aiming to make it as easy as 1,2,3 for conscientious travelers to explore the best bits of South Africa using only Fair Trade travel establishments. The concept of responsible travel is not new to the world but it can be difficult and labor intensive to try to find verified responsible tour operators, accommodation providers and attractions - just at the time when all you really want is to be able to relax and get some much needed head-space. In steps the Fair Trade Travel Pass (FTTP)!

Journeying from Cape Town along the coast to Chintsa and the Wild Coast, on to the Drakensberg and finally to Soweto in Johannesburg, the FTTP explores some of South Africa's most popular destinations; veers off the beaten track on the thoroughly wild Wild Coast, takes in some of the natural wonders of this beautiful country and explores the sights and sounds of our urban townships. A real mix of purely South African experiences. And all stops are at Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) establishments. The Pass is also available in reverse order staring in Jo'burg and ending in Cape Town.

Pre-Vet Hands-On Experience in South Africa

VA32 have teamed up with local wildlife and conservation expert Dennis Taylor*, to offer international pre-vet students looking for vital hands-on experience, the opportunity to assist in managing a large conservation area with wildlife interactions, general management of the "ranch" and the opportunity to assist local vetenary surgeons.

The African Pre-Vet Wildlife Experience

Vetenary surgeons working with a rhino

This experience is located on a real-life, working reserve where participants sign up for an internship-style program and assist in all aspects of running and managing the conservation area. Tasks include anything from assisting experts with animal capture, rehabilitation and re-introduction to fence patrols and trap eradication. 

Vote for VA32 Now!

We have entered the Wild Coast Schools Project into the eLearning Africa Photo Competition 2013! Our photo "The Big Green eMachine" needs your votes to win!

The Big Green eMachine

The prizes are: 

1st prize: a tablet PC
2nd prize: a digital camera
3rd prize: mp3 player
Public vote winner: a digital camera

The 10 best photos will be featured in an exhibition from 29th May to 31st May at eLearning Africa in Windhoek, Namibia and announced across the eLearning Africa website. 

We would love to feature in this! Please take two minutes of your time and vote for our image now! Click here to vote...

April