Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage <strong>Province</strong>: Limpopo<br />

Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage

Town: Hoedspruit

Province: Limpopo

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Rate per week: ZAR 3500 per week when staying for a month

Rate Extra Weeks: Contact us for rates on longer stays

Duration: 1 Week to 3 Months

Dates: Volunteer can start the project on any Saterday.

Introduction: The Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage wants to educate and inspire children to care for their environment through the medium of a wildlife orphanage. It is an organisation of people who care, not only for animals and nature, but also for those less fortunate than themselves. We are a wildlife orphanage which uses orphaned wild animals as an education medium. Volunteers and staff supplement the school curriculum by giving a hands-on education, in existing school subjects, and at the same time provide an environmental experience. The goals of the organization include learning through working together and improving the quality of life of all participants, including the animals.

Location: Volunteers must arrive in Hoedspruit, ask our office for help in doing this.

Project: Would you like to get hands-on experience with injured and orphaned wild animals whilst educating local underprivileged children, perhaps giving both of them a brighter future? At the Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage, this is exactly what you can do! You can join us for an experience of a life time, an internship, a Gap year, or just a holiday! Project is is set in a beautiful nature reserve with granite hills and the most stunning views. It hasn’t got the Big Five, but leopard and hyena do roam around next to the general plain game like impala, kudu, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe. You will mostly work in and around the camp with the children, but if you want to and where possible, the project leaders will also take you for walks and drives in the reserve. The game tends to be shy, but the scenery in itself is more than worthwhile already. Besides, it’s a great opportunity to pick one of the project leaders’ brains and learn from his vast knowledge on the bush and wildlife! Whether you are away from home for the first time or are an experienced volunteer, you will love the family atmosphere that is created at the project and their excellent food. Your help will make a huge difference in aiding conservation and animal welfare, teaching local underprivileged children and building bridges between local and international people. All in all you will be participating to a worthy cause and having a fantastic volunteer experience in one! The volunteer period starts from Saturday and you can stay from one week to three months and even longer if you want. On arrival you will be shown your room and the facilities. On Sunday we have a late breakfast and a general briefing to help you in your confidence and ability to enjoy your volunteer experience in Africa.

Animals: It hasn’t got the Big Five, but leopard and hyena do roam around next to the general plain game like impala, kudu, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe.

Accommodation: You will be sleeping in a chalet in the main camp, or in our house. The chalet are rustic but confortable and have shower and toilets. There is no electricity on the farm but lighting and power are provided by solar energy and a generator. You might have to share your room with other volunteers.

Program: During your stay as a volunteer, you will help us with: Teaching basic subjects to children Every Monday the project welcomes a new group of 8 local under-privileged children for a week. As a volunteer your main tasks will be teaching the children and working with the animals. You will give the children the opportunity to discover, learn and become passionate about wildlife and conservation, their heritage. You will also supplement their school curriculum in very basic English, maths, sciences, geography, life skills, educational games and social issues. The children are in the 8th grade, but they vary in age from 13 to 16 years old. Their English is very poor and most of the time they need a lot of support with maths. Personal attention is something that they are not used to. That is why they really get the chance to blossom at the project. They go home as different children and that is also because of the attention they receive from people like you. It is a two way street. The children will give you back what you put in. Maybe sometimes you think it doesn’t work, but at the end of the week you will see the difference. Our methods are not always conventional but are fun for the children. The best advice we can give is for you to really enjoy your volunteer experience and make it into a two way learning opportunity. We want you to leave with the feeling that you have achieved something positive for the future of the children, the animals and the environment, but also for yourself. The day to day care of animals The orphaned wild animals provide the basis for inspiring care and compassion for the environment. To this end we try to have animals that can be touched and caressed. This is not always possible. As a volunteer you will be expected to accompany the children on stabling duties. These tasks include: Cleaning and disinfecting animal camps and cages Providing fresh food and water for the animals Checking the health and condition of the animals Compiling newsletter articles for individual animal sponsors Research and record keeping of the animals Basic first aid for animals Many animals require extra care and sometimes this may involve working during the night. How does a volunteer day look like at the Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage Volunteers and children meet at 7 o’clock in the morning for coffee. From 7.30 hrs volunteers do a bush walk with the children and the dogs. Volunteers and children then feed the animals and clean their camps. At 9.00 hrs you have breakfast. Lessons start from 9.30 hrs till 12.00 hrs. Then you have lunch and everyone is off till 2 o’clock. At 2.00 hrs the lessons start again and will go on until 4.30 hrs. At 4.30 hrs volunteers and children will feed the animals again and after that there is a game to play. Dinner is around 7 o’clock at night. All volunteers work 5 days a week, from 7h00 in the morning until dinner time with a break at lunch time, when you will be able to enjoy the swimming pool. You will have time off on Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday and will be able to take this opportunity to visit the surroundings. A trip to town is organised every Saturday and volunteers will enjoy meeting up with the local community. How you benefit: You participate to a community project, sharing your knowledge for the future of the underprivileged children You help animals and learn about Wildlife and conservation You go home with a professional experience that might help you to find a job later. It's always good to be able to mention on your CV that you have been a volunteer in Africa, donating your time and your savings!!! You stay in a beautiful area where you will meet South African and many other different cultures Where possible or when opportunities are available, we will give you time to visit the surrounding area and do some tourism. But as nature is the master and the children and animal the priority, we can’t guaranty it and plan it in advance. Be assured that we will do our best to make your stay as enriching as possible.

Program may include: Renovation, building and maintenance The project is continually growing, and often physical work is required. Duties can include: Renovating animal camps Building new animal camps and cages Renovating accommodation Painting General construction and repairs Fundraising, marketing and communication (minimum of 3 months) Volunteers may opt for this department of the project. We only take one volunteer in this section at any one time, and you will concentrate on: Preparing fundraising proposals Compiling funding request Seeking additional funding opportunities Marketing and advertising Forming new contacts (networking) Compiling and dissemination of monthly newsletters Communication This volunteer experience is basically office bound and most of the work is done on the internet. You may also be involved, if you wish, in the education of children, care of animals and guests, but your primary concern is the marketing and fundraising. One of the functions of this department can also include the organisation of meals, purchases and care of visitors who may be staying at our camp.

Includes: Transfers from and to Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport (only for arrival on Saturdays) three meals per day, tea, coffee, juice accommodation including bedding and towels laundry one trip to town per week

Excludes: flights, internal and international travel insurance personal toiletries such as shampoo, sun-block, mosquito cream internet and telephone charges sodas, cokes, alcohol

Applicants: No specific skills are required. We need your enthusiasm and dynamism. You must be minimum 18 years old unless accompanied by a parent/carer.

Hours: All volunteers work 5 days a week, from 7h00 in the morning until dinner time with a break at lunch time, when you will be able to enjoy the swimming pool. You will have time off on Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday and will be able to take this opportunity to visit the surroundings. A trip to town is organised every Saturday and volunteers will enjoy meeting up with the local community.

Freetime: A trip to town is organised every Saturday and volunteers will enjoy meeting up with the local community.

Volunteers Feedback: Seboke Suzen Sekgobela 14 years From Ramatau High School My visit was like an adventure because when I first got here, I knew nothing about animals but at the end of the week I learned so much about animals. Its a nice and quiet place, a place where anyone would like to go. I saw many animals including ostriches, owls, eagles, leopard tortoise, duiker, serval, impala, goat, mice, donkeys and the lizard which I am afraid of. I also learnt about plants and how we should take care of them because without them we won’t be able to live. So the plants include magic guari, bush toilet paper and the baboon tail tree. The lessons were fantastic!! We did maths, English which was great because we learned so much about being polite. We played many games after supper and today I enjoyed the life skill lesson because I really like talking about social issues which is drugs, alcohol, sex and teenage pregnancy. It’s quite great to talk about things that affect us as teenagers because if we don’t talk about it or rather should I say if we don’t motivate each other we will end up making the wrong decisions. I love the dogs very much, at the first time I was so scared of them and that’s when Ian told us that if we get scared of them they are going to bite us. So we started to feel safe around them. I love the volunteers because they are very kind and always looking forward to help us in every way they can.

Contact Tyron for more info +27 83 661 5393