About the Project
Amazing Grace is situated in a small town called Malelane, which is situated 45 minutes from Nelspruit in the Mpumalanga Province. It is located approximately 10 minutes from the Kruger National Park in a beautiful part of the country and within 2 hours from the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. As a province, Mpumalanga is a very rural and poor part of the country where a large percentage of the population lives on or below the poverty line.
The project offers residential care to infants, babies and children ranging from birth to 18 years. Many of these children come from backgrounds where they were abused, abandoned, neglected, Aids orphans or are infected with the HIV virus and therefore require constant attention. The facility houses an average of 70 children and offers services to many others within the local community. The project strives to have all the children placed into local schools as they believe that education is the main goal to the children’s future success. The project feeds and clothes the children and is responsible for the children in their care regardless of which country they are from. This is often challenging due to a constant shortage of resources.
What characteristic traits are we looking for in a volunteer?
This organization is looking for volunteers who are caring, hardworking team players who are willing to give of their time to better the lives of those younger and less fortunate than themselves.
The project will certainly pull on the volunteers heart strings and will be an enriching and rewarding experience. As a volunteer at this project, you will be able to see the difference you are making in the lives of the children on a day to day basis.
What specific tasks and activities are involved?
- Food preparation for the children
- Assistance in taking care of orphaned children aged from birth to 18 years
- Assisting with children’s homework
- Personal interaction with children to help with social development
- Basic building and maintenance at the project. This would include general repairs and up keeping
- Playing games and offering fun programmes for the children
What characteristic traits are we looking for in a volunteer?
Since 99% of the work is with children, the project is looking for caring, hardworking team players who are tolerant and open to different cultures and traditions. Volunteers must be flexible and open to assist with the various projects’ needs.
What can you expect in terms of accommodation and food during your project placement?
Volunteers are currently being housed in a volunteer room located by the Amazing Grace Orphanage, in Malelane. It has the basic amenities for volunteers to make use of – any assistance with this is also greatly appreciated by the project. Sleeping bags are recommended for the colder months as it does get very cold once the sun goes down. Mosquito nets are not required. Preloaded meal cards are provided for the volunteers each month. These can be swiped for groceries at the local supermarket and allows for dietary requirements to be catered for personally.
