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Volunteer Program
The purpose of the volunteer program is to provide structured assistance to the permanent caregiving staff. We currently have a team of semi-permanent volunteers who commit to serve at Baphumelele for a minimum of one year. We also work with a group of short-term volunteers that is typically made up of young people from overseas who come and help us for periods of eight weeks to several months.
Our permanent staff performs the primary caregiving duties, including feeding, nappy changing, dressing, holding, disciplining, etc. The intention is for the children to bond with the caregivers as they are the ones who can offer them love and attachment on an ongoing basis.
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When volunteers are available to assist the staff with daily chores (such as bottle making, snack making, tooth brushing, cleaning syringes, preparing vegetables, tutoring, mentoring, coaching, and developmental play for infants and toddlers), the caregivers have more time to cuddle and nurture the children, especially the younger ones.
Volunteers are encouraged to build relationships with the older children (seven and up) who can understand that a volunteer is here for only a short time and needs to return home. Volunteers are not encouraged to build bonds with younger children as the steady changeover of volunteers is unhealthy for the younger children.
We train our volunteers to understand the developmental needs of our children at different ages, and they are expected to comply with our recommendations.
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Volunteer Needs
Baphumelele is ever grateful for the people who have devoted time, energy and love to the children and the Home throughout the years. As needs have shifted over time, we are finding that our children benefit from as much consistency as we can provide them. We are responding by migrating Baphumelele's volunteer program towards more long-term placements.
Anyone considering volunteering at Baphumelele should understand that we are not in a position to pay for volunteer services, either directly or in-kind. In other words, we are only able to work with individuals and groups that are able to financially support themselves while serving at Baphumelele.
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Cluster Home Assistants
We are currently accepting applications from people interested in serving a minimum of one year as a full-time assistant in a Cluster Home. These assistants will live in a house at Baphumelele along with a caregiver and six to eight of our children. The Cluster Home volunteer's role is to help manage the various needs of the children, including bathing, tutoring, and mentoring, and to assist the caregiver with household duties.
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Educare Centre Assistants
We are also accepting applications for classroom assistants in our Educare Centre. Volunteers with a solid background (be it practical or educational) in Waldorf-based learning and/or primary education are preferred; however, those with instructional skills (i.e. music, art) or leadership experience (i.e. camp counselor) also make for attractive candidates. These volunteers will work alongside the permanent teaching staff, infusing the classroom with creative energy to encourage the development of the children. Educare assistants are asked to serve a minimum of six months to one year.
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Children's Home Assistants
Children's Home volunteers play an instrumental role in assisting our staff with the daily running of our Home. This includes helping with household chores as well as engaging the children in various activities such as play time and homework time. Baphumelele accepts applications from volunteers who are able to serve for a minimum of one year.
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International volunteers seeking a shorter stay are advised to contact AVIVA (AVIVA), a local volunteer placement organization. AVIVA staffs Baphumelele with up to six international volunteers at a time who will serve a minimum of eight weeks. This group lives onsite with us (in three-day rotating shifts), allowing them to help with the more in-depth daily needs of the Home. They are housed in town on their "days off," allowing them a chance to enjoy the sights of Cape Town and take a break from the demands of life at Baphumelele. New volunteers are trained every other Tuesday morning.
International students who come to Cape Town for semester or year-long educational programs regularly volunteer at Baphumelele as well. The students typically visit once or twice a week to help the older children with homework or coordinate music and art time for the younger kids. Student volunteers are arranged in cooperation between the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) and Children of South Africa (CHOSA).
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We also have groups of local volunteers that assist us in other ways. Any interested group or person should contact the Volunteer Coordinator to learn about our current needs. We typically need the most assistance tutoring the older children. In addition, we are always looking for nurses, carpenters, plumbers, and skilled woodshop tradesmen to help with the day-to-day running of the woodwork shop. Nurses can volunteer as little as half a day a month to help draw the medicine into syringes for the caregivers. All interested volunteers must schedule an orientation session with the Volunteer Coordinator before beginning their work.
For questions about any of these volunteer positions, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator. To apply, click here.
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