Nholwasi Community Project
Inspire children to care for their natural wildlife and heritage
The word 'Nholwasi' means 'to build and work together', and this project provides the opportunity to do just that. Working in partnership with Children's Eco Training, the programme focuses on hands on environmental education among children in the Hoedspruit and Acorn-Hoek communities of South Africa.
The aim of this project is to make the generation of tomorrow aware, to teach them how to conserve and inspire them to appreciate nature in all its intricacies. Working with children from a number of local schools, you can help to enrich their environment, and in turn their lives. The warmth with which you are greeted by the children we work with, whose lives can be very difficult, has a lasting impact on each and every volunteer, and is incredibly rewarding .
- Work in local schools, improving the teaching environment for the children and community teachers
- Assist with general maintenance of local schools
- Work alongside Children's Eco Training to reach their goals through specific funded projects
- Assist in running bush based learning camps in Klaserie Game Reserve
Conservation Value
Nholwasi Community Project provides a future for conservation in southern Africa, a future to work towards for these children and a fun way to promote learning. Working with local communities and the children whose futures exist here, is vital to sustainable and long term conservation goals.
'They are the leaders of tomorrow - they can still make a difference', Children's Eco Training.
Nholwasi video
Video of volunteering at the Nholwasi Community Project
Volunteer with local kid
Volunteer and kids
Playing with the local kids is half the fun of Nholwasi
Room before refurnishing
One of the main tasks of Nholwasi is providing local schools with resources and furniture.
Building desks
Volunteers hard at work refurbishing school desks
Nholwasi kids
Local school kids excited about the activities ahead.
Classroom in need of renovation
Many local schools are in very poor condition.
Painting classrooms
Volunteers help to renovate classrooms, providing a better learning environment.
School kid
The local kids really appreciate their improved schools
Preparing veggie garden
Volunteers teach the school kids how to plant vegetable gardens
Vegetable seedlings
The kids then take responsibility for their gardens
traditional dance
Kids performing a traditional dance
Work with the Children
To inspire local children to become wildlife guides, rangers or conservationists, is a long term aim of ACE. Working alongside a remarkable charity, you will assist in meeting the goals and aims of the charity and provide a safe, friendly face for these children. Many children walk miles to school every day in South Africa, eager to learn and gain knowledge to provide a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Improving the school environment and facilities.
This can involve working in a variety of different schools during your placement, on dedicated projects, focussed on providing better working conditions for both the children and the teachers. This can involve tasks such as
- Vegetable food garden establishment and maintenance
- Painting and improving the condition of classrooms, providing a more inspiring learning environment
- Assisting with the physical maintenance of schools and the provision of crucial elements such as safe drinking water and good sanitation
Work alongside established charity Children's Eco Training
- CET works within the local community to provide funding and the provisions to enable such projects to be completed. Volunteering with Nholwasi Community Project, you have an important part to play in assisting CET reach specific goals through both funding and physical help at the project.
Bush camps in Klaserie Private Nature Reserve
During South African school holidays, bush camps are provided for the local children to attend, with various eco-based themes. The camps always include topics such as sustainable living, fresh bush facts, new skills to discover in the bush and workshops based on environmental education. You will assist the camps in the following ways
- Assisting with teaching ecological subjects. In a fun way, technical skills, awareness and literacy are transferred using the natural environment. Children learn to put into practice what they have learnt and to propagate principles beyond the reserve boundaries.
- Integrate into the team running the course and assist with duties from food preparation for the group to reading and learning sessions. You often get to learn as much as the children about the unique environment you are working in during these camps!
Hear from other volunteers who've visited Nholwasi Community Project
Laura LoftusI'm a student studying animal welfare and volunteered alongside my University group with ACE in February 2010. They organised for us to volunteer for the day at Matikinya Primary School building desks. I loved the trip and hope to organise another one for my college work experience with ACE.
Kezzie MoynihanIt was amazing and the most worthwhile thing I have ever done. Working in the school was totally real and everything you did has an effect on someone's life. The rewards were obvious form the start.
Guinevere ShortHow do all the learners seem to know exactly what is going on? When I found everyday a complex maze of lessons and random bells – highly organised chaos. My lasting memory of my time at Lumukisa is how much potential, energy and personality is contained within. I found the grade R class challenging to say the least. Forty-three five year-olds running amok while taking great delight in our confusion and sense of impotency. How in heavens name do teachers get them from illiteracy to literacy, it blows my mind. On the other hand I fell in love with the Grade 4 class. I took delight in discovering the individual characters within the class. I found these lessons highly rewarding and entertaining. I sorely missed taking their lessons when a new teacher had been employed. A thought I have been pondering since... do i retrain to be a teacher? I would like to take this oppurtunity to wish everyone at Lumukisa Primary all the best for the future. What I have gathered seems disproportionate to what I gave. I have learned that out of so little, so much can be achieved. That in some cases less is more. Thank you.
Emily HunterMy main thought as I prepare to leave is that a month at Lumukisa has just not been long enough. I'd love to stay longer and have a chance to see even more of a progression with things like the vegetable patch and the mural. However, looking back over my experience I have enjoyed every minute and have learned alot along the way. I will definitely be in touch and I hope that I will be able to return in the future and experience the same enthusiastic staff, happy learners and progressive environment. Thank you for the oppurtunity to be here. I will have a lot of new memories and experiences to take away with me.