David Michael thoroughly enjoyed his time as a volunteer journalist at the Cape Chameleon – the online magazine at Projects Abroad. Here is his story…
Despite tough economic times, Where Rainbows Meet brought joy to over 500 children in the Vrygrond community in the lead up to Christmas, by hosting their fourth annual Christmas party…
This year, Where Rainbows Meet (WRM) celebrates their 10-year anniversary. The organisation has come a long way in the last decade, but their values and commitment have stayed constant and they have impacted the lives of over 10,000 community members in Vrygrond and its surrounding areas. Founder and director Mymoena Scholtz explains how back in 2008 the organisation started from nothing with nothing. Slowly, with the right team, she has built the training and development centre into what it is today.
Over two decades after South Africa’s first democratic election, the realities facing young people remain as troubling as ever due to issues such as crime, poverty, unequal educational opportunities, unemployment and drug abuse. While the country’s annual Youth Day on 16 June commemorates the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, the struggle for a better quality of life for the country’s youth continues – over 40 years later.
Have you ever been really hungry at school or work? If that’s a yes, then you know most people are not in the best of emotional states when they’re hungry. A hungry child at school is more likely to experience mood swings, aggression and poor academic performance than their adequately-nourished peers. Sadly, hunger is a daily reality for 23 million children in Africa alone.vThe UN Sustainable Development Goals consist of 17 goals to help promote prosperity for everyone around the globe while protecting the planet. Goal 2 is Zero Hunger, which seeks to ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.’
With an increasing pressure on students to know exactly what they want to do when they finish school, many decide to postpone the decision and take a gap year. Whether that means delaying the inevitable decision or finding a completely new path, the benefits of taking this break are significant.
In today’s world, getting a proper all-round education is more important than ever. Not only can educated people seize better opportunities for themselves, but they also enrich others with their successes and perspectives. Although almost every parent wants to see their child equipped for the future, often there are uncontrollable circumstances which prevent this from being the case. In Paternoster, a fishing village on the West coast, there is urgency for better education for the children to ensure they face a brighter future.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to volunteer at a crèche? And not just dedicating your time to the local crèche but rather caring for children in another country far from home? Cape Chameleon visited Butterfly Way Educare in Vrygrond, to find out how the staff and overseas volunteers spend their day with the children.
Cape Town’s communities have been struggling to cope with a myriad of health issues for decades. These ailments vary from weight issues to diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Tragically, 45 out of every 1000 children die before their first birthday due to preventable health issues. Every day 22% of children in South-Africa suffer from hunger and 58 people die from diabetes. Projects Abroad started the Nutrition Programme to help the people in these communities.
In September, Anne left her hometown in the Netherlands for a four-week visit to Ghana. This was the first stop in a series of countries she would visit as part of a six-month Global Gap volunteer experience with Projects Abroad. Wanting to remember this trip of a lifetime, she filmed the different places she visited, capturing the beautiful rich culture Ghana has to offer.