Experience the Contrasting Lifestyles of the Modern Xhosa People - A Volunteer Africa Project

April 28, 2011 - PRLog -- South Africa’s Eastern Cape: the traditional home of its largest tribe, the Xhosa's is still today one of the country’s poorest areas. As recently as the late 1980's, and towards the end of the apartheid era, there was a great population shift in South Africa with many of the men, followed by their families, travelling to the large cities from the homelands, in an attempt to find employment, better education, and a better life. Many, having nowhere to stay, initially built shanty homes of scrap metal, wood and cardboard on poor vacant land. Thus the informal settlements were formed. These settlements are highly populated to this day, are still lacking in basic facilities and are severely overcrowded. Due to the displaced nature of these settlements and their populations the Xhosa people are also often devoid of their original culture and traditions.

Volunteer Africa 32 Degrees South (VA32), based on the Eastern Cape in the picturesque Chintsa, in partnership with Volunteers Direct working in the Cape Town township of Imizano Yetho, are now offering the opportunity for volunteers to experience these contrasting environments. This opportunity provides a rare chance to volunteer within two contrasting areas of the country, to compare the lifestyles of the people that you encounter and judge the effects that their lifestyle choices have on everyday life and culture.

Whilst in the Eastern Cape volunteers will join the Wild Coast Schools Project which is VA32's pioneering volunteer project & was recently awarded the Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) mark. The project concentrates on delivering Computer Literacy classes to rural South African schools. As well as teaching computer classes volunteers have the opportunity to take part in our structured community outreach projects, teaching arts & sports and helping VA32 to recognise where the wider Chintsa community needs support. This project comes highly recommended & offers volunteers the chance to become a part of the local community where they can really make a difference. To read more about this project visit http://www.volunteerafrica.co.za/schools.asp or for more on VA32 as an organisation visit http://www.volunteerafrica.co.za

The Township Teaching Project places volunteers into township schools where they are a vital resource to teachers in highly over populated and under resourced schools. Volunteers offer their time and skills in assisting the teachers in classes and with activities providing extra tuition in homework clubs and running sports activities. Volunteers Direct offer volunteers a choice of teaching projects, visit http://www.volunteersdirect.co.za/projects.html to read more!

By offering this opportunity to the international volunteer sector, VA32 hopes to provide a unique experience to volunteers by providing high quality & sustainable projects in both rural & urban South Africa, to travellers who wish to give their time & enthusiasm to South African school learners while observing the contrasting lifestyles of the modern amaXhosa people of South Africa.

# # #

Volunteer Africa 32 Degrees South (VA32) is a volunteer organisation based in Chintsa, on the Wild Coast of South Africa. Since 2004 they have been working to help support and develop rural communities through education and conservation initiatives. Our pioneering initiative - the Wild Coast Schools Project - was recently awarded the Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) mark. VA32...changing lives everyday.