Volunteer Centre was honoured to host the first Regional Learning Forum of partners of Canada World Youth. The event took place in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

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…..Welcomes a new Board and looks forward to a
year of exciting local and international programmes and partnerships…….

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Taken from letters of international volunteers from the Ottawa University in Canada…

NB!!!
LET GO OF YOUR EXPECTATIONS!
Try everything you can; take public transport; even try third class on the train; go out for drinks after work; talk to everyone you meet; be yourself; have an amazing adventure; listen to the people of South Africa, they have incredible stories to tell and lastly – Your experience will only be as good as make it, you will get out what you put in.

Just when you think that your studies are becoming a bit of a drag and all you want to do is just get done with your course work and start earning a living, your lecturer tells you that as part of your course you have to do 3 months of volunteering and the volunteering is to be done in another continent; but there was no regret when we decided on Africa and experienced South Africa because of Volunteer Centre.

Nikiwe is a 22 year old girl who since she was yery young has been dedicating her time by taking part in voluntering activities promoted by Volunteer Centre.
Her story is one of social commitment and learning developing between her country, South Africa, Canada and Iceland...

To read the interview to Nikiwe click here

Youth exchange and volunteering programmes run by Volunteer Centre offers the great opportunity to make young people both live meaningful volunteering experiences and exposure to numerous cultural backgrounds that are different and far from their own.
In order to guarantee the youth this chance, the Canada World Youth Exchange Programme ensures the young South African, Mozambican and Canadian participants be hosted by local families living in the country where the participants are doing the voluntary service.
During the three months stay in South Africa, the youth live with their host families, getting acquainted with the host communities customs' and habits' and exprience, day to day, South Africa's memories and flavours in the unformal context of a family.
On the other hand, local people get the chance to discover, in most of the cases for the first time, new and faraway countries through the participants’ eyes who often open there hearts to them disclosing their own fears, expectations and dreams..
The exchange occurring inside the houses is a two-way process and, at the end of the experience, both the young participants and the families feel changed and enriched.

To know more about the host families' experience click here

In keeping with the spirit of volunteering the Volunteer Centre Staff and volunteers participated in International Mandela day. To some this is a day that is celebrated annually – but our organization promotes the notion that everyday should be a Mandela Day.

To read more click here

Volunteer centre will be having a special focus on Mandela Day

Make Every Day a Mandela Day

Welcome to the 25th issue of “Worlds of Experience” dedicated to the European
Year of Volunteering and the IYV+10.

Half way through this crucial year, and ten years after the UN International Year of
Volunteers (2011), it is encouraging to note that volunteering is much more visible
on the agenda of international organisations, governments and civil society
organisations. However, we hope that the impact of this year, particularly when it
comes to overcoming barriers to youth mobility and to supporting the efforts
needed to document the benefits and assessing the impact of volunteering, to give
it recognition and explore realistic ways to certify and accredit achievements, will
become a sustained progress beyond 2011!

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