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TEACH DRAMA, DANCE AND MUSIC TO UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN KNYSNA

SOUTH AFRICA

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Teach Drama, Dance and Music in the schools in the local community. It's a fun way to really make a difference to the disadvantaged children you'll work with, and it will have a very strong impact on you as well. You won't want to leave.

South Africa is FANTASTIC! Teaching is incredible. I've been excited every day to go to school. The kids are so ready to learn music and drama. I've been doing a mix with them. I bring my guitar to school every day and have taught most of my classes four of my favorite songs. Two by a band called Old Crow Medicine Show and the other two by The Grateful Dead. I've also been teaching the older kids some stage combat. All in all everything is wonderful. Thank you for this experience!" Richard Adler
 
SUMMARY FACTFILE
Start Dates All year round (subject to school term dates) - you choose your start and finish dates!
Duration From 1 week to 12 weeks or longer, subject to visa requirements.
Requirements No qualifications or experience required, just lots of enthusiasm and an active imagination!
Price From £795 / US$1,195 for 1 week, ranging to £2,895 / US$4,345 for 12 weeks.
Full Price List and other Currencies
What's included Accommodation Food Meeting you at the Airport Transfer to your accommodation Transport to and from your project Full pre-departure support Local in-country team support and backup 24-hr emergency supportFree T-shirt
What's not included Flights, Insurance, Cost of Visas (if a visa is required, but we'll provide necessary documents and assistance), Return transfer to airport.
Who can do this Project? All projects are open to all nationalities.
You need to be aged between 17 and 77+

PROJECT OVERVIEW
People from all backgrounds can participate in drama, developing essential skills by learning to express themselves and gain self-confidence. Theatre can be aimed at young people, old people, disadvantaged people, sick people, homeless people - to educate and inform or simply to entertain. This can take the form of productions for schools, orphanages, old people's homes, plays for the education of local children, theatre workshops for disadvantaged children.

WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:

  • An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into Africa and the many diverse cultures in South Africa

  • The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and knowing that you made a difference to them.

  • New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.

  • An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market

  • And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!

WORK CONTENT:

You'll be able to do some or all of the following:

  • Organising and putting on drama workshops in various local schools around George and Knysna. This would involve energising warm-ups, improvisations, dance-drama and devising pieces of theatre in small groups.

  • Organising an after-school drama club (and possibly even during lunch break) or drama sessions during school-time for pupils.

  • Helping the local school children to put on a small-scale productions so that they can all been involved in some aspect of it (either acting, creating costumes, masks, set or make-up). Please note that these may not always take place during your project - it will depend on what's happening when you're there.

  • Devising and performing educational pieces of theatre (on issues such as bullying) for the school children at any available venues (town hall/school yard/wherever!).

  • Alongside the drama, volunteers could also help out with conversational English classes (and any other subjects where needed). It may also be possible to incorporate drama lessons into the English classes, perhaps once a week.

The project may possibly be extended to involve local unemployed people, or street kids, or even elderly people or children's orphanages. These are just a few ideas and it may be that some volunteers will have more ideas that will help to make this project a worthwhile one that will benefit the community for a long time to come.

Comments from Sharon, Travellers Volunteer Liaison in Knysna, about what two of our Drama Volunteers did in a class she went to observe:
I went up to day to sit in on a drama class at Tembelitsha Primary School that two of our volunteers, Amy Powell and Jack Gunner, were going to take. It was Grade 5B class which is made up of children that are approximately 10 years old. The class started with Amy and Jack teaching them about the different ways of using themselves in drama, namely facial expressions, body language and their voices. How to maximise and minimise their body movements and facial expressions and then the different ways they could use their voices by whispering, shouting, talking, singing and crying.

As you can imagine the class got extremely rowdy and all the children had a lot of fun. The noise levels then increased as Amy and Jack showed the class how to do breathing exercises, and mouth warm-ups so they could make a ‘sound collage’ by splitting the class up into groups and getting the different groups to make one particular sound. Put together it was deafening but all the children loved it with them all interacting.

They then where taught how to create different effects with their voices by changing the pitch, speed and volume of their voices. All they learnt was then put together in character enactment and by volunteers from the class doing freeze frame sketches. They then ended the class with a song.

The hour class went by so quickly I actually had to check my watch to see if it was really over! It was so great to see so many children in the class participated and it was quite obvious to me that they all got a lot out of it as when the class was over Amy and Jack where surrounded by children hugging and kissing them! Well done guys!!

SCHOOL TERMS IN SOUTH AFRICA:
Dates for the 2011 school terms (semesters) are given below.

  • Term 1: 19th Jan – 1st April

  • Term 2: 11th April – 24th June

  • Term 3: 18th July – 30th Sept

  • Term 4: 10th Oct – 9th Dec

Dates for the 2012 school terms (semesters) are given below.

  • Term 1: 11th Jan – 23rd March

  • Term 2: 10th April – 22nd June

  • Term 3: 16th July – 28th Sept

  • Term 4:  9th Oct – 7th Dec

Nervous about going somewhere new? Read Ben Smith's Case Study on this project

If you are interested in arranging a dance workshop, then please visit the street kids project for more details on a dance workshop that an ex-volunteer set-up there. Click here to visit the project page.

OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DO WHILE ON THIS PROJECT:

  • 5-DAY OR 7-DAY SAFARI from Cape Town up the renowned Garden Route: taking in Dolphin and Whale Spotting, visits to many tourist attractions, such as a visit to a brewery(!), the Bloukrantz Bungy Jump (reportedly the highest in the world), and a guided tour of the Cango Caves.
  • 1 WEEK WHALES, SHARKS AND DOLPHINS Project: This is an extraordinary and exciting project in a beautiful location, surrounded by white beaches and blue ocean. And two hours from the world's third favourite city - Cape Town. What more could anyone want?
  • SURFING COURSES: In the buzz city of Durban.
  • PARAGLIDING COURSE: Soar over the impressively beautiful Drakensburg Mountain. You'll get a licence at the end of the course which qualifies you to do solo paragliding around the world.

Got any questions? Please email us: info@travellersworldwide.com

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Got any questions? Please email us:
info@travellersworldwide.com


Enhance your Programme with some exciting activities:
Tours and Safaris

Surfing Courses in Cape Town
Surfing Courses in KwaZulu-Natal
Photography & Photoshop Courses
1-Week Wildlife Rehabilitation

1-Week Whales Sharks Dolphins
10-Day Paragliding Course


Volunteer Feedback
Photo Galleries
Knysna Diary
Wildlife Rehabilitation Diary
eMakhosini Diary
Wildlife Expedition News!


Volunteers Amy Powell and Jack Gunner in Drama class
 


Dance Class!

EXTRA ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE TO INCORPORATE INTO YOUR PROJECT

As an added bonus and extra activity during your project, you may also have the opportunity to provide help and support to the local community through the various afternoon activities we have to offer. This is an excellent way to immerse yourself in the African culture, but most importantly to give a caring hand to the local community. The activities could range from helping out at;

  • The Children's Home  - Make the afternoons fun and exciting for these lovely children by playing games, helping them with home work and just being there to give them the attention that they so crave.
  • After-school drama or sports - Take some time out after school to set up after school sports or drama clubs, the children love it and it's a great way to get to know them better in a relaxed and fun environment (If you'd like to set up a drama or sports club, please let us know when you apply so that we can arrange it with the school before you arrive.)
  • Other community projects  - In the past volunteers have helped to paint the outside of a crèche that was in desperate need of a lift. The crèche is now looking very cheerful with brightly coloured walls. A jungle gym was donated to this orphanage and volunteers also helped to put it together for the crèche too! There may be other similar projects available at the time you're there that you might want to participate in.
You could be part of these excellent and worthwhile projects ... so why not volunteer in Knysna!
ACCOMMODATION AND TRAVEL


Volunteer house in Knysna

Monkeys in the garden of one of the volunteer houses in Knysna

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Knysna: For this project you will live in our volunteer house with other Travellers volunteers. You may either have your own room or will share a room with one or more other Travellers volunteers. It will depend on how many people are there at the same time that you are. This is a comfortable house with good facilities and a beautiful view of Knysna Lagoon. You will be provided with a food budget, so that you can buy your own groceries and cook and prepare your own meals at the house, this makes for a great social event.

When accommodation is limited, we occasionally place volunteers in a local Guest House which is very comfortable and convenient for access into town. Please note that occasionally the house that we use may change owing to availability.

There are several good, inexpensive steak houses and lots of good Chinese, Italian and other ethnic restaurants all over South Africa. Seafood, of course, is often fresh and plentiful.

On Arrival, your Introduction to the Country: When you arrive you will be welcomed by a member of our South African staff who will take you to your accommodation and introduce you to everyone. During your first few days you'll be given an induction so that you can learn about the country and its culture, as well as other useful information, like how to use the transport system, banks, safety issues, tipping, and lots more.

"The area is beautiful and travelling is easy. The house we stay in is lovely and the Travellers workers are such kind, loving people which really makes it feel like a home away from home. What with all the other volunteers and the Travellers staff, it really does feel like our own little family ... well, our own very big family, I suppose!!" Luke Brennan

"Thank you so much for all the time and effort you have put into making this a fantastic stay for us. We will never forget this experience!" Cat Dunlop and Liz Lunn

TRAVEL:
To read about Travel arrangements and what happens when you arrive in your new country, please click here.

Support & Backup: To read about the excellent Support & Backup we provide before you leave and during your programme, please click here.
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TEACH DRAMA, MUSIC AND/OR DANCE IN BEIJING, CHINA:
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info@travellersworldwide.com

 

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