Gap Year South Africa harnesses the power of volunteerism and aims to connect the developed world with the developing world. We believe in the power and importance of committing time and energy into a developmental project. Our on the ground organisation in South Africa has an extensive network of contacts and intimate knowledge of local conditions, which allows us to organise the best possible South African Gap Year projects.

Gap Year South Africa works extremely closely with under-resourced local South African communities. At the core of Gap Year South Africa’s DNA are our community development projects.  This is our primary objective as an organisation and we want to welcome volunteers that are motivated to make a difference and serve others that have been afforded very little opportunity in life. Our South African Gap Year projects contribute to social and economic development and address priority areas such as education, health, moral regeneration and social cohesion

Gap Year South Africa always endeavours to ensure that our volunteers have a safe time while in South Africa, make a meaningful contribution to a hugely under resourced community, have loads of fun, experience Africa and in particular Cape Town and all of its attractions as well as learn a great deal about themselves and gain valuable life lessons and experiences.

Gap Year South Africa Approach

Our approach is one of co-investment and community involvement, where local communities and local organisations are also encouraged to commit time, energy and basic resources to the projects. Gap Year South Africa projects are ‘owned’ by local communities and local organisations and a stringent operational code of conduct is always adhered too. This encourages a two-way commitment and investment both from the local community and local organisation as well as the volunteer.

Our model avoids creating a mindset of dependency but rather builds self sustainability within under-resourced communities. The intended beneficiaries of our projects are people who have inherently been afforded very little exceptional opportunity. Working with local communities, we aim to empower underprivileged people with the essential life skills to become future values-based leaders of development in their own communities.

Location

Gap Year South Africa exclusively directs all its energy and resources into South Africa. We specialise in the placement of volunteers from all over the world into key developmental projects in underprivileged communities in South Africa. Gap Year South Africa is proudly regarded as one of the leading organisations in the delivery of specialist South African Gap Year experiences. Gap Year South Africa prides itself in offering a limited number of places on each Gap Year project, ensuring all our Gap Year volunteers enjoy an extremely personalised experience in South Africa.

Gap Year South Africa has two Head Quarters, one in the United Kingdom and the other in South Africa. We cater for all your requirements prior to your departure for South Africa as well as managing your in-country South African experience including your chosen project, airport transfers, accommodation, weekly food, transport to and from your project as well as organising a wide range of excursions.