Making a meaningful difference in one of the poorest provinces in South Africa
Coffee Bay is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa: 93% of the people who live there don´t complete their secondary education, and 38% of the economically active population is unemployed.
For helping the local community, the hostel Coffee Shack Backpackers the NPO Sustainable Coffee Bay, that is engaged in many projects to help the locals. They run lots of projects there, focusing on the education (from primary to professional, helping the locals to find a job) and also on the environment.
You can also do some volunteering work when you are in Coffee Bay – check it out some of the projects that they run there:
PRIMARY SCHOOL – IKHAYA LABANTWANA (Montessori Early Learning Center)
Maybe you aren´t familiar with the Montessori method, as I wasn´t before arriving in Coffee Bay. It´s a very different and interesting way of educating, that focuses on the practical acquirement of knowledge, and in the development of independent children.
They provide many stations for the children, starting from objects that they can find at home, such as a water jar and clothes’ clips, to teach about motion coordination, to more complex ones, such as jigsaws, globes, cards, shapes that help the kids to learn to read and to count with very practical objects and exercises.
It´s very interesting how they slowly introduce the letters, mixing different senses such as tact and sounds, much before teaching the kids how to write them down. The same goes with math. It´s a very ludic way, the kids naturally learn to read, write and count, without pressure.
Also, it draws attention the independence the kids have in the whole process – they just go to the shelves and choose whatever they want to do. They grab a mattress to work at the floor, or pick a seat at one of the tables, and start working or playing. They have the supervision of the teachers, but it´s impressive how independent they are in the whole process.
At the primary school they have 55 kids from 3 to 7 years old, and they provide different stimulations/exercises for every age, according to development of the student. They also provide 3 meals a day.
I spent a morning there, and it was a great experience. I started taking the bus with all of them uphill to the school, and ended up with a bunch of them seated on my lap, while others were trying to draw my attention calling me to work with them. Definitely a day not to be forgotten!
EX MINER WORKERS
Lots of people who live in the villages used to work in Johannesburg as miners, and most of them have no idea about how to claim for their Provident Funds. At Sustainable Coffee Bay they help these people to access it, and also how to deal with the amount received.
RECYCLING
They also put a great effort in the recycling process, using the organic wastes to feed the pigs, and recycling whatever they can.
COMMUNITY BASKET
At the hostel they encourage the guests to donate a used or new piece of clothes, that will be given as a Christmas Gift to the members of the community.
SCHOOL FUNDS
High School Scholarship and Tertiary Education Funds are projects to assist children to access higher education through scholarships and bursaries. Sustainable Coffee Bay is always looking for sponsors to make this possible – you can also helping them, any donation is welcome.
To know more about their projects, access Sustainable Coffee Bay site here. You can also do some volunteering work when you are in Coffee Bay – get in touch with them to know how you can help: happydays@susteinablecoffeebay.org.za
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Planning your trip:
– Accommodation: you can book your accommodation here – hotels/hostels comparing and free booking cancel
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The blogger stayed in Coffee Bay by invitation of Coffee Shack Backpackers. I’d like to thank again for the opportunity, and also make it clear that all the opinions present here are independent and personal.
