Work With a Medical/Healthcare Project in South Africa

Project At A Glance

Locations: Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Albertinia, Knysna, Oudtshoorn & Riversdale Start point: Cape Town End point: Cape Town Duration: 2-12 weeks Hours: 30-40 hours per week Food: Local meals (3 times a day) Room: Host family or hostel Date: First and Third Wednesday of each month

Project Summary

There are a variety of medical/healthcare projects throughout the country. In most cases, medical/healthcare volunteers are placed in hospitals or clinics. In hospitals, volunteers assist the staff in the hospital wards and maternity ward. At a clinic volunteers may assist the care takers on daily rounds to visit patients, provide basic health care, distribute medication, advice and counseling and be of any further assistance for special activities. Other volunteer activities include assisting with children’s care and support group, providing day care and adult support, and hosting reading and craft activities like painting and knitting.

Many volunteers find placement in local hospitals/clinics to be an immense but achievable challenge. At the start of the project, the staff makes introductions to all patients and shares the history of the clinic. Volunteers also work with counselors and share personal expertise with the staff. Volunteers cannot offer AIDS counseling, due to confidentiality, but are asked to talk to patients about AIDS. Volunteers also have the opportunity to work with the local doctors who are very qualified and capable. Volunteers collaborate with these doctors to help promote proper medical healthcare within the community/region.

Volunteers will work mainly Mondays to Fridays from 8am to 4pm leaving evenings free.

Skills/Qualifications Needed

Volunteers/interns who are interested in joining our volunteer health program must possess healthcare certification, such as an ID as a medical student, EMT or paramedic certification or nursing or physician's credentials. We do not permit volunteers without medical credentials to work in this program due to the potential risk. The hospitals require a copy of volunteers resume, clearly documenting credentials and education, before a volunteer’s arrival to the project. Projects will also require an official copy of volunteers’ credentials.

Volunteer Responsibilities

Volunteers' duties may include assisting the staff in the following:

• Outpatient Department Services (OPD)
  
• Dispensing medications
  
• Injections/Immunizations
  
• Health Education
  
• Community Outreach
  
• Pre-natal Services
  
• Family Planning

(NOTE: Activities will vary from day-to-day, depending up on the schedule of the project and a volunteer’s skills/experience. The local project staff members may request assistance in various activities deemed necessary or beneficial to the clinic or those in need.). Generally, the head of the clinic/hospital presents volunteers with a work plan upon arrival. The daily work plan depends up on the individuals' skills, interests and knowledge.

Note: In South Africa, many of our volunteer projects are based in rural communities, sometime located a great distance from the city limits of Cape Town. In each local community, we support multiple projects such as orphanages, schools, HIV/AIDS project, hospital etc. Volunteers will help or participate in more than one project during their experience. This multi-tasking presents a more varied volunteering experience and the extra help is greatly appreciated by the community.

Room/Food/Supervision

IFRE arranges accommodations and food (3 local meals/day) for the duration of your volunteer project. During orientation and training program, volunteers stay in our hostel in Cape Town. Our hostel is located in the heart of the city giving volunteers easy access to all parts of the city. Volunteers stay with a host family (aka “homestay”) during the volunteer program. Our host families are socially respected and are well versed in the art of hosting international volunteers. Host families offer a safe home, private rooms (occasionally rooms will be shared with other same-gender volunteers) and shared bathroom facilities with running water.

Volunteers will receive three meals of South African cuisine each day. Breakfast normally consists of cereal and toast; lunch is packed to take to your project and dinner is a nutritious home cooked local meal (meat & vegetables, rice or potatoes & salad). Host families provide typical meals that are traditional to South Africa.. Throughout the volunteer project, our local staff stays in contact with volunteers with either face-to-face visits or via email/telephone. IFRE’s main office is in Cape Town and our in-country coordinator serves as a point of contact for local volunteers. If project placement is very far from our main office, then our local staff members maintain communication by email and/or phone and the local project director will serve as a volunteer’s contact. Upon program placement, personal placement documents provide specific details of accommodations and project.