We know that volunteers have a role to play in improving the quality of rural education in South Africa. Volunteers offer valuable skills and services, as well as a fresh attitude and perspective, that complement the work of our long-term staff. For their part, volunteers gain a deeper understanding of the education system in these communities and hopefully become committed education advocates.
We are dedicated to the safety and well-being of the children we work with, and we have a rigorous volunteer selection process in place to ensure that all volunteers are a good fit for our organization. We prioritize the professional development of our local staff, which means that we cannot guarantee placement for all volunteers.
We encourage those who share our passion for education to visit our website and fill out an application form. We prefer volunteers to stay for a minimum of two months, but we are open to shorter stays depending on our capacity at the time. Once we receive your application, we will review it and forward it to the relevant person within our organization. If there is a need for volunteers and we have the capacity to accommodate them, we will arrange the next steps with you.
Kayleigh, a volunteer who began in July 2023 and aims to stay for the rest of the year, had this to say:
“To call volunteering with Axium Education ‘life-changing’ is, categorically, an understatement. When I made the decision to fill out the ‘Contact Us’ box on the Axium website, I had absolutely no idea what I would be in for. In my message to the admin staff, I mentioned that I had just graduated from the University of Cape Town and was looking for some ‘hands-on experience’ working in the education sector. The reply I received was so warm and friendly that it turned what had been a vague idea for a way to spend my gap year into a genuinely exciting possibility.
I was put in touch with David De Gruchy, the programme and operations manager. David asked to see my CV and wanted to know a bit more about who I am and what I could offer the organization, and he used this information to match me with the Masakhane programme (one of the many excellent teams that make up 'Axium'). Given that the Masakhane programme aims to improve student achievement amongst young learners, specifically grades four to seven, and that the majority of my work experience was with young children, this was the perfect placement for me.
My duties vary greatly and range from spending many hours behind the wheel, driving the students home in the evenings, to putting in a lot of behind-the-scenes work to ensure that Masakhane’s many incredible events run as smoothly as possible. I cannot stress enough how welcoming the Zithulele and Axium communities have been. Every question you have is almost guaranteed to be answered by a smiling face and with helpful information. Volunteering with Axium is likely to push you far outside of your comfort zone and may force you to try many new things for the first time. While this may seem scary, you will be greatly rewarded with innumerable chances to form friendships and memories that will last a lifetime, and to experience the feeling of fulfilment that comes with the valuable work you will do during your stay in Zithulele.”
Volunteers are a vital part of our organization, and we appreciate their dedication to our mission. If you have any questions about our volunteer program, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to help and answer any queries you may have.