OUR NEXT VOLUNTEER TRIP IS SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 2025
(details below)
an 8-day package for $1,500
Arrive at the Port Elizabeth airport Saturday, 8 February.
Return to the Port Elizabeth airport Saturday, 15 February.
maggie: three-time volunteer, education sponsor, social media coordinator, advisory council member
“Because of them,
I am me.”
THE PROCESS
STEP ONE
Read this page from top to bottom to understand the important details.
STEP TWO
Click to see our Top 10 Wish Lists for fundraising options. See #2 below.
STEP THREE
Contact us to talk through any questions and concerns you have.
STEP FOUR
Complete the short application to make sure it is a good match.
anna: two-time volunteer, education sponsor, host for too many fundraisers to count
“We laughed. We cried. We danced for seven straight days.”
A TYPICAL SCHEDULE
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Arrive at the volunteer area and settle in.
All meals are included: delicious breakfasts are at our lodging, lunches at our partner-schools, and suppers at our lodging or at a local restaurant.
SUNDAY ALL-DAY
After breakfast, get oriented in the township, attend a Xhosa church service, if desired, eat lunch at a Xhosa chef’s home, go on safari, prepare for volunteering, eat, and sleep!
WEEKDAYS ALL-DAY
After an early breakfast, travel to one of our school sites and spend the entire day with Xhosa children and educators, where you will do most (or all) of the following:
Absorb the cultural warmth.
Beautify a classroom.
Create art.
Dance.
Engage.
Find connections.
Guide.
Hibernate from social media.
Imagine equity.
Joke and laugh.
Kick a soccer ball.
Laugh uncontrollably.
Make math easier and fun.
Nurture change.
Organize scavenger hunts.
Paint self-portraits.
Quiet your mind.
Resist judgment.
Stay in the moment.
Teach English.
Understand Ubuntu.
Validate entrepreneurial dreams.
Waste nothing.
Xhosa-study several words.
Yield to listening.
Zigzag your path.
PROGRAM
OPTIONS and DETAILS
OUR PROGRAM
OPTIONS
1] AN INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM, in which the participant raises money to fund (and then to bring to fruition while on the volunteer trip, if possible) one or more of our partner-schools’ sustainable Top 10 Wish List items or, under rare circumstances, bring to fruition another approved sustainable project that is in line with our mission. The fundraising for the Top 10 Wish List project should be completed at least month prior to the February 8, 2025 start date.
2] A GROUP PROGRAM, in which the participants will do both of the following. A) Focus on sustainable initiatives in Education & Careers or Health & Well-being. The former includes, but is not limited to, teacher exchanges and entrepreneurship training, and the latter includes, but is not limited to, healthcare and public health topics, which schools and clinics will recommend based on local needs. B) Collaborate with fellow group members to raise money to fund (and then to bring to fruition while on the volunteer trip, if possible) one or more of our partner-schools’ sustainable Top 10 Wish List items or, under rare circumstances, fund and bring to fruition another approved sustainable project that is in line with our mission. The fundraising for the Top 10 Wish List project should be completed at least month prior to the February 8, 2025 start date.
AGE REQUIREMENTS
Volunteer-hopefuls must complete an application and may need to submit to a background check. Volunteers must be at least 16-years-old, and anyone under the age of 18 must travel with at least one parent/guardian. Note: Universal Promise reserves the right to amend these requirements.
WHAT’S INCLUDED and NOT INCLUDED?
All participants will pay a fee to Universal Promise that will include, during the period of volunteerism, housing, food, in-country South Africa ground transportation, tips, and cultural events. Round-trip airfare and personal items, such as laundry, phone, insurance, and snacks, are not included in that fee to Universal Promise.
COSTS
The price for an eight-day volunteer trip, arriving on-site on a Saturday and leaving on the following Saturday (eight days inclusive), is $1,500. Repeat volunteers should contact us for more pricing details. This price is contingent upon the fulfillment of the requirements under An Individual Program or A Group Program above.
You may, of course, choose to arrive in South Africa before the volunteer trip begins and/or stay after the volunteer trip ends. The before-and-after portions of any early arrivals and late stays are a) your sole responsibility to research and organize and b) completely separate from the Universal Promise volunteer program.
Questions? Contact us today!
BASIC TENETS
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
OUR BASIC TENETS
BEFORE
Fundraising for the selected Top 10 Wish List project(s) is the responsibility of the participants and will be mapped out, with Universal Promise support, to take place over a period of time and to be completed at least one month prior to the program’s start date. Fundraising coordinated with Universal Promise must not include fundraising for personal expenses. Planning for the implementation of the selected Top 10 WishList project(s) is the responsibility of the participants, and will be designed, with Universal Promise support, to take place over a period of time and to be completed at least one month prior to the program’s start date. All elements of the planning, implementation, and follow-up must be done in a culturally sensitive way before, during, and after the trip. Pre-trip education about apartheid and the Xhosa culture is strongly recommended through discussions with UP and by reading South African literature.
ally: four-time volunteer, advisory council member
DURING
Listening, observing without judgment, reflecting, and actively engaging are at the root of this program. This includes examining, acknowledging, confronting, and challenging personal biases and avoiding negative characterizations based on limited information. Participants must keep a daily journal and will use that journal to share, as they see fit, reflections, revelations, and concerns during evening discussions. Mobile phones are not allowed outside our lodging, but participants may bring a camera (not a phone) when engaging in certain activities, such as a safari.
AFTER
Participants must commit to the the following after the period of volunteerism:
o to complete a self-evaluation and a trip-evaluation,
o to be a Universal Promise team #401Gives in the year following the volunteerism,
o to recruit at least one Education Sponsor, and
o to consider ways to expand the Top 10 Wish List project(s), if applicable