Breathtaking views of the Jozini Lake

The Royal Jozini’s vegetation is predominantly mixed acacia bushveld; fever-tree riverine forest, Marula forest, open savannah plains, craggy mountain escarpment and the seasonal flood plains on the shore of the lake which offers wonderful game viewing.

Interns on a game drive learning to identify various wildlife at Royal Jozini

The diverse topography from the top of the Lebombo mountains to the lake results in a wide variety of habitats and ecosystems that support an abundance of biodiversity, including 450 species of birds and larger wildlife, including elephant, buffalo, leopard, rhino, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, waterbuck, bushbuck, kudu, jackal, hyena, crocodile and hippo.

Herd of elephants at Royal Jozini

What activities will the intern be involved in?

Interns will experience hands-on field research relevant to the conservation of the savannah ecosystem of Eswatini within a larger trans-frontier conservation area. Participants in this project may assist with a range of activities depending on the time of year. The project is focused on ecological research and hands-on conservation, in the private Royal Jozini game reserve. Activities will include biodiversity surveys concentrating on rodents, ungulates, predators, birds and vegetation as part of a long-term savannah monitoring program. This will involve field walks and drives into the bush to set up camera traps or Sherman live traps and other harmless biodiversity surveying techniques and then revisiting these and recording information on the animals and plants observed.

Interns having a bonfire night

Hands-on conservation tasks may include fence patrols and maintenance, erosion control, alien invasive plant removal and community outreach.

Interns removing alien invasive plants at Royal Jozini

Other activities may include threatened species surveys and computer data entry and assisting with camp chores. Participants will learn wildlife field survey techniques, learn to identify various wildlife, gain conservation experience and will have the opportunity to observe and discuss a range of current issues facing conservation in Africa.

Accommodation and meals

Participants will be living on-site in a private camp on the reserve, accommodation will be in 2-man tents, fitted with mattresses and pillows. Three meals a day will also be provided, some on a self serve basis and others cooked for them.

2-man tent, fitted with mattresses and pillows at Royal Jozini

If this looks like an internship that you would like to be a part of, email us at bookings@alloutafrica.com with a little bit more about you along with your CV. We would love to meet you and get started!

The beginning of the trip

For those who don’t know, I took a second big trip to South Africa and Eswatini. This trip was not only travelling, it included also volunteering.

So first thing first.

Back home, I was searching if it was possible to travel and to my surprise it was possible. But it was a bit harder, I was searching for countries and there it was: a volunteering project. The project involved a little bit of travelling and volunteering. I was curious and clicked on it and after reading the itinerary I was so excited and decided to go for it!

The first day

On the first day, I had a great experience. It began with a warm welcome at the airport from our best All Out Africa staff member Bob. And a first great experience with the other volunteers and the staff in the Kruger Park. From the first moment, the group was so close. I had the best time and a lot of inside jokes. I was sad that I had to leave the stunning place and the staff with all their wisdom about nature and animals. And I will miss the funny stories. 

A special thanks to Adriaan our ranger. Or shall I say, Andrew? But also Phayo, Bob and Roland for this great experience. Most of all for your patience with us with our silly and weird questions, we had a great time. 

A group photo at Kruger Park National                     

Volunteering project

Then it was time for the next experience where we came for the volunteering, in Eswatini, one of the smallest countries in the African continent with stunning scenery. We had a second big warm welcome from the All Out Africa and the Lidwala lodge staff. Lidwala Lodge became our second home, a beautiful lodge surrounded by a lot of nature.

After settling down, we had two orientations and followed by a guided tour in one of the most famous and iconic residential villages Lobamba. It was finally time for volunteering. And there it was: our first day, It all started with the Kombis (the public transport) it is so different from home, but luckily Eunice the NCP coordinator was with us for guidance.

A group photo captured after our Eswatini orientation

The bus is very small and it is called a kombi, If you need a kombi,  you just stand near the road and wave at the kombi. The kombi stops for you and you say your stash (drop off place) and you get in. Sometimes you have a place and sometimes not. The first time it was a little bit scary, but luckily the people were so helpful and always keen to help, especially when we were wearing our volunteering shirts.

Eswatini mode of transport (Kombi)

Back to the story, together with Femke my NCP buddy, we went to our NCP for the first time, which is in Mvutjini (in the beginning, we didn’t pronounce it right and that gave us a lot of laughter). We were in shock the first time at our NCP, to be honest. It was so different from home, we came to realize that we were so privileged. Besides a lot of love from the teacher, the school didn’t have much, they have to work with almost nothing because they rely on donations.

Children playing at Mvutjini NCP

NCP which stands for neighbourhood care point is an informal preschool, most of the underprivileged and orphans in the Kingdom go to an NCP for education and there are eight NCPs that are supported by All Out Africa. One of the interesting things about the NCPs is that the teachers are not professional teachers but they are passionate about working with children and want to give them a good future. You can say the teachers are volunteers too. At the NCPs they are not only providing pre-education, but they also provide meals for the children and do sports with them. They get a chance for a brighter future. I love to be a part of that. I know I can’t change the world, but every step helps.

An obstacle course race at the NCP

Preparing a meal for the NCP children

The workshop

I was thinking: how can I do more? I know about the development of children. Back home, I have a degree and I am a specialist in the development of children from 0-6 years old. After a lot of thinking and discussing with the other volunteers, we found a solution to help a little.

We had the idea to make a program with suggestions for the whole school year. Together with the other volunteers, we set up a book to teach children how to write. The staff from All Out Africa was happy and asked if we can do more with this project. So the project became bigger and bigger. Together with Eunice, the NCP coordinator, we came with the idea to give all the NCP teachers a workshop. I was so excited because I love to host workshops.

And there it was: a workshop about the development of pre-writing and the stages. The biggest and most important message was how a child learns through play.

The day of the workshop was here and I was so nervous because I had to host a workshop in English which is not my first language. That day, we had to face a big problem. This day there weren’t driving Kombis. So the staff had to improvise. Simise (Marketing Coordinator and Team leader) and Michael (Building and Sports coordinator) had to drive all the volunteers to the NCP”s and collect all the teachers to Lidwala Lodge where we hosted the workshop. So it took a little bit longer until I could start with the workshop. The nerves got me, but then there was the lovely Tiphiwe (she works at the office and every day she has the patience to listen to me for a nice little chat). She was comforting me. During the workshop, Simise (the team leader with the funniest laugh) was supporting me.

NCP teachers during their workshop

During the workshop, every minute I felt more and more comfortable doing it in another language. We had a good conversation and exchanged knowledge and experiences. It was a nice workshop. The teachers were very happy and asked a lot of questions. They were so curious and were willing to learn things. It was a big pleasure to meet all the teachers and give them this workshop.

Lastly, I want to give a big shout out to the other volunteers to help me set this up. And a big thanks to All Out Africa for giving me this opportunity. 

Myself, Simise and the NCP teachers after the workshop

It is so beautiful to see that there are people in this world that are willing to help the unprivileged. And that they give them a chance. A big compliment to the staff from All Out Africa, that they are so dedicated and took us, the volunteers, under their wings for this big impression.

Group photo with All Out Africa staff and volunteers

If you want to know more about All Out Africa, donate or volunteer. Just look at their website or feel free to approach them with questions. If you want to know more inside information from the volunteers about this experience, the staff from All Out Africa can help you to get in contact with me or the other volunteers.

Thank you and best wishes,

Written by Shirley Ramkhelawan

Click here if you would like to know more about our Safari tour, or our Volunteering programs.

All Out Africa volunteer helping a primary school child with his school work pre-COVID.

Education in Eswatini (Eswatini) before COVID-19

Education in Eswatini (Eswatini) before COVID-19 was widely accessible but left plenty of room for improvement. Adult literacy in Eswatini was 88% in 2018 which is well above the average of 65% in sub-Saharan Africa, but below the average of 98% in Europe and Central Asia in 2018. The quality of education needs improvement. In southern Africa, 80% of ten-year-olds are not able to read and understand a simple story – known as learning poverty. Enrollment in High school in Eswatini is around 82%  and of these the dropout rate is about 14%. A major challenge for the parents and guardians of many high school students in Eswatini is the relatively high cost of high school education. Unicef identifies a number of challenges in Eswatini contributing to the high drop-out rates of high school students, including:

• pregnancy,
• the high cost of secondary education,
• high levels of sexual violence, and
• Continuing use of corporal punishment of school children.

Education in Eswatini (Eswatini) and COVID-19, a lost year

In March 2020 the Government of Eswatini (in line with many other countries) declared a state of national disaster owing to the Coronavirus Pandemic and closed down a range of operations including schools. Schools in sub-Saharan Africa shut for an average of 23 weeks. However, schools in Eswatini remained shut for a whole year.

Children from Ezulwini Neighbourhood Care Point.

While efforts have been made to offer some form of education to the thousands of children needing it in Eswatini, lack of access to devices and the high cost of the internet (one of the highest in the world has prevented most children from learning during this time. We have lost a year of education in Eswatini. What is the impact of this? It has yet to be determined but is likely a devastating blow setting many children in Eswatini at a distinct disadvantage.

The impact of a break-in Education

For now, the impact of the school closures in Eswatini on children’s education is not known. A study of children affected by an earthquake in 2005 in Pakistan found that classrooms closing for 3 months resulted in children falling behind by one and a half years. Eswatini should focus a concerted effort on catching up on the lost education of the past year and capitalize on any opportunities to improve the level of education.

Hope for Education in Eswatini

At All Out Africa, we believe that pre-school education provides an essential foundation for successful school learning. We work together with the Ministry of Education, communities and some of our loyal past volunteers to help provide quality pre-school learning for disadvantaged children.

We believe that completion of school is important for all. We would love to see a solution for the high cost of high school education in Eswatini. Tackling this should really be a national priority. We do work together with communities and schools to identify children in need of sponsorship and try to source donors to support their attendance but this is a tiny drop in the ocean and a better long-term solution by the government is needed.

All Out Africa volunteer assisting with teaching at the Neighbourhood Care Point pre-COVID.

We believe that apprenticeship or field-based learning is an essential element of successful tertiary education. We believe that learning by doing is the best way to develop real career skills and to help address the challenge of youth unemployment we run an internship program that connects interns with career opportunities. Interested in supporting this project? Interested in being an intern? Interested in employing an intern?.

An intern during an internship placement pre-COVID.

We also run a field education facility in Eswatini for environmental studies (the Savannah Research Centre) and work with the University of Eswatini and the University of Florida to support tertiary students to carry out field-based learning activities here. We also run a field education facility in Tofo, Mozambique (the Marine Research Centre) and work with the Edwardo Mondlane University and Louisiana State University to support tertiary students to carry out field-based learning activities here. We train Swazi’s and Mozambicans here to become skilled local ecologists which is an important need if we are to address the environmental challenges facing the region. Interested in supporting this project?

Savannah Research Centre team setting up a motion dictator camera. (The photo was taken during the pre-COVID period).

We welcome anyone interested in supporting or getting involved in these projects to help improve education in Eswatini and southern Africa.

While fifteen-year anniversary T-Shirts reminded us of All Out’s heritage, it was the next three, five and fifteen years that were our focus for the day.  As a facilitator, it was my privilege to help everyone work out how international volunteering, educational and welfare activities (the original inspiration), could grow together with the more recent and more financially successful tours’ side of the operation. There was a win-win waiting to be found and we had a day to find it.

A photo showing All Out Africa Team

We worked hard, laughed, dreamed, schemed and as the Eswatini sun was dipping below the horizon, the team had come up with 31 wins-wins. Integrated tech, buddying to see how other teams do things, sharing skills, quality uniform kit for volunteers, parties to celebrate and more.  The enthusiasm was at the top end of the scale and everyone was ready to make it all happen.  All eyes were on those sunlit uplands – hands on the wheel and off we go.

A photo showing some of the All Out Africa team showing their sculpture

But on that special day, the threat of the Covid tsunami which was about to engulf All Out Africa and the globe was, so it seemed, well beyond the horizon. But it wasn’t. Given barely a passing mention in the opening session as one of a number of possible ’threats’, the pandemic was already closer than any of us dared to think.

A few months after that special day, like a truck stuck in mud after persistent rains, everything slammed to a halt. I know it has been a long and painful grind through the pandemic.  But right now, mid-2021, with some first signs of recovery appearing, the spark is again firing in the engine, there is some fuel trickling into the tank and the All Out Africa wheels are beginning to move.

Martin Farrell and All Out Africa Director Roland Thorne

The call of the majestic Swazi scenery and the embracing sounds of its lush nature is as compelling as ever.  The dreams distilled in January 2020, resting during the pandemic, are now coming back to life as the need for All Out’s social programs grows. That day, I found my place in the All Out Africa story which was a special and memorable moment in my adventures in Africa; I imagine there will be more.  I know too that there can be a place for you in that story where you could create an ‘adventure which changes lives’ – which could be your life and the lives of others whom you may meet one day on a dusty Swazi road.