I am from a small town in The Netherlands

What project did you sign up for?

I signed up for the Kruger to Cape project. During this project, I will do four weeks of volunteer work. The volunteer work I do is doing sports with children at local Neighborhood Care Points in Eswatini.

What do you do for a living?

Currently, I am in a gap year. Last year I graduated with a bachelor of Business Administration.

What does volunteering mean to you?

Helping other people who need it the most. Getting experience in a field that i like. Also getting to know the local community better.

Reason for choosing All Out Africa?

I booked this program at a Dutch organization called ‘Activity International’. All Out Africa and Activity International are partners.

How is your experience as a volunteer, what is your day like as a volunteer?

It is great to be a volunteer because every time I go to a school the children are always happy. It’s great to teach sports and teach children to be social. Every morning myself and other volunteers go to an NCP where we help the sports coordinator with activities for the children. In the afternoon we have a homework club, here we help primary school children and teens with their homework and play games.

Swimming lessons with the Mvutjini NCP children

Sports day at Mlindazwe NCP

Want to know more about Bjorn van Heertum’s volunteer program? Click HERE to read more about the program. Click HERE to check out Bjorn’s travel blog! 

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!

With the school closure, children have been left with no choice but to stay home and only visit the NCPS daily to get meals not only for themselves but also for other family members. Without a word being said, their eyes speak nothing but appreciation for the meal, despite that the menu hardly changes as this is the only meal received per day for most of them.

Our NCP children receiving a well-balanced meal.

The organization has also not been spared from the effects of COVID-19, as more than 50% of the staff members had to be laid off due to lack of funding to sustain their employment. At least the much- needed hunger relief project has grown dramatically and is getting food to those who need it most. Although the sports program continues, with the tragic loss of Menzi Masina it has been a challenge to pick up where he left off.

The late sports development coordinator Menzi with NCP children

Activities have also been adjusted to meet the covid-19 requirements. While doing ad-hoc visits in the various communities, one cannot help but realize how hard these vulnerable communities have been hit.

All Out Africa staff making food deliveries to the affected families

Women are seen selling wares with no one to buy since most people lost jobs and that no tourists are visiting the country. This activity also puts these women at risk of contracting Coronavirus and as such, the NCP is informed daily by a community member that has unfortunately been lost to COVID-19 and All Out Africa is constantly engaged on how the children who are left with no parents can be assisted. The media has been left with nothing much to report on except for the increased cases of gender-based violence, child labour, teenage pregnancy, and malnutrition. This has come to expose the role played by schools and teachers in society, it helps society make informed decisions.

NCP Teacher handing over pencils.

Investing in education is the best response to the uncertainty that will grip our world for many months or perhaps years to come. We are hopeful of schools opening up again soon and our NCPs becoming fully operational again. We greatly look forward to when volunteers can once again travel to assist in these projects.

To apply for this project, or talk about how you can get involved, please email bookings@alloutafrica.com

As a tourism entrepreneur, I have experienced the depths of the challenges first hand. 2020 was going to be our busiest year ever! On 13th March 2020, we called our entire All Out Africa staff together across 3 countries for an emergency meeting: How to navigate the challenges of COVID-19 as a tourism business? What to expect? Wow, it has been tough! Looking back there is not much we could have done differently.

COVID-19 in Southern Africa and Emotional Wellbeing

With the travel restrictions and lockdowns implemented across the world, everyone has experienced emotional downs and ups. Anxiety, depression and mental health have deteriorated (https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/04/mental-health-coronavirus/).

All Out Africa went from a thriving growing travel business to one where income suddenly crashed to zero overnight. I recall sitting with my head in my hands wondering how we would stay afloat. We have had to make some very tough decisions. With no government relief for salaries, our staff team has dwindled. We’ve struggled to cope with the economic and social challenges this has placed on us, our beneficiaries and associated communities. Uncertainty has been the order of the day.

COVID-19 and Tourism Restrictions in Southern Africa

Lockdowns in southern Africa happened quickly. Travel halted and a lot of economic activity came to a grinding halt. The discovery of the 501Y.V2. variant in South Africa has resulted in it being labelled the “South African Variant” although it is present worldwide and it is not certain where it originated. This discovery has led many countries to impose special restrictions on travellers from South Africa.

As infections receded the lockdowns eased in southern Africa and the economy breathed. The second wave of infection spread and travel restrictions were again implemented. The longer it went on the harder it has been for tourism businesses to stay afloat. I remember thinking surely the restrictions would not last longer than a year – little hope! Now I find myself hoping it won’t last longer than 2 years!

COVID-19 and Tourism in 2021

Early 2021 has been a time of introspection, grit and crystal ball gazing. As the All Out Africa family, we are immensely proud of what we have managed to accomplish during this time and how our team has coped through the challenges. We are hugely grateful to our supporters and partners who have enabled us to continue so much of the good work we do. Thank you, without you, it would not have been impossible.

All Out Africa Team

The vaccine rollout has been encouraging although it has been desperate to see Africa last on most distribution lists. It has been heartening to see the growth in local travel and All Out Africa has used the chance to launch some new experiences which add some exciting diversity to our products. We remain hopeful of travel opening up in the second half of 2021 although it is likely to be slow in recovering.

Tourism Recovery in Southern Africa

So how will the recovery be? Likely slow since many tourism businesses from airlines to travel agents to hotels and activity companies have failed. It does seem clear that people are eager to travel and when they can, they will. We’re hopeful that being largely in the youth market and being focused on experiential travel and longer trips All Out Africa will be at the front of the recovery line for tourism in southern Africa. When exactly tourism bounces back for good and how quickly is anyone’s guess at this stage.

All Out Africa Coping and Evolving

What’s keeping us going you ask? Well, our projects have become even more important and necessary as the socio-economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic has grown. Our social projects in Eswatini have tackled hunger, poverty, education and life-skill development.

All Out Africa doing food parcel deliveries

Our Savannah Conservation project has produced a wealth of important field progress. This is despite the research camp being flooded out as the Mbuluzi River burst it’s banks during Cyclone Eloise.

The Savannah Research Centre camp being flooded

Our Marine Conservation project has gone through some exciting changes in office, accommodation & dive partners that we feel will help raise it to the next level.

Tilak Lodge new volunteer accommodation

We’ve had to get creative with our experiences and tailor some to the local market. We’ve added some great new hiking and day tour experiences to our Eswatini tours. We’ve been limited by restrictions on our South Africa and Mozambique tours, but have been making some good preparations for future trips.

All in all, we are optimistic about the future and grateful for what we have, despite the current challenges.

Written by Kim Roques, Founder and Director of All Out Africa.

Enough about one’s Christmas month upbringing and let me share what a wonderful morning I had with our NCP children, spreading around all our 8 Neighbourhood Care Points. As an All Out Africa staff member, my colleagues and I managed to create an amazing Christmas spirit atmosphere with a for these less privilege children that we Love and Support.

With the traditional Christmas spirit “roaming in the air”, we felt that the prefect venue to hold this year’s children Christmas party would be a place called “Mantenga Cultural Village”, which has great Swazi traditional values and cultural experience. The cultural village is located in a peri-urban area in Ezulwini, an area centered between our NCPs’, so logistically it was the perfect venue. 

What an awesome decision our team made in securing this venue because all our NCP children and majority of the NCP teachers ventured into a cultural exploration that they had not experienced before. Seeing those faces when we entered these grounds, made one’s emotional nerve feel a kind of “pain of happiness”, if that makes sense, which obviously made me smile throughout the morning. 

The incorporation of a cultural village, where Swazi history, culture and traditional dance is brought alive for visitors was just awesome to see and watch. We all had a great time and most importantly the children make it even more especial for us as an All Out Africa, community outreach project team.

Written by Tjengisa Dlamini, Social Projects Coordinator