The Wild Coast - is a wild and naturally beautiful piece of South Africa and home to the proud and friendly Mpondo people who fiercely try to hold on to their traditions and culture.

Sadly, it is also one of the poorest and most forgotten about regions in South Africa. A large portion of the local population live deep in rural areas living by subsistence farming, running livestock or foraging the coastline for fish, crayfish, mussels etc...which all ultimately attract people to a water source of some sort, which in turn comes with its own set of dangers.

The wild coast has numerous major river systems, streams, dams, wetland areas and even mangrove estuary systems, that become the playground for both adults and especially kids of all ages when days are hot. All these different water systems are also susceptible to regular flooding and often become death traps for many people annually.

Very few people of this region are able to swim and have never had the opportunity to learn about water safety, let alone seen a swimming pool.

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[accordion-item title="Black Tip Swim School"]

Port St. Johns is the only rural coastal town in the Eastern Capes Wild Coast and lies midway between Port Edward in KZN in the north and East London in the south. PSJ (as it is fondly known) is also home to the mighty Umzimvubu River, a large river system that is fed by a number of tributaries. (4th largest catchment area in SA) This system in all it varies moods, has claimed many young and old lives over the years and continues to do so.

There are many school children and adults that visit the town and water accidents / drownings frequently occur. The town of Port St. Johns has many junior schools and 1 high school, none have a swimming pool or the ability to teach swimming. The surrounding areas that compromise the greater Port St. Johns has in excess of 50 schools, all of which are situated in the rural areas and are unable to offer or teach swimming, yet on any given hot day all the kids that are able will be found playing in the water somewhere.

There is a growing demand for a swimming school and for qualified swimming teachers to assist children and adults alike, in learning to swim, which will in turn reduce the high levels of drowning incidents that occur in the area throughout the entire year. The domino effect on teaching one person how to swim and how to be safe around water is highly valuable to all communities...word of mouth in rural Africa is a very powerful tool.

With the number of drowning emergencies that present themselves in the area and the urgent need for a functional swimming school with trained & accredited swimming teachers, Offshore Africa will be assisting the existing team of highly qualified and long-standing life guards in further uplifting their qualifications and skills to be in a position to teach children & adults alike to swim. Nqobile Jojo (Nqobs) & Philani Msungubali are earmarked to uplift the community in both swimming lessons & rescue diver work as a community initiative in saving lives.

At present there is no public or school pool available in the area for this initiative to really flourish.

Never the less, the guys have earmarked and used a portion of the Bulolo river system located on the southern side of 2nd Beach just outside of Port St. Johns. This location has the potential for offering courses during the summer season, though ideally a heated pool of sufficient size would be far more appropriate as then swimming courses could be offered all year round.

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• To assist the team to register and attend a Learn to Swim instructor qualification course, which will be held in KwaZulu-Natal.
• To assist the team in providing all the necessary documentation to enroll in the programme.
• To assist the team to obtain the required 10 hours of internship at 2 existing and recognised swimming schools.
• Once completed, to further assist the swim instructors with social media advertising, tools required to fulfill the role of a swimming instructor.

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• Return travel expenses to KwaZulu-Natal
• Accommodation for the duration of the course & during internship training
• Meals for the duration of the course & during internship training

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• R 8900.00 per person

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We also support the Port St. Johns Youth Centre, the Amapondo Gift Shop and Designers and other local initiatives.

The ACP started in 2001 and was registered as a non-profit organisation (048-276-NPO) in 2006.

Volunteer Program • Fundraising • Educational assistance • Project management • Collaboration

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[accordion-item title="Amapondo Children's Project"]

Our vision is to recognize the needs of our local community in Port St. Johns, which guides our ability to facilitate and support the space for change in order to create community led enterprises, jobs, education, self-empowerment and valuable exchange. To achieve this we depend on the skills and experience of both national and international volunteers.

Services of the ACP:

• Fundraising - we raise funds to support and develop the following existing ACP initiatives: Mthumbane Pre-Primary School, Port St. Johns Junior Secondary School, The Khulani Sewing Project, and Amapondo Gift Shop and Designers.
• Volunteer Program - we recruit, train and develop national and international volunteers to help manage the ACP, support and develop community initiatives, and bring skills and expertise into the local community helping local people to develop their own businesses.
• Project Management - we support and continually develop all ACP initiatives, drawing on local community support.
• Educational Assistance - we offer teaching assistance, curriculum development and school support, and we offer after-school support to children in need.
• Collaboration - we partner with the Rotary Club of Port St. Johns amongst other NGO's and together we run community based activities to unite, empower and strengthen our local community.

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[button text="WANT TO JOIN THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM? CLICK HERE" icon="icon-angle-right" link="https://www.amapondochildrensproject.co.za/p/876929/general-information" target="_blank"]

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[accordion-item title="Project Mission Statement"]

We are committed to working in partnership with the community, relevant stakeholders, NGO's, government departments, educators and learners to build on the well-being of the children of this area, the future leaders of our country. We do this by offering:

• A co-developed constructive plan of action
• On-going training and support
• Encouraging communities to set up new initiatives
• Mentorship to help overcome challenges, to identify needs, and to foster personal growth
• Sustainable support to our existing projects
• The provision of volunteer workers and resources

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The post Amapondo Children’s Project (ACP) appeared first on Offshore Africa Port St. Johns.