Leka Gape is always looking for interns and volunteers in the following departments and areas:
If you are interested just contact us or send us your application form via email. Of course not all jobs can be listed in this overview and we are always open for new ideas.
Shelter
Our Shelter is meant to be a safe place for people in trouble, especially for abused women and children. At the moment we take mainly care about children that are not welcome or safe at their parents' place or suffer from malnutrition at home. Furthermore, women that experienced violence in their partnerships or suffer from extreme poverty get a chance to re-arrange their lives together with their children in the Shelter.
Our aim is always to find long-lasting solutions to the problems the people face. For the women we try to find a job and help them to manage their new life. For the children and youth we try to find relatives that agree to take care of the child. If we cannot fix the problems in their families or are not able to find foster parents for them we try to arrange with governmental child care institution, which take care of them.
If you are applying for an internship at the Shelter, the most important thing you need is a well-developed common sense and an understanding for the local culture. You should be able to work together with locals and be able to communicate in English.
At the Shelter of Leka Gape there are various areas where you can support us:
- Food Manager:
You are responsible for the daily food supply of the Shelter. It is your task to create a weekly menu and make sure that the ingredients are available in time.
Preferred studies / specialization: Nutrition Sciences
- Health Manager:
You are responsible for the medical care of our Shelter inhabitants and Day Care children. Therefore, you will regularly go to the hospital with the children and women and you are in charge to give the respective children and women their medicine.
It is also important, that you look after the health of the children and women, so that you can take one of them to the doctor if needed.
Preferred studies / specialization: health / medical care
- Driver:
As a driver you will be responsible to bring the kids, who stay at the Shelter, to school at 7am and pick them up at 1pm. Furthermore, you will drive our Shelter staff to their meetings, home or school visits.
Thus, you will not have clear defined working hours. Part of your job would be also to take care of the cars (e.g. to clean and wash the cars). If you are applying for the driver job, please be aware that you need a good sense of orientation and considerable driving skills. Furthermore, an international driving license would be very useful and keep also in mind that we are driving on the left side here.
- Day Shift Worker:
The Day Shift in our Shelter is from 4pm till 6pm. Your task during this time is to look after the children and play with them. Please be aware that that most of our children do not speak English, but our staff will always be there when you need a translator.
Preferred studies / specialization: Social Work, Psychology, Education Science, Kindergarten Teacher
- Caregiver for Shelter women:
The abused women in our Shelter usually have made really bad experience in their life and thus need special attention. We try to help them to set up a new life in long term. Your responsibilities as caregiver include supporting the women to find a job and new flat, provide them English lessons and helping them with their applications.
Preferred studies / specialization: Social Work, Psychology
Day Care Center
The Day Care Center is part of our Shelter. The main aim of the Day Care Center is to make sure that children get a chance to visit school. Either due to extreme poverty or other problems at home it often happens, that children never went to school or stop visiting school at an early age to help the parents to earn money.
The Day Care team provides lessons in English and Mathematics for the children. As soon they are well prepared to visit school, they will be registered at a school. Leka Gape will pay for them the school fees and uniform. At the same time, we try to show the parents ways out of their poverty, e.g. by helping them to apply for childcare grant or to find a job.
Children that already visit school will be supported in their school homework three times a week. Besides that every child gets free breakfast and lunch in the Day Care Center in order to disburden the financial situation of their families.
There are the following posts in our Day Care Center:
- Teacher:
You will provide lessons in English and Mathematics for the children.
- Tutor:
You will help the children with their homework and organize leisure activities for them. During the holidays you plan and create a holiday program for the children.
Preferred studies / specialization: Social Work, Psychology, Education Science, Kindergarten Teacher
Youth Center
In the Youth Center (Phola Center) the youth of Lulekani gets the chance to meet and spend their leisure time. The Phola Center is run by LoveLife workers, our interns and volunteers. LoveLife is a South African organization that provides AIDS education for youth. Currently we are planning to expand the Youth Center through our new project "A chance to play".
- Youth Tutor:
Your responsibilities in the Youth Center include recruiting youth, organizing events, campaigns, leisure activities and workshops. Furthermore, you will support our LoveLife team in their activities, i.e. visiting schools, hospitals, churches and youth clubs.
Preferred studies / specialization: Social Work, Education Science
Aquaponics
Aquaponics is an integrated system of the growing of fishes and vegetables. In a special system the nutrient wastes of the fish pools are used to fertilize the beds of the vegetables.
The aim of this project is the independent supply of the shelter with high quality and healthy food. Besides that we try to realize additional income through the sale of products from the Aquaponics.
- Aquaponics Worker:
You are responsible for the planning and cropping of fruit and vegetable beds as well as for the maintenance of the Aquaponics system.
In this position you need to work closely with the Food Manager in order to define which vegetables are needed and have to be cropped. Additionally you are in charge to find consumers for the vegetables, fruits and fish (e.g. local supermarkets or private households).
Preferred studies / specialization: Agricultural sciences, Marketing
Handcrafter and housekeeper
On our properties there are usually a lot of things, which need to be fixed or maintained.
- Handcrafter and housekeeper:
You will be in charge of e.g. maintenance of our machines in the bakery and carpentry, repairing and renovating of our buildings, taking care of our garden.
Fundraising
Fundraising is a crucial part within our organization. In this area you will support our management in applying for donations and subsidies.
- Fundraiser:
As a Fundraiser your main responsibility is to find new donators and possibilities to fundraise (e.g. EU subsidies, charity foundations, fundraising campaigns).
Key part of your job is building up and developing contacts to companies and donors and creating fundraising proposals. You should have some experiences in fundraising and sponsoring. Besides that you should have advanced PC skills (Powerpoint, Word, Excel), experience in Internet research, strong communication skills and be fluent in English.
Preferred studies / specialization: Journalism, Economics, Business Administration / Management