IkamvaYouth, Connect123

Organization: IkamvaYouth

City: Capetown, South Africa

Unpaid

I interned through Connect123 at IkamvaYouth and had a very rewarding experience. The important thing to keep in mind when interning/volunteering/working ANYWHERE in a country that does not have the same cultural expectations or customs is that you have to keep an open mind and be willing to be creative. Ikamva is the type of place where if you have the motivation and the leadership drive then you’ll find many different ways to contribute which will be extremely valuable. The students, tutors, and administrators are very dedicated. As an intern there, I definitely realized how important it was to take initiative and get involved. If you sit back and wait for someone to tell you what to do and you’re very passive, then you are not the person for the job. You have to know what your qualities are and use them! If you ask for something to do, or share your ideas, then you will see how well received these efforts are. Ikamva has so many opportunities for those interested in assisting very motivated yet severely disadvantaged youth, and if you step up to the plate, you won’t only see how much you can make a difference, but how important your efforts are to an amazing cause. For those who are creative and passionate, this will be one of the most rewarding and experiences you’ll ever have.

Connect123 is the family you’ll have away from home. You will find friends forever in some of the other interns. Connect123 provides many great opportunities for you to get out into Cape Town and experience different places and people. Any concerns anyone had were taken seriously and they work hard to ensure everyone’s safety and happiness.

IkamvaYouth, Connect-123

Organization: IkamvaYouth non-profit, through Connect-123 (www.connect-123.com)

City: Cape Town, South Africa
Unpaid

Pros-
The good thing about Connect-123 is that they do a lot of the work for you. After applying and paying them a sum of money, they find the internship for you in the city and industry of your choice. You have options- if you don’t like the sound of one that they find for you, they keep working until you’re happy. Once you arrive, they come get you from the airport, show you to your apartment and your roommates/flatmates, and have introductory meetings with you about how to live and exist safely in Cape Town. Cape Town is also an amazing place to spend a couple months- it’s a fun place for young people and if you are remotely interested in the outdoors, you will love South Africa! Connect also planned a variety of events (every other weekend) for the interns, so it was nice to get to see other people who didn’t work with you and who weren’t necessarily your flatmates. All of the other interns were great and we got along really well- my roommate and I have stayed really close and bonded from our South Africa experience. If you want an independent summer and you know you’re proactive, Connect is a great match.

Cons-
My specific internship didn’t work out so well- IkamvaYouth was pretty disorganized and didn’t even know it. Even though they had 4 willing American interns, they didn’t utilize us at all and we made a lot of copies for a month. I didn’t pay Connect-123 for a summer of making copies and I thought that Connect should have done a better job of ensuring that everyone’s internships were running smoothly. Though they warned of the necessity to be proactive, once they gave us our internships, we didn’t hear from them again. Sometimes they were annoyed when we complaints about our internships, issues with our apartments, etc, and weren’t always the most helpful (but this may have been a generational/cultural thing). It was also frustrating that sometimes Connect would spring things on you- like the necessity to rent a car- and not tell you in advance how expensive it was going to be. They also assumed that everyone doing their program was a rich American, and would expect you to be able to attend their events, even though they were sometimes extremely expensive. Though my internship was pretty hellish, personally, I know a lot of people/other Connect interns who loved theirs- the internships at the Children’s Hospital, at HIV/AIDS non-profits, at the Cape Times newspaper- they all had glowing recommendations, so maybe I just got unlucky this time.