Eeke in South Africa

Participant

Eeke

Programme

Internship

Country

🇿🇦 South Africa

Duration

5 weeks

Short bio

Hiya, I’m Eeke, 20 years old. I’m now in my final year at CIOS sports college and chose an internship abroad as an elective. I’m very into sport and I’ve made it my job too.

How satisfied were you with the support from Holland?

I was very happy with the support we get from Holland. You have several calls with Ruben, who asks whether everything is still going well. You can also always get in touch if you have a question.

My story

“So all in all I really, really enjoyed it, learnt loads, made new friends and honestly had the best time ever!!”

Eeke · internship in South Africa

On 12 April we arrived in Port Elizabeth. There we were picked up by a supervisor and taken to the location. We were given a tour straight away and met everyone who was already there and working, and of course Dora too, the dog who lives outside.

That same day we were also introduced to Barney’s, a cosy bar we go to every Tuesday to sing karaoke together. On Thursdays we usually go to Beeryard, where among other things you can play beer pong.

During the coaching sessions I mainly taught rugby. I really loved doing it, because most of the children were very keen and really wanted to learn. I also really enjoyed the Learn to Move programme. In it you teach young children to move in different ways, such as jumping, running and throwing. I found the children really adorable, especially the way they happily ran up to you for a hug at the start of every session.

We also did lots of activities, such as bungee jumping off the Bloukrans Bridge, skydiving, surfing and sandboarding in Jeffrey’s Bay. We also went to a rugby match at the stadium between the South Africa U20 team and Argentina, and that wasn’t even everything!

An impressive moment was when we went into the disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It gave us a good picture of life there. Many of the children you teach come from these neighbourhoods, so it’s valuable to see where they come from.

I really loved my five weeks. You get to know lots of new people and get a unique insight into the lives of children at these schools. You can really tell that they appreciate it, and the smiles on their little faces are priceless. So I wholeheartedly recommend everyone to take on this adventure too!

So all in all I really, really enjoyed it, learnt loads, made new friends and honestly had the best time ever!!