Noor in South Africa

My Story

In the final year of CIOS, I traveled to Port Elizabeth (South Africa) in March 2024 with three fellow students. I really wanted to take such a trip, and considering my future study plans, I wasn’t sure if I would ever have time for it again. That’s why I quickly decided to choose the ISO elective (International Sports Development) to do an internship abroad in a developing country. During classes at school, we were offered many options of organizations to travel with, and we quickly agreed that we wanted to go with The Power of Sports. There were many experiences shared on their website, which gave us a good and trustworthy impression to travel with them.

Last March, the time finally came, we left for nearly seven weeks to South Africa! Our final destination was Port Elizabeth, where we worked with United Through Sports. The first week we immediately joined the Experience Week. This was a week during which we traveled in parts to Cape Town, also known as the Garden Route. Looking back now, I instantly think, WOW, what a beautiful start! So many things to do during that week. It started with quad biking and ziplining on the first day, followed by a wonderful night in a beautiful lodge. The days after that, we enjoyed many more amazing activities like blackwater tubing, bungee jumping, surfing, canoeing, climbing through caves, visiting an ostrich farm, hiking Table Mountain in Cape Town, watching the sunset on Signal Hill, wine tasting, and standing at the tip of the Cape of Good Hope. What a week that was—and we hadn’t even started our teaching adventure yet.

Once back in Port Elizabeth, after the welcome weekend—where we got to know the new group through icebreaker games—the coaching lessons began. On Mondays, I always went to the Childcare, because besides coaching lessons, you can also choose Teaching and Childcare. At Childcare, you spend a morning at a preschool, reading books, doing puzzles, etc., with kids aged 3 to 5 years.

For the other four days, we went to four different schools every day where you gave one hour of coaching lessons. You can choose from different sports, such as rugby, football, tennis, hockey, netball, and dancing. During the weeks I coached, I only gave tennis and hockey lessons to children at the primary school. You can indicate your preference beforehand, and you’re assigned accordingly, usually working with one or two other volunteers in a sport. Don’t overthink it, because the kids are already super happy that you’re there and that you can mean something to them. It’s beautiful to see how sport and laughter can put a smile on their faces. You see many of these children week after week, and it’s amazing to witness their improvement in sports and the bond you build with them.

After teaching, which usually finished around 2 PM, you return to the accommodation, a large house where you live together with all the other volunteers. There’s a lovely swimming pool and a big garden where you can relax all afternoon. Together with the other volunteers, you really build a great bond; it almost feels like family! Besides these people, there are three ‘mamas’ who take care of us, clean the house, cook food, and give unconditional love that really makes you feel at home, even if you’re having a tough moment. We often had evening programs as well. Every Monday was Games Night, Tuesday was karaoke night at Barney’s, Wednesday Social Soccer followed by local food, and on Thursday and Friday nights, we went out to clubs like Pool City or Beer Yard. On weekends, the organization arranged excursions you could sign up for. We all went on a safari, visited Jeffreys Bay (a surfer’s paradise), went skydiving, sandboarding, and much more!

The 6.5 weeks really flew by, which I expected but it still surprised me. You have to take in every moment because the adventure passes so quickly! But what an incredibly beautiful time I had with the sweetest kids and the best volunteers!

Thank you TPOS for the time of my life, and who knows, maybe I’ll travel with you again in the future.