What Volunteers Can Do
Baphumelele has a number of different volunteer opportunities. They have more than 100 local volunteers, so depending on your interests you can work on one of their different projects. Possibilities including:
Playing or reading books with the children in the kindergarten
Helping care for and comfort the sick in the medical programs
Cooking in their bakery and soup kitchen
Helping out in the woodshop
Working in the garden at their nearby farm
Depending on your skills and interests we may be able to customize your experience.

A Snapshot of Khayelitsha
Khayelitsha is a Township about 20 miles Southeast of Cape Town. Established by the Apartheid regime as part of the forced relocation, the meaning of the word “Khayelitsha” in Xhosa is “New Home” and it is currently home to approximately 1 million people.

Khayelitsha faces many challenges including water and energy infrastructure, unemployment and the AIDS epidemic. The majority of the residents live in self-constructed wood or tin shacks. However the community is determined to help each other to build a better future for all.

About Baphumelele
Baphumelele was founded in 1989 when Rosalia Mashale (“Rosie”) began caring for children in the neighborhood. Baphumelele (pronounced: ba-poo-meh-leh-leh) is a Xhosa word meaning “you have progressed,” and indeed the organization itself has progressed from caring for a few children to providing services for the entire community. The programs at this community organization include a large daycare, preschool, kindergarten, orphanage, medical care program for children and adults, in-home hospice care, a bakery and soup kitchen, and two vocational training programs: a woodshop and a farm.