MedForce: Medics Overseas

Location

Knysna is a town in the heart of South Africa's beautiful Garden Route just East of Cape Town. Knysna lies nestled in between the Outeniqua Mountains and the Indian Ocean. Knysna has twice been voted South Africa’s favorite town, and with good reason. It’s a friendly, welcoming town with lots of attractions and activities. Furthermore, Knysna and its surrounding area offers visitors the chance to go hiking or mountain biking in the surrounding forests, go fishing, dive with Great White Sharks, enjoy the view of Knysna Lagoon from the Western Head Nature Reserve or just chill out on the stunning Bollard Beach!

At the same time, Knysna has a large amount of very impoverished townships. In these areas, there are very little medical facilities, and you will have a chance to make a real difference.

Project Information

There are several impoverished areas with minimal medical facilities where they need people like you to make a real difference.  Your help is desperately needed and you will learn so much along the way!

This placement will give you the chance to make a positive impact on the health service in these underprivileged areas, and to make a profound difference in the lives people living in the surrounding community.

Experienced medical volunteers are able to offer advice to the day care and after care centres that they will be working with in the afternoon. There are many children at these centres with special health care needs.

The main areas your volunteering will assist are:

• Provincial Hospitals: Assist the doctors and nurses and learn from them. Assist in Casualty and other wards.
• HIV Clinic:  Observe and assist with medical procedures where possible. Shadow doctors and nurses and assist patients.
• Home Based Caring: Help people in underprivileged areas who are unable to get to, or have no access to medical facilities. Shadow and assist home based carers and social workers.
• Mobile Clinic: Become an integral and life saving part of a local community. Work with nurses to assist patients of varying ages and aliments.

The medical project runs Monday to Friday. Friday afternoons are typically for getting involved with the localcommunities, visiting orphanages and townships and the famous Rasta people. Weekends are typically free time for exploring the area, taking up activities or relaxing on the beach.

If you are interested in veterinary work we can arrange for you to spend part of the project at an animal welfare centre, and if you like we can even arrange for some experience with a local vet.

Accommodation
During your project, you will stay at our comfortable project house in Knysna. It is a fully furnished house with a communal area, satellite television, and a small garden. The house is staffed with cooks and laundry / cleaning ladies. You will be sharing a bedroom with one to three other volunteers. Project Co-ordinators will be staying on the same property, so that they are available to assist with any questions or issues you may have.

Meals
You will be provided with three meals a days. Breakfast is on a help-yourself-basis and usually consists of cereals, toast, tea and coffee. Lunch and dinner are full meals, and will be cooked for you by one of our chefs at your volunteer house.

Getting there
You will fly into George Airport (a short flight from Cape Town or Johannesburg), where you will be met by a volunteer co-ordinator, and taken to your accommodation.

Support
Throughout your stay, you will be assisted by our volunteer co-ordinator. On the projects, you will also be assisted by qualified doctors and nurses.

Highlights

- Help improve the level of health care in impoverished areas
- Learn about the South African health system
- Gain valuable hands-on medical experience

- Assist in both static and mobile medical facilities
- Help raise awareness on health issues in the local communities
- Immerse yourself in the rich South African culture
- Explore Knysna and its beautiful surroundings

Requirements

This project is suitable for the following categories:

	Category 1: Volunteer with little or no experience
	Category 2: Medical students on electives
	Category 3: Fully qualified doctors or nurses

Please note that as a medical student, you may be able to get involved in a greater variety of tasks than as a volunteer.

You have to be 18 years or older to participate in this programme.

Price

4 weeks   - £1, 545

6 weeks   - £1, 935

8 weeks   - £2, 315

10 weeks  - £2, 675

12 weeks  - £3, 035

Included

Included in the price are:
• Accommodation
• Three meals a day
• Airport transfers
• Transport to and from your projects on a daily basis
• An introduction programme on arrival
• Constant guidance and assistance by a volunteer co-ordinator
• A briefing day before departure (includes a barbeque)
• Your personal web page which provides you with all necessary pre-departure information
• A Gapforce t-shirt

Not Included

Not included in the price are:
• Flights
• Insurance
• Spending money

Maps

Knysna will be your destination for this South African medical and community programme. Knysna is on the southern coast, 550km East of Cape Town, on the Cape Town to Port Elizabeth Garden Route.