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In 1994, Wolfgang Graser and Alexander Kratochwil moved from their home in Vienna to the beautiful city of Cape Town. They quickly fell in love with this vibrant city and its friendly, smiling people. They first opened an English language school for foreign tourists to learn English, but soon they discovered that behind the shiny places there are enormous problems and challenges that this country faces for historic reasons. They met with organisations that assist government in the struggle for a better life and a better environment.
When you see what these organisations do, it’s not difficult to feel moved and share in their desire to help. They can’t solve all problems overnight, but they do make an impact and do change people’s lives on a daily basis. What they need, though, are volunteers who share their passion to help and who want to make a difference.
In 2009 we started to supply some of these organisations with international volunteers. What we specifically loved was not only to seeing these organisations thrive with the volunteers, but also noticing how the volunteers themselves benefit hugely from the experience.
Sarah Booth has joined our team in August 2022. She comes from a Project Management background and has worked in Germany, Belgium and the UK, where she is originally from. She worked as a Bookings Manager at our Namibian projects for four years but moved to Cape Town last year as this is where her heart is. After doing some freelance consultancy in the field of volunteer travel, she has now joined our team as our official Volunteer Manager. She will assist us with our growth and allow us to focus on supporting volunteer projects that meet the strict ethical standards which we advocate for. She will make sure that something lasting is achieved, not only by her, but by the volunteers we place and by the organisations we support.
In 2021 Ross Muir joined as a Volunteer Coordinator for the Eastern Cape and has now (Jan 23) become our Volunteer Support Coordinator for all our volunteers.He currently resides in Port Elizabeth.
He was fortunate to grow up on a game reserve, where he got to experience the therapeutic benefits of nature and got to socialise with people of different cultures. He was equally lucky to travel a lot. His studies in psychology helped equip him with skills to better help his community.
He has not only taken part in many volunteer initiatives, he also has a keen interest in showing others new and diverse experiences and the joy of living in the present moment, which, he believes, is one of the benefits of volunteering and indulging in foreign experiences.
It is the love for South Africa and the international travellers that pushes us daily to provide the best possible meaningful experience to the volunteers, but also to support our projects with what they need to do their jobs and to grow into a brighter future.
Today we support more than 25 projects in southern Africa. If you are looking for a life-changing experience, then allow us to assist you in finding the most suitable project on our website and beyond.
Good Hope Volunteers provides an all encompassing, high-quality volunteering experience to individuals and groups from all over the world.
Our staff are committed to practicing openness, transparency, inclusivity, equality and tolerance whilst make a meaningful contribution to the development of the voluntourism industry in South Africa. Through well researched project selection and thorough client communication, we work to ensure that our participants leave Southern Africa having had an unforgettable experience of our country, the environment and its people. We spare no effort to place ourselves at the forefront of further developing Southern Africa as an internationally acclaimed centre of excellence, within the global volunteering industry.
Good Hope Volunteers strives to deliver a high-quality, volunteering and travel experience for each of our candidates.
With this in mind Good Hope Volunteers only associates ourselves with volunteer projects which provide a meaningful and tangible contribution to the environment and the development of the South African nation and her people.
We do not associate ourselves with volunteer projects that are not all-inclusive, tolerant of all beliefs and ideas, nor projects which do not follow strict conservation guidelines with regards to the care of animals, both domestic and wild.
We believe that the future of this country and the conservation and development efforts that South Africa needs, rely heavily on the dedication volunteers provide. We aim to be a part of the growth and success of South Africa, and are very proud of the country we live in.
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