Volunteer South Africa|South Africa VolunteerWork Program|50% for the People|Volunteering South Africa

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The People

The Xhosa people are peoples of Bantu origins living in south-east South Africa, and in the last two centuries throughout the southern and central-southern parts of the country.

The name "Xhosa" comes from that of a tribal leader called uXhosa. They refer to themselves as the amaXhosa and to their language as isiXhosa.

Presently approximately 8 million Xhosa people are distributed across the country, and isiXhosa is South Africa's second most common home language, after Zulu, to which isiXhosa is closely related. The pre-1994 apartheid system of bantustans denied Xhosas South African citizenship and attempted to confine them to the nominally self-governing "homelands" of Transkei and Ciskei, now both a part of the Eastern Cape Province where most Xhosa remain.

As of 2003 the majority of Xhosa speakers, approximately 5.3 million, live in the Eastern Cape, followed by the Western Cape (approximately 1 million)

50% For The People operates it's volunteer tours in South Africa, beginning in the majestic natural beauty of Cape Town and culminating in lively coastal town of Durban.

En-route we participate in three different Volunteer projects that are benefitting and uplifting the local communities we work with. Not only do we supply much needed hands to assist with the daily running of their projects (All projects working with 50%FTP are non-profit organisations), but we also provide an invaluable financial contribution to each community that is decided on by the volunteers based on their experience of the project. Whether it be building a creche, setting up a community vegetable garden, livening up an old building with paint, or any need that you, as the volunteers, see that you could help improve.

As the population demographic of South Africa consists of only 10% Caucasian, who hold the majority of the wealth, the basis of the volunteer work will be in the under-privilidged rural sector, assisting those who need help the most.

Through the course of the 28 days volunteers will have a direct experience with several of the cultures that make South Africa the vibrant country it is. The Xhosa people are the original inhabitants of the Western (excluding the Khoi-San) and Eastern Cape, and make up the poorest level of many communities

The Cape Town project is predominantly with Xhosa and Zulu's, Jeffreys Bay brings you into contact with young Cape-Malay and Xhosa kids, and the Transkei is the homeland of the Xhosa.