General Info

Freewalker has created various community upliftment projects, wildlife conservation projects and other programs for volunteers to help at and travel South Africa at the same time.

What is Freewalker?
Freewalker is a state of being…it is humanitarian, adventure, and freeing, it is realizing that one person can make a difference...and that person can be you! Freewalker is a Volunteer & Adventures for Charity organization that is doing its part in making a difference in South Africa, while having fun at the same time! The mission of Freewalker is to create sustainable solutions in the fields of education, conservation, healthcare, and community development through international volunteering, while providing opportunity for volunteers to experience the adventure of exploring South Africa’s diverse landscapes, colourful cultures, ancient history and abundant wildlife.

Where is Freewalker based?
Freewalker is based in “The Adventure Province” Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth, South Africa and is dedicated to the impoverished schools and threatened wildlife in the surrounding area. PE is on the Indian Ocean and a hotspot to journey out from; you can do anything you can imagine within a three hour radius! (And we know all the best secret spots)

What is Freewalker offering ME?
Freewalker Volunteer Programs offer you a truly raw experience full of culture, wildlife, people, adventure and laughs that will change you for the rest of your life, guaranteed! This working holiday experience gives volunteers the opportunity to teach and participate in the development of impoverished schools, coach children in sports, work hands on with cheetahs, learn about the African wildlife in-depth and how to collect research data, aid in the preservation of the environment and marine wildlife, and tour amazing South African at the same time! Now that is a mouthful, you just have to come and experience it for yourself!

Who is this crazy Freewalker Team?
Freewalker’s Team, consisting of Murray Luscombe and Jordana Meyer, guarantee to make your stay the most memorable one in South Africa! Like it or not, they are with you 24/7 and ready to help you with anything at any time. Murray is a local enthusiast, passionate about his country and is always coming up with innovative ways to have fun and Jordana is a wildlife biologist from the USA who thrives on sharing the wonders of this country with fellow travellers. Each volunteer is unique, and they make it top priority to understand what an individual is hoping to gain from their experience and then going the extra mile to make sure that is fulfilled. The Team prides themselves on making the stay unforgettable! You dream it and we at Freewalker make it possible!
We are just two enthusiastic, dynamic people trying to make a difference in this World and realized the impact of a small deed….We wanted to give travellers a different taste of this amazing Country…take them under our wings and share with them the wonders of a new culture, explore the vastly diverse landscapes and most importantly show them how they can make such a difference in another’s life with a simple smile or help to save endangered wildlife with passion in their hearts, and all while having the time of their lives! Therefore, Freewalker was created!

What Projects can I get involved in with Freewalker?

Teaching at the Kwa-Ford Primary School
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
~Henry Brooks Adams

Freewalker volunteers have been focusing their effort towards improving the lives of the children at Kwa-Ford Primary School in New Brighton, with great hopes to eventually touch many of the Schools in the Port Elizabeth area. New Brighton is one of the oldest and the poorest Township of Port Elizabeth, established in 1903, with an unemployment rate of around 80%. There are 300 children at Kwa-Ford Primary, ranging from Grade R (4-5 yrs old) to Grade 7 (11-13 yrs old) and 12 teachers. The children are from underprivileged families in the surrounding, poverty stricken area. The school is trying hard to educate the children in the best possible way, using the extremely limited resources available, with minimal funds.

Volunteer Teaching: You do not have to have any teaching experience, just the passion to inspire the next generation! You will be assisting an existing teacher in the classroom, teaching and practicing your English with the Xhosa speaking children and work together to create a more stimulating learning environment for the students. You may shadow a teacher until ready to take classes on your own. Volunteers add their skills and knowledge to an existing school curriculum and events. With foreign presence, the children and the teachers gain from learning about new cultures and experiencing new teaching styles. The volunteers gain by being part of a vibrant culture and learning a new way of living, along with better understanding the hardship these children endure.

Volunteer tasks will include:
• Teach your Country’s culture in the Freewalker International Culture Room
• Assist teachers in composing and evaluating tests/exams
• Help with feeding the learners
• School garden maintenance and harvest
• Caring for and teaching kindergarten students
• Upliftment project throughout the School
• Overseeing recess and play time
• Maintaining the School library
• Design After School Programs for the students
• Aid in fundraising events
• WESSA WWF-SA eco-Schools Involvement
o Volunteers aid in designing and maintaining environmentally sound upliftment projects and aid in development programs for the school.
Leaving Your Mark (in their lives and in their classrooms)

Freewalker presents the opportunity for you to be the missing link to the outside World for the African Children. Through the building of our International Culture Room, you are able to bring your Country’s history to display and educate the Children. We have created the ideal way for you to teach children (without internet) World knowledge and general awareness. It is Amazing!

School Development Projects

Volunteers will also be involved in the upliftment projects at the school. Freewalker Foundation is a registered Section 21 Charity (#2010/007280/08) Non Profit Organization that is dedicated to sustainable development projects in the under-resourced schools of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Through the help of local and international volunteers, Freewalker Foundation’s Mission is to create sustainable solutions in the fields of education, conservation, healthcare, and community development. The organisation believes in giving a hand up not a hand out and is trying to instil a sense of sustainability, dignity, pride, and preservation of/for the School in the minds of the next generation of South Africans.

Our key goals are to:
• Create stimulating learning environments
• Supply schools with necessary learning tools (libraries, books, computers)
• Assist schools in becoming eco-friendly and overseeing development
• Improve the overall condition of the schools we support
• Improve the health of the children through helping to establish school gardens
• Develop self-sustaining projects for School’s to maintain and grow

Philosophy of Freewalker Foundation
South Africa is a Nation healing from its past struggles. This has left behind poverty stricken areas that have been forgotten, full of people with hope and desire for a better future; however, means to achieve their dreams are limited. Education is the key in developing children, communities and countries. Education is the foundation of a great Nation, and without it, Nations become failed States. The vacuum being diagnosed needs a catalyst to set on fire the great need for education and sustainability within a country, and the assistance to do so. Freewalker creates a bridge between passionate people who want to help and the people who are in need. By educating young minds and instilling a more sustainable perspective on life, Freewalker hopes to encourage and create solutions to enhance the wellbeing of this country’s people and wildlife. Creating an opportunity for volunteers will not only positively influence lives that they touch, but with sustainable solutions, the effects of their input will last for generations to come.


Coaching at the Kwa-Ford Primary School
“Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that little else can. Sport can create hope ... It is an instrument for peace.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Volunteer Coaching will take place after school or on the weekend for special coaching clinics. Sports will include soccer/football, rugby, netball, hockey, cricket, and athletics. Volunteers can either engage in sport practices after they have taught at the school or come out to South Africa and specialize in coaching and create an amazing sport atmosphere at the school. The children are full of enthusiasm, willingness and energy to learn and play. As Mandela said, what better way to unite people than through sport, so come and share your skills and inspiration with the children of South Africa!

Volunteer tasks will include:
• Coach chosen sport
• Design coaching clinics
• Skills training and sport development
• Fundraising for the sport upliftment projects
• Assist in re-building the existing sporting areas
Sports Development: Freewalker is assisting in the development of a stimulating learning environment through the overall continual self-sustainable growth of the school. Through the Freewalker sports program, we plan to develop the sports facilities through the help of the volunteers. Below is a list of projects we are working on, but there are many more in the works.
• Sport Programs and development
• Sports field upgrade and events
• Sports equipment and equipment room
• Creating our own School Teams

Rescuing & Rehabilitating Black-footed Penguins with SAMREC

“This species has been uplisted to Endangered because recent data has revealed that it is undergoing a very rapid population decline, probably as a result of commercial fisheries and shifts in prey populations. This trend currently shows no sign of reversing, and immediate conservation action is required to prevent further declines” ~IUCN Red List

Come help save our only penguin that is quickly diminishing from this earth! The South Africa Marine Rehabilitation & Education Centre (SAMREC) is located in the unspoiled Cape Recife Nature Reserve and rescues all marine birds along the Port Elizabeth coast line from PE onto Woody Cape. All efforts are put forth to rescue, rehabilitate and release these li’l buggers back to the wild!

Volunteer Penguin Rescue Program: As well as learning about the life- cycle and conservation of the African Penguin, which is an endangered species, volunteers will also be hands - on as you are being taught how to catch, hold, feed and tube feed these wonderful birds. Volunteers will also be involved with the many other tasks that need to be carried out daily including the preparation of fish, cleaning of facility, pools and mats, sterilizing syringes and many more things. The training you will receive by SAMREC will allow you to handle the birds safely. Volunteer will also be able to assist in the educational department, teaching all the urban and rural under privileged children about the beauty of nature and assist in tours of SAMREC. Once you have completed the project, you will leave with great memories and would have had a life changing experience.
Volunteer tasks will include:
• General assistance where ever possible
• Assist in Feeding/rehabilitating of the African Black Footed Penguin
• Involvement in Sea School Program- Education and outreach programs
• Assisting of the field guiding of the Cape Recife Nature Reserve
• Working closely with consulting vets
• Assisting in analyzing and taking blood from various animals
• Assisting on marine rescues
• Tour guides for the facility


Wildlife Conservation Programs
“Whether it's the captivatingly beautiful African wilderness or the abundantly active wildlife you dream of indulging in…it is here for you to discover.”

Most of us have watched wildlife programs and dreamt of being in Africa, understanding the secret language of the wildlife and being a part of the diverse landscapes. Through Freewalker, volunteers have the opportunity to do just that!
Freewalker is offering volunteers an experience of a lifetime…to be part of two working game reserves, helping to preserve indigenous wildlife and habitats, getting hands on experience with cheetahs, taking part in game monitoring and management research projects and receiving nature conservation, general zoology and behaviour lectures.

The Reserves
Kragga Kamma Game Park (KKGP) and Essendene Game Farm (EGF) are family owned and managed reserves. The Garnett Cantor Family are true conservationists, passionate about wildlife and have created these reserves with the vision to restore previously-farmed land to its natural state and reintroduce a wide variety of African game that are most endemic to the area.
KKGP was established in 1998 and opened to the general public in 2000 for touring and wildlife education excursions. It is located on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth in the lush coastal woodlands and grasslands, so you are not far from modern amenities. It is 200 hectors in size and hosts an abundant array of game, including white rhino, buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, nyala, and many more species.

EGF is located in the coastal indigenous forests 70Km from Port Elizabeth and 25Km from the infamous Addo Elephant National Park and is teeming with African wildlife including giraffe, zebra, buffalo, impala, nyala, bontebok, caracal, cheetah and many more species. Animals were first introduced in 2005 from the KKGP, along with a variety of species from other reserves. EGF is over 500 hectors and exclusively functions as a breeding site for the game, instead of being open to the public. The land provides excellent grazing and browsing for a variety of African game, which in most cases were endemic to the area hundreds of years ago.

Volunteers will be involved in all of the following:
Cheetah Breeding & Education Program
Cheetahs are the fastest land creatures and now quickly becoming rare to find on this African continent. Habitat loss and human overpopulation are the main causes of the decimation of the cheetah; your assistance could make a valuable contribution in saving these splendid creatures. Through cheetah breeding programs, proper management and educational programs, the cheetah can make a comeback. Kragga Kamma is doing its part in designing a sustainable breeding program and using captive reared cheetahs as ambassadors for the species to educate the public.
• Volunteer Tasks will Include:
o Learning the natural history of the cheetah
o Working on cheetah conservation programs
o Handling, feeding & caring for cheetahs
o Educate public on cheetahs and interactions
o Monitoring cheetah behavior
o Enclosure maintenance & development

Wildlife Education Program
Instead of just coming as a general tourist, scanning the game from a vehicle and moving on to your next destination, why not submerge yourself in a wildlife course and learn about everything you are experiencing? Through the wildlife course, volunteers will gain in-depth knowledge of the tremendous South African ecology and biodiversity, indulging in all elements of nature and conservation. Master basic field-guiding skills, learn about vetting techniques, short reptile course, track animals through the bush, get acquainted with cheetah, rhino, giraffe, buffalo, zebra and the many antelope, and go on adventurous bush walks.

• Volunteer skills will include:
o Mammal introduction and herbivore identification
o Large herbivore ecology and behavior
o Reptiles of the region – Demonstrations by professional handlers
o Nature Conservation – Presentation by the Department on Law Enforcement and Regulations
o Veterinarian lectures on diagnosis and treatment of common wildlife diseases
o Basic animal tracks and sign skills
o Setting up a bush camp & sleep-outs
o Spotlighting and nocturnal animal excursions
o Identify vegetation and learning medicinal purposes

Wildlife Monitoring & Research Program
Why not take your newly acquired bush skills one step further and learn to be a field researcher and assist in wildlife management research projects? Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn about research management projects and how to collect and analyze data. This valuable information is needed to manage a reserve and breeding program properly, and this allows for the volunteer to be part of the action in making a difference on their stay!
• Volunteer Tasks/skills will Include:
o Large herbivore ecology and behavior
o Individual predator ecology and behavior
o Wildlife conservation Management
o Learning to collect behavioral data
o Creating ID files of specific species on reserve
o Population monitoring
o Monitoring social interactions
o Assisting in projects to better management
Game Capture Program
Because almost all wildlife in South Africa is fenced, it must be managed appropriately. One method of bringing in new genetics to the isolated populations and to maintain the correct carrying capacity is that a Game Capture Program must be in place. As a volunteer, you might be lucky enough to help with such events.
• Volunteer Tasks/skills will Include:
o Handling of wildlife
o Capture and release of game
o Use of chemical capture methods
o Transporting game
o Construction of capture bomas
Game Park Maintenance
The success of a wildlife reserve is how well it is maintained, and volunteers play a large role in keeping this reserve sustainable.
• Volunteer Tasks will Include:
o Electrified Game Fencing Presentation by specialist and on-site training in erecting and fault finding
o Fence monitoring and construction
o Assisting with the Anti-Poaching Program
o Boma construction
o Cleaning cheetah runs
o Building roads
o Identification of invasive exotic plant species
o Eradication actions