VOASA believes in promoting and applying responsible tourism initiatives, as our industry grows from strength to strength we believe in sharing our successes with those less fortunate.

VOASA is affiliated to CHRISTEL HOUSE SOUTH AFRICA and believes in their vision that transforming a life destined to poverty into a life of self-sufficiency can only be achieved by combating the causes of poverty: lack of education, lack of opportunity, lack of dignity, lack of good health and lack of positive role models.

The future is bright for children and families who are at Christel House today, but it is the exponential effect of our work that will ultimately yield the greatest impact. Future generations, free from the crushing burden of poverty, will have the opportunity to live productive lives.

Christel House Vision
Providing food, shelter and medical care are fundamental components of poverty alleviation. The holistic and transformational approach of Christel House expands beyond basic survival needs and addresses the problem through long-term, systemic interventions and human transformation.

The cycle of poverty is vicious and repetitive. No magic wand can be waved to make it disappear. Our work is longitudinal. It requires tremendous commitment, long-term involvement and dedicated professionals. And it happens one child at a time.

Some of what Christel House does..
Education
CHSA provides rigorous instruction primarily in English, emphasising mastery of core subjects, especially languages and mathematics. It distinguishes itself from other schools in that it provides a longer teaching day; from 8:00 till 5:00. In addition extra classes are offered on Saturday and during school holidays to ensure that learners have the best chance of succeeding academically.
Arts
At Christel House South Africa we believe that children should be given the opportunity to dream. This stimulates creativity which is captured at a very young age. Our learners are exposed to art from Grade 1 and some of them produced paintings that are now displayed around the world.
Music
It is well known that exposure to music at a young age helps a child perform better academically. Learning to play an instrument requires patience and discipline. Christel House South Africa pride itself of a very vibrant music department which has grown from strength to strength over the past five years.
Language
Upon entry into Christel House South Africa our learners do not speak a word of English. For most of them their home language is Xhosa or Afrikaans. For this reason we have the services of a language facilitator to assist our Grade 1 educators in their class.
Library
Currently our library caters to the needs of the junior grades and in a lesser way to grades 7-9. The aim is to develop it into a resource centre that will comfortably provide research opportunities for the senior grades as well as to become fully computerised and accessible to educators and learner.
Food and Nutrition
Given that learners come from highly vulnerable communities, where monthly family income is highly unstable, learners are provided with meals at the school. Each learner is given breakfast, lunch and two snacks during the course of the day to ensure that learners are fed and able to concentrate and participate in the classroom. For most of these children it is the only meal they have for the day. The feeding program at CHSA has gone a long way to contributing to the health and wellness of the learners.