Volunteer for GroundUp

Journalism that makes a difference to people's lives

GroundUp is a community news organisation. We focus on social justice stories in vulnerable communities. We want our stories to make a difference. When we uncovered corruption at the Department of Home Affairs, the department investigated it. When we reported that the streetlights in Khayelitsha were broken, the City fixed them. We don't only want to report the world; we want to change it.

We are looking for local and international university students or graduates who would like to volunteer with us. This is substantial work; we won't make you do the photocopying. We expect you to be independent and willing to go out and find hard hitting important stories that will be published under your byline.

To volunteer for us, please email infogroundup.org.za.

Here is what volunteers have said about GroundUp:

As an intern with GroundUp over the summer, I was given the freedom to explore topics that truly interested me. This is not a typical internship filled with busy work and mindless tasks. At GroundUp, I was treated as a colleague rather than a subordinate. I have built relationships and a written portfolio that I look forward to sharing with everyone back home in the States. I will be earning my Masters of Public Health, so I ended up writing feature pieces on HPV and circumcision. By writing pieces that were relevant to my academic and professional interests, I learned a great deal about the state of public health in South Africa and the inner workings of community journalism. I would definitely encourage students visiting South Africa from abroad to intern with GroundUp.

— Edirin Okoloko, Yale

Working with the GroundUp staff was a great opportunity to learn how a different kind of journalism is made, that focuses more on life in the townships and the problems that affect vulnerable people. I was able to learn about the issues facing these communities, not only through my reporting, but also by listening to my colleagues at GroundUp. I really appreciated the freedom I had to focus on the stories I found most interesting, as well as the advice to write about different issues I hadn't considered before.

— Camila Osario, New School

GroundUp is a joint project of Community Media Trust and the University of Cape Town's Centre for Social Science Research.