Meet Jonathan, Who Journeyed from Germany to Durban to Volunteer with PeacePlayers South Africa
May 6, 2026
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Hello everyone,
My name is Jonathan Geueke, I just turned 19 years old, and I’m from Essen, Germany. Since October 2025, I have been volunteering with PeacePlayers South Africa in Durban. In this blog post, I’d like to tell you how I got to South Africa and what my first months as a PeacePlayer have been like.
Why I Became a PeacePlayer
After graduating from school last summer, I didn’t want to go to university right away. So for the next year, I decided to do something completely different, something that would give me a new perspective on the world. I began searching for opportunities and discovered the German government program “Weltwärts” (which translates to “out into the world”), which sponsors thousands of volunteer posts for young people worldwide every year. When I saw that PeacePlayers was one of its partner organisations, it sounded like a perfect match for me.
As a person interested in almost all kinds of sports, I strongly believe in their positive value for society. Like almost every boy growing up in Germany, I started playing soccer at a young age and came into contact with many different communities through it. However, in recent years, my passion shifted towards basketball. I started playing at my local club about six years ago and, more recently, also began refereeing and coaching a youth team there. I think that explains pretty well why I was so excited when I was accepted as this year’s volunteer at PeacePlayers South Africa: it combines my passion for basketball with a truly impactful mission. Breaking down prejudices, making new connections, and learning about values like leadership and equality – these are things I had already experienced playing sports in Germany, so I was convinced that PeacePlayers’s work has a real impact on people’s lives here in South Africa.
After going through a detailed preparation with my German placement organisation, including multiple seminars in Germany and a lengthy visa process, I finally arrived in Durban in October 2025.
My first days in South Africa
My first days as a PeacePlayer were marked by many new faces and memorable first impressions. On my second day here in Durban, I already joined a tournament at Northwood High School, where I met most of the PeacePlayers team for the first time. The whole day was filled with joy and laughter, and everybody was so nice and welcoming! This quickly took away any anxiety or uncertainty about the upcoming months.
During my time here in Durban, I am staying in an apartment in Glenwood right next to my colleague Nasiphi, who is always there for me if I have any concerns or need something. In addition, my neighbours Helmut and Leslie immigrated from Germany years ago and have become some of my closest contacts here. All of this really helped me settle in, as everyone showed me around the neighbourhood and introduced me to a few people in the first days. I feel right at home in Glenwood and like to go on a walk in one of its parks or use one of its many cafés when I work from home.
My tasks as a PeacePlayer are very diverse and differ on a daily basis, which offers me a great opportunity to gain insight into almost all areas of the organisation. My two main areas of work are in Marketing and Communications, and Programmes. On the Marketing and Communications team, I mostly work on our social media accounts. In the last few months, I have made great progress in video creation and editing, so now I can create videos and TikToks for our social media pages. Of course, we need content from our work in the field for that, so on some days during the week, and especially during special events on weekends, I am out capturing highlights and special moments.
On the Programmes team, I try to support wherever I can. This can range from helping move things from storage to researching potential partner organisations in our area. On some occasions, I have even been able to referee a few games, which made me especially happy because it showed me that basketball is the same everywhere and that we are all united by a shared passion for the sport (and a common rulebook…).
One of the most memorable days I had here at PeacePlayers South Africa was our 41st City-Wide Tournament. Held last year on November 1st, it showed me how impactful our work is, as it brought together more than 500 participants from all of our programmes in a single venue. Participants played on up to six (!) courts at the same time, which turned the whole venue into a buzzing area filled with highlights at every corner. I was responsible for our Instagram stories on that day, which had me running from court to court trying to capture at least a small bit of all the incredible moments that were happening at once. Of course, the day was stressful for every staff member, but in the end, it left me with countless positive memories, and I am really looking forward to my second City-Wide next June.
Looking back…
Looking back at the last months, I have to admit that they have given me many new thoughts, but also more open questions than I could have ever imagined: What is the deeper meaning of such a voluntary year? How has this experience changed my perspective on life? Will life feel different when I return to Germany? As my journey continues, I try to come closer to answering these questions step by step. At the same time, I realize that for some of them, it might not be possible to find one single, final answer.
The main thing I have learned during my time here is that you simply never stop learning, especially when you immerse yourself in a new culture as I did. Every day, I am incredibly grateful to be part of this amazing team, which doesn’t even feel like a workplace anymore, but rather like a family. To everyone who welcomed me here in Durban and showed me a small part of their world, I want to say thank you. Thank you for this incredible experience that has turned my life upside down. Now, I am looking forward to all the upcoming events and moments that the next three months will bring for me. In the end, there is one question that I can confidently answer: Would I do it again? Yes, always!
Thank you for reading my blog! I hope I was able to bring you a bit closer to my thoughts and feelings about my time being here.
