Service Learning in South Africa

Alex Stuerke is our student writer today and you will enjoy the adventure the group had today in discovering Botswana.

“Today was a perfect combination of peaceful relaxation and strenuous physical endurance. We were able to sleep in for the first time in two weeks (until 9:45 am – yay!), before heading out for a hike. I’ll admit that when I heard the word “hike,” I was thinking that it would really just consist of a semi-challenging walk up one of the rolling hills of Botswana. Well, let’s just say that the so-called “hill” was slightly more intense than I had anticipated.”

“Fortunately, the hill-mountain was located very close to a mall, so a few people ended up walking over there and spending their afternoon relaxing in a familiar way. They went to see the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.” I have wanted to see that for months now, so I was a little disappointed that I missed out on seeing it with them. On the other hand, the experience that the rest of us shared was nothing less than extraordinary.”

“After hiking for 30 minutes or so, we made it! That might not sound like a strenuous hike, but when you’re going straight up the incline of the hill, using a staircase of sometimes unsteady rocks while dodging all kinds of prickly plants…it becomes much more intense. A few of us decided to challenge ourselves even more by hiking a little higher up the hill. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking, and the camaraderie that we built in hiking to that point made every step of the journey so worth it.”

“Tonight we’re looking forward to relaxing and spending time with Dr. Musa Dube, a professor from the University of Botswana who previously was at Vanderbilt. We read three of her brilliantly-written articles, and I know that we are all very much looking forward to gleaning as much wisdom from her as we possibly can. Love to everyone back in the U.S.!”

Thanks Alex, I thought our readers would enjoy your entry about our adventure today. Okay everyone, I just want you to know that no student or faculty member was in danger on the hike. Just continue thinking and praying for us and we will see you in one week.

Until next time.

Bernard

Posted by Bernard Turner at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today, we began our first day of serving and learning in Botswana. Cassie Schreiner is our student blogger for the day as we continue our journey.

“Our group of students and faculty split into three separate teams. Each team went to a different organization (the same organizations we visited yesterday). One group went to Kamogelo Orphans, a teaching day care center for children ages, three to six. The organization focuses on teaching English and also serves breakfast and lunch. A second group went to Holy Cross Hospice Kindergarten. They worked on building a fence to go around the garden area.“

“Our group of eight headed to the S.O.S. Children’s Project. Since we had two work projects, we split into two smaller work teams. Our team tilled a new area for planting tomatoes and onions. We finished tilling one-half of the area. Next, Alvin, an S.O.S. volunteer and engineering student, from the University of Botswana, showed us around this magnificent campus. The buildings include a kindergarten, library, housing facilities, computer lab, laundry facilities, and others. We ended the tour in the kindergarten. Playing with the children was the greatest reward for all of our hard work; they were so sweet. Each child automatically referred to us as “teacher, teacher.” Like most children, they were so excited about the cameras. They loved the idea of having their picture taken. We were sad to leave them; however, we will be back next week to finish working on our individual projects.”

Thanks Cassie. I served on the tilling team and we do look forward to finishing this project. Then S.O.S. can continue to grow vegetables for providing nourishment for the children and youth living on their campus.

Until next time,

Bernard Turner

Posted by Bernard Turner at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On our first full day in Botswana, Liz Poston provides an inside perspective on what lies ahead for us.

“We crossed the border into Botswana last night, and while the terrain of this new country was not visible by daylight, the night sky was incredible! It looked as though God scattered billions of diamonds just above Botswana. We arrived at our lodging, and those from last year’s trip were not joking when they said it was nice…it’s amazing.”

“After a comfortable night’s rest (with the exception of crowing chickens and barking dogs), we awoke to see what exactly we had driven to. The land here is definitely different from that of Cape Town. Since Botswana is mostly desert, we can finally dry our hair and clothes in about an hour flat. There are goats and chickens wandering about the sides of the road and hardly any green grass to be found.”

“We started out the day by visiting a couple of the places that we will be volunteering at over the next week. The first stop was the Kamogelo Orphans, a day-care program for children ages 2-6 which is run by a dear nun named Sister Margaret. She showed us around the four different classrooms where we interacted with the children. The children speak only a tiny bit of English; their primary language is Setswana, which is the native language of the majority tribe here in Botswana. Next we visited S.O.S. Children’s Project where they showed us around. Here we will be getting our hands dirty clearing plots of land and helping to plant vegetable gardens. We also saw the playground that Belmont Students cleaned up and repaired last year. That was really exciting to see the finished work that these students had done. We are all excited to get to work tomorrow and explore more of Botswana!”

Liz is correct in saying that all of us are excited to continue serving and learning in Botswana. We will also see the third organization, Holy Cross Hospice, which we will work with as well starting tomorrow.

Stay tuned until next time.

Bernard Turner

Posted by Bernard Turner at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

May 27 was a travel day for us that started at 8:00 am when we left Cape Town to get our plane to Johannesburg then drive to Botswana. The day ended at 9:00 pm. Chris Haeckel is our student writer.

"Today we left Cape Town and headed for Gaborone, Botswana. Everyone in the group is very excited for this next leg of our trip. One of the most exciting things is that none of us know what to expect. From what we have heard, Botswana is much more like the Africa portrayed in American movies. From what little we have seen so far, what we have heard about Botswana is correct. The kind of work we will be doing here will be similar to the work we were doing in Cape Town, but we expect that there will be different challenges and rewards due to the fact that we are working with three entirely different organizations in a different country."

"This evening a few of us had the chance to watch a soccer game with a few of the guests, and the staff at the Big Five Lodge where we are staying. After the game, there were a few comments made about how much fun it was to watch the game here, and how the excitement of those watching with us made the game much more exciting and fun to watch. If the attitude of the people here towards their sports carries over into other areas of their lives, then this could be an experience that most of us will never forget."

Please keep reading and praying for us as our journey continues.

Until the next time.

Bernard Turner

Posted by Bernard Turner at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The team left early this morning to fly to Johannesburg before driving to Gaborone, Botswana. They will spend the next week working with the SOS Children's Project, Khamogela Orphanage, and Holy Cross Hospice.

I have received word that they arrived safely.

They will not have the internet as readily available while in Gaborone, but we will attempt to keep the reports of their activities updated every day if possible. Check back often to read how their work is going in Botswana.

Darrell Gwaltney
Dean, School of Religion
Belmont University

Posted by Bernard Turner at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today is our last day in Cape Town. Our morning included working at Living Grace, a facility for the homeless that provides meals to those who hunger, devotional services, and other support. The picture is the students singing Amazing Grace at the end of the devotional period before lunch. Hoyt Steele is today's student writer.

"Today is a day we all knew would come despite how badly we wished it was delayed. This morning began with an early start that for some of us began earlier than preferred. After breakfast, we made our way to the Living Grace homeless and rehabilitation center closer to downtown. As a group we were able to lend a helping hand in anything from food preparation, food inventory, or plain clean up."

"A meal was prepared for nearly 40 persons including men, women, and several infants. My involvement in particular was marked by a conversation I had with one of the workers. He told me of his past drug abuse and gang involvement and how the Living Grace center presented him with the opportunity to turn his life around. Truly, if it is God's will... It will happen. This man comes from the deepest of spiritual lows and social settings to recognize the gifts God has given him and how he may now use them to help others in the area of drug rehabilitation and counseling. He told me of various townships in the Cape Town area and I was amazed to hear of the even worse conditions we would not come to witness on this trip. It is quite intimidating to see the generations of emotional and physical investment these areas require. Nonetheless, it is individuals like the above mentioned that give me confidence in the future of the 'rainbow country.'"

"During the afternoon after enjoying lunch on the beach, we prepared for our return and final day with the children and workers at our Ocean View family. Every day is a blessing getting to see these children and the incredible gifts they possess. Such energy has left most of us in major physical pain as we pretend to be both a piggy-back machine as well as an apparent ladder to the sky that all the kids
quickly make their way to climb. All of us feel a connection to the group of children assigned to us and have developed an even stronger relationship with more of them than expected. Throughout the week, we had conversations with many of them, played sports, discussed their personal life (and ours), as well as had a chance to witness what their home life is like."

"It is emotionally challenging to see such incredible children with the utmost potential and talent be limited by their surroundings and their constant vulnerability to violence, drug abuse, and sexual abuse. Today marked the hardest of all the days, as we had to say goodbye to our group of students. We will be leaving for Botswana tomorrow and today could be the last time we see this children again. The strong relationships formed makes it even harder to deal with how temporary our serving and learning may feel. Getting to experience how powerful of a week this has been makes me imagine how beneficial a month or whole summer experience here could be. We are grateful for the blessing received with the ability to come on this trip. May our experience in Botswana be equally as challenging and invigorating."

Hoyt expresses the mixed emotions we all feel about leaving but on to Botswana to continue our serving and learning.

Until next time.
Bernard Turner

Posted by Bernard Turner at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As we wind down our time here in Cape Town, we were back to work at Living Way and Ocean View as last week. Today's blog entry is by Grant Watson.

"Yesterday we had the opportunity to soak up a bit of the beautiful culture, sights, and animals of South Africa. After being filled with all of this we had another day to pour ourselves out again. The group was able to continue physically serving at the Living Way campus this morning. We finished moving some of the major sand issues in the middle of the campus as well as sand more desks and help out with the gardening (landscaping) of the campus. I think it is great that we have left a physical mark on this place. One can tell that we had been there and hopefully for the better."

"In the afternoon, we returned to our same kids clubs that we had been a part of last week. It was great to see the kids again and the excitement of their faces to see us again to continue serving them. Their contagious smiles and laughter really encouraged our group. I feel that both the kids and our group have become increasingly comfortable with each other. Our relationships have definitely started to develop and it saddens us to only have one more day with them."

"As we arrived back at the Team House after a day of serving, the smell of chicken curry and apple cobbler consumed us! We shared the delicious meal with the athletic team as well as a full time missionary couple, Mike and Pam Tally of Brentwood Baptist Church who are now serving as volunteer coordinators for Living Hope. They expressed their gratitude toward us as did the same for the incredible work they are achieving and allowing us to be a part of that."

"The group itself has gained an amazing amount of chemistry. Living, learning, and engaging with each other for a whole week has taught us about one another and created a beautiful tightly woven team. I know that each one of the students and professors has been challenged by the hard work we have done as well as the inticing stories we have heard thus far."

Thanks Grant and we bid traveling mercies to the athletic team and their team leaders who are leaving us early in the morning to begin the journey back to Nashville.

Until the next time.
Bernard Turner

Posted by Bernard Turner at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today may be considered a typical theme for Christians on Sunday. Lauren Paxton, another one of our amazing students, provides her reflection one week after leaving Nashville for our journey to South Africa.

"We were able to see more of South African culture and sights. This morning, we went to two church services; one was at King of Kings Baptist Centre, and the other was at Masiphumelele Church. Both were really great experiences, because we were able to see how South Africans from different cultures worshipped. King of Kings was similar to many Christian churches in America. We sang worship songs like "God of Wonders" with a praise band, prayed for various people, and enjoyed a service about preventing shipwrecks of the soul. Then, we went to Masiphumelele Church and had a completely different cultural experience. The people of Masi sang beautiful traditional songs without any instruments, often jumping in with any song they felt like singing at the time. They danced and swayed to every song, and none of us were able to resist doing the same. We were not able to stay for the sermon because we would not have understood it (they were kind enough to provide a translator for the first part), but we were all still amazed at the power of their worship service and especially the gorgeous music they created."

"Later, we had lunch with Pastor John Thomas and his wife Avril who founded Living Hope together. They told us the story of why they wanted to help the Masi community and how they were able to get everything started. We learned more of how the organization runs, gets funding, and examines the benefits gained from their efforts. It was interesting to hear about the organization and its inner workings from the founders' perspective."

"After lunch, we went to Cape Point which held spectacular views of the ocean and mountains, and then snapped a picture at the Cape of Good Hope. We ended the day by visiting the penguins on the beach. I think we all enjoyed the day because we were able to see some cultural differences within South Africa and even more magnificent scenery of the country."

Worship, Fellowship and Relaxation is how we hoped our loved ones and friends spent today. Please keep reading about our journey and of course praying for us.

Until next time.
Bernard

Posted by Bernard Turner at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The picture of Nelson Mandela and another prisoner was taken Saturday at one of the exhibits during our visit to Robben Island. Today's student writer is Dan Ritter, who also came to Cape Town last year with Belmont's University Ministries. He has been a wonderful resource as we travel about Cape Town learning and serving.

"It is impossible to truly visit Cape Town without taking time to play tourist at Table Mountain. This natural world wonder is a giant flat-top mountain that can be reached one of two ways: (1) hiking or (2) cable car. We all opted for the cable car and enjoyed a wonderful hour on top looking out over the city center (downtown). The views were indescribably breathtaking, and the sheer magnitude of Table Mountain left everyone with a sense of awe."

"From Table Mountain we made our way to the District Six museum. District Six was a community of mixed races and religious traditions that lived peacefully together until the mid-1940s. At that point, the dominant white minority (and the perpetrators of Apartheid) forced this community into barren lands outside the city. This event was what instigated much of the poverty problem that exists in Cape Town today. The museum was unbelievable. Our group had the opportunity to move about the building taking in the stories of those affected by the District Six expulsion."

"We moved from the museum to Table Bay where we caught the ferry to Robben Island, the location of an infamous prison. This prison was the home of Nelson Mandela for nearly two decades during the anti-Apartheid struggle. Mandela was not the only political prisoner held here. In fact, myriad political positions were represented in the Robben Island prison showing that the crime being punished was race and not political ideology."

"After a full day, we grabbed dinner at "Mama Africa." EVERYONE dug right into the traditional South African cuisine. We had everything from Springbok and udu (both antelopes) to ostrich and crocodile. We all had a fantastic time. I know that we appreciate your continued prayers for safety. It is hard to believe that we leave for Botswana in just a few days. Love to all of you back home from all of us here!"

One final note - another group member stated she got teared up just thinking that we actually got the opportunity to see where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Just to be on Robben Island was a historical and emotional journey for us. As Dan stated above, thanks for your love and prayers. We will be home in two weeks.

Until next time.
Bernard Turner

Posted by Bernard Turner at 05:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What an incredible day of learning for all of us! We visited two innovative organizations focused on changing lives through skills development and utilization allowing persons to becoming employed and self-sufficient. LearntoEarn believes in a hand up not a hand out and Streetwires believe in people, passion, and pride. Emily Riley, another one of students, writes:

"Today we had a bit of change in routine, and while we missed the kids from Ocean View, most of the students seemed okay with taking a break from the yard work of the past two mornings. We toured two incredible organizations today: LearntoEarn and Streetwires. LearntoEarn is a busy and successful program in which South Africans were trained in areas like graphic design, computer skills, office administration, wood working and sewing. This organization also help find jobs for their students in the community, help some further their education and help some become entrepreneurs. We were all extremely impressed by the efficiency of this organization and the quality of the goods they made."

"We were equally impressed by Streetwires, which we visited later. This organization had a cool shop of gifts and decorations on the upper floor with the majority of studios on the bottom floor being used to make a variety of products from wire."

"In the afternoon we did some touring downtown and tried our hand at bartering in the Green Market Square in Cape Town. After lunch, we had the opportunity to visit St. George's Cathedral, where Desmond Tutu served as the first black Archbishop of South Africa, that allowed blacks and whites to worship together. We then took a walking tour of the park viewing government offices, museums and statues."

"On our way home, we stopped at Chapman's Peak to watch the sunset with the ocean stretching before us. What a beautiful and peaceful way to end our exciting and educational day. It was so great to get to see some of the different organizational, historical and cultural hotspots of Cape Town and to really immerse ourselves in the city. We are beginning to get a better understanding of South Africa, as we try to be both servants and tourists in this amazing city. We appreciate your prayers and support as we get deeper into our African experience."

I want to end by going back to Emily's first point about LearntoEarn. The organization's mission statement is "We seek to develop people especially unemployed people socially, economically, emotionally, and spiritually." Changing and transforming lives is a beautiful thing.

Until next time, thanks for following us on our journey here in South Africa.

Posted by Bernard Turner at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After a night of thunderstorms, I wondered if we would be able to continue with our work at Living Way to finish our gardening, not landscaping, which we thought was the right term today. We proceeded to the facility and the rains would come and go as we worked. Jeff Jenkins, another student on the trip writes:

"Today at the Ocean View Township we changed things up. Instead of working in the Kids Club doing lessons and games, we walked around the community visiting individual families in their homes."

"When in their homes we talked with them about how they thought Living Hope and the Kids Clubs in the community helped them and their children. The responses were positive in every home that we visited. The parents spoke to us of how their children would come home every day and be excited to share with them what they had learned that day. The parents also stressed the fact that those few extra hours that the kids are at the clubs after school each week helps them tremendously to be able to get things done. Going into these homes and seeing first hand the living conditions of these families, as one of my fellow students said, was very humbling."

"It made us think of how blessed we are to have the comfort and things that we have. Personally, I feel that this experience helped me to not take as much for granted. Also the presence of God in the community with these children was amazing, because even though they have so little, they still are very happy and thankful."

Well the lesson for today is to be humble and thankful for God's blessings wherever you are.
Until next time.
Bernard Turner

Posted by Bernard Turner at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Hello, this being our second full day, I thought it would be good to get our students' perspective on our trip for this blog. So today, we start with Kate Harris and she writes:

It's a small world afterall. If I learn nothing else from this trip, I have learned that and to never make assumptions about people or places. It's our second full day in South Africa and I could not be more in love. In the morning, we conducted various landscaping tasks and other tasks at one of Living Hope's new facilities. After a morning of preparing the site externally, we were in for another treat in the afternoon at the Children's Clubs. We spent the afternoon at three Children's Club sites in the Ocean View Community again.

The clubs are an after school program and my favorite part of each day. I knew we would be helping in these clubs, but I assumed that would take on a very different form, a form unimaginable to me. I soon learned, as we all did, that such things are universal. It's just like the kids' club I coordinate in Nashville. Same lessons, same games, and same energy. The children even dress as we do and their affection goes unmatched. These studetns greet us with excitement and many of us have already formed special bonds with them. They teach us Afrikaans, which is their language, and we also learn about their culture's hospitality and values. Most importantly we learn never to make assumptions for those who seem most opposite from us. We are all brothers and sisters and that is one special lesson.

Kate has summarized an important lesson for all of us about making assumptions. South Africa is a wonderful learning environment not only for our students but the Belmont faculty that are here as well. We look forward to sharing more insights about our trip over the coming days.

Until next time.

Posted by Bernard Turner at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa. It was a long flight but we all survived and are glad to be here. This being our first official day, we spent the morning at Living Hope learning about the organization and then visited their faciliites. It is truly amazing how they are transforming lives here and leading people to Jesus.

After visting the sites, we came back to the Team House for lunch. We spent the afternoon at Living Hope's Ocean Way sites. We were divided into three teams, one inside (thank goodness I was one of them) to work with children about 4-10 years old and another group for the 11-14 year olds. This latter group is the one I served in and the focus is an abstinence based prevention program. The other two groups were outside and ended up playing soccer.

Of course, the children here were very good at soccer and made our students (don't tell them I told you) look bad. However, we all learned something today and that was God provides and loves all his children. In our group, our leader Al, asked the students what they were studying then he asked me about the trip and I stated that our students were "learning while serving" and that is a wonderful thing. Seeing these wonderful people loving life and loving God despite their personal situations should make all of us here from Belmont realize that we are truly blessed in every sense of the word. So we are here to be a blessing to our South African brothers and sisters.

Until next time.
Bernard Turner

Posted by Bernard Turner at 02:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yesterday, seventeen students and four faculty left for the 2009 Belmont in Africa study abroad experience. They should arrive in Cape Town by approximately 4:00 p.m. CST on Monday afternoon. We'll try to give you a daily reporting of their experiences with pictures so you can see a little of what they see. The students will have access to the site as well, so they will be glad to see comments from home.

Each day different students will write about their experiences and about something transformative that happened that day. Travel with them over the next three weeks as they work first in Cape Town, South Africa, and then in Gabarone, Botswana. They'll do some sightseeing, but they will mostly be learning as they serve and work with others. Check in regularly!

Posted by Bernard Turner at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)