Journeys to South Africa

Acknowledgments

This book is the culmination of a 20-year relationship between the West Chester University Honors College and several South African nonprofit organizations and communities we work with every time we visit. The book’s purpose is to highlight the growth of these organizations and communities alongside the learning of the students. In many ways, the WCU international service-learning (ISL) program and its students and faculty, and the South African individuals and organizations with which we interact are engaged in a reciprocal project of mutual healing. For South Africa, our sustained engagement benefits communities through our service work, fundraising, and through the opportunity to share the stories of this country back in the United States. For the students and faculty, the benefits include: developing an increased sense of what it means to be engaged global citizens, which includes being committed to examining one’s own complicity in and duty to challenge inequities at home and abroad. In many respects, we have been on a journey toward racial and economic healing with our South African partners, as our own country undergoes another phase in the project of racial and economic justice. We want to thank the South African communities we work with for their willingness to teach us as we serve them. None of this would have been possible without the generosity of time and spirit of our South African community partners, in particular Mary Burton, Gail Johnson, Rev. Cecil Begbie, Peter Storey, Alan Storey, Noor Ebrahim, Joseph Schaffers, Queen Malefane, Deon Kitching, and Anwill Valentine.

In keeping with the values of our ISL program, we wrote this book collaboratively, learning from each other in the process. It was written by the students in HON452 (2018), HON451 (2020). All of the students from those classes are listed as part of the editorial staff (below). Some of those students also contributed chapters to this volume. We also want to thank the students who offered their journal entries to this collection.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dean Jen Bacon and Associate Dean Hyoejin Yoon of the West Chester University College of Arts and Humanities for their generous support of this project through the Research and Creative Activities grant program. We would also like to acknowledge the West Chester University Provost, Dr. Laurie Bernotsky, and the Director of the Honors College, Dr. Kevin Dean for their generous support of this project.

Finally, we also want to thank our parents and our teachers, who taught us the most important lessons—kindness, perseverance, focus, organization, resilience, curiosity and openness. Without their guidance and teaching this book would never have been written.

The royalties from this book will go directly to the student-run fundraiser called “Aid to South Africa,” which was founded in 2007 by three students who traveled on the WCU Honors College’s ISL program in South Africa. We are inspired by their leadership. The funds raised by the organization they founded are donated to the communities we partner with in South Africa (including Nkosi’s Haven, H.E.L.P. Ministries Soup Kitchen, the District Six Museum, among others) and assists them in continuing their good work.

Lead Editor

Victoria Tischio, Ph.D.

Co-Editors

Camryn Carwll

CJ Deskie

Dunya Markovic

Copy Editor and Research Assistant

Kathleen B. Fricke

Faculty Contributors

Kevin W. Dean, Ph.D.

Peter Loedel, Ph.D.

Victoria Tischio, Ph.D.

Print Editorial Staff (and contributing authors indicated by asterisk)

Allison Davis*

Miciah Brice-Frazier

Natalia Brown

Alex Dwyer

Nicole Fiorentino*

Danielle Gendler

Teresa Lee

Michaela Gormish*

Jose Hernandez*

Rebecca Kelly*

Savannah Lear*

Brendon Lordan*

Olivia Mancarella*

Ronan McDermott*

Michael Nangle*

Nicole Salapong*

Joelle Skacel

Annika Soderberg*

Ruby Wright

Digital Editorial Staff (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Blog)

Connor Beard

Abigail Boquist

Lauren Durante

Nicole Fiorentino

Michaela Gormish

Nolan Hibsman

Olivia Mancarella

Alena Marcinkoski

Emily Miller

Zoe Nowell

Sarah Richie

Andrew Rubas

Kyle Shaffer

Bonna Sheehan

Frederick Shegog* (Digital Intern)

Annika Soderberg

Mackenzie Taylor

List of Abbreviations

“Hello” in all 11 official languages of South Africa

English

Sawubona

Zulu

Mola (s)/Molaweni (pl)

Xhosa

Halo

Afrikaans

Dumêlang Thôbêla Helele Hai

Northern Sotho

Dumela (s)/Dumelang (pl)

Tswana

Lumela

Sesotho

Xewani Avuxeni

Tsonga

Wemukelekile (s)/Numukelelkile(pl)

Swati

Nada (m)/Aa (f)

Venda

Lotjhani

Ndebelle

Hello¹ 1 South Africa has 11 official languages. They are all listed here in order of their prevalence in the country, with the exception of English, which is the fourth most prevalent language spoken in South Africa.