South Africa & Mozambique: Peace, Politics & Human Rights

The 6 weeks I spent traveling this summer to Washington D.C, South Africa, (Swaziland), Mozambique, and Vermont were like anything that I have experienced or will ever experience in my life. Our program was very educational but also allowed a lot of time for freedom. We stayed with 2 host families, met with Gandhi's grand-daughter, and many more!! From doing a game drive to shopping at the mall to hanging out on the many beaches to hanging out with the younger kids of our home stay families, there was never a dull moment. We also got to meet with a lot of non-profits and activists within South Africa and Mozambique. The biggest highlight for me, though, is the 28 friends I made across the country and even abroad. We have gone through things together that most people cannot relate to and that makes our bond unbreakable.

It's not everyday you're given the opportunity to go study abroad in a whole other country with 14 other people who have similar goals. I was given the chance to visit different kinds of schools and discuss with other teenagers about their experiences as students in South Africa. From visiting NGO’S to lectures about the South African and Mozambique culture , I was able to learn a lot of valuable information. There are a lot of things that I didn’t learn in my past history classes and being given the opportunity to dig deeper into South Africa’s history and Mozambique’s is something that I am grateful for. I was able to grow as a leader and was exposed to different situations that allowed me to learn about the kind of person I am. I strongly recommend this program to anyone who wants to learn and grow as a leader! This has been by far one of the best summers and would do it all over again if I could. Coming back home, my mindset and goals for the future are more clear.

I was lucky enough to go to South Africa with fourteen other students and two group leaders. I talked to two girls who had gone on the program a year prior and they told me that I was going to make close friendships but I was not expecting this. I could go on and on about the food or the language or how nice the local people are but that cannot compare to the friendships forged between your group members and leaders. Our group chat and group instagram page are still bumpin’ and I’m constantly facetiming friends from both the South Africa and India trips. I have grown so much as an individual; I am more caring, kind, confident, and eager to put myself out there. I cannot recommend this program enough. I have a new direction in life that I cannot wait to explore all thanks to the Leadership Institute.

This trip is so much more than what the title says it is. Yes, we learned about politics, peace, and human rights, but we also learned a lot about ourselves and who we are. I don't think any of us expected to have a personal character arc throughout this trip, but for many of us, this trip gave us more than we can express. I went to South Africa with a bunch of questions in my head and came back with maybe just as many questions, but also so many answers. On this trip I learned so much about social advocacy and leadership, but I also met some of my closest friends. We have been back in our home states for a month and are all in touch at least once a day. I wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything and recommend it for anyone interested in organizing and leadership.

Overall, this summer has been astonishing. The fears and hopes I had pulling into DC (for our pre-program orientation) were completely different from the fears and hopes I had pulling into SIT (post-program orientation), and even those differed from the ones I had pulling into the driveway of my home in New Jersey. I feared that I would create superficial relationships with my peers and that I would learn nothing applicable to my own community. Obviously, I was wrong. I consider the 28 other students I’ve met on this trip my most supportive and dependable friends and the 6 leaders my mentors. I’ve been so inspired by various community organizations and activist groups in South Africa and Mozambique and am extremely eager to implement the ideas and methodology they have equipped me with. At the end of the program, students create and present a yearlong capstone project to implement into their own communities, and it's an effective way to apply the learning from our trips. Expect to not only learn the culture and history of the countries you visit; expect to really engage in the sociopolitical climate of South Africa and Mozambique.
A big takeaway I have from this summer is that each country moves at its own pace; it has its own history and culture. Its political, economic, and social progress occurs in a different historical context, so, as outsiders and as Americans, we should respect that historical context.

From learning the history that's shaped the current state of politics in the country, to meeting youth my age and getting their perspectives on personal and national issues, the Leadership Institute South Africa definitely impacted my life. My homestay families were extremely welcoming, and I now text my homestay sister daily. The in-country program coordinators were (and are) some of my favorite people and enhanced my over all experience. My 14 fellow programmers provided a varied viewpoint on every situation, organization and experience we encountered. All of these relationships and interactions accumulated to create a trip of a lifetime, one that I will be forever grateful for.

I had the opportunity to study with the Experiment in International Living: Leadership Institute this past summer. The program was 6 weeks long, and dealt with issues such as human rights and community development. The program began with a week in DC, where we visited several organizations and site visits, all in the context of advocacy and social change. We got to see firsthand how individuals, no different from ourselves, are using the resources they have on-hand to truly make a difference within their communities. It was an enlightening experience and truly opened my eyes to an entirely new side of Washington D.C. Following this portion of the program, we embarked on our journey to South Africa, where we spent 4 weeks studying peace, politics, and human rights, centered around apartheid and the country's history/political climate. We had the chance to travel all throughout the country in studying these themes, and thus got to see firsthand how an individual's background impacts the way he/she views the world. Not only that, but we were also truly able to get a glimpse at all that makes up South Africa. It is a land unbelievably rich in culture and natural beauty, and whether we were staying in the cities, the mountains, or along the coast, this was always evident to us. After returning back to the United States from South Africa, we spent a week in Vermont, where we brainstormed our post-trip projects. The idea behind the program is that once we return, we should take what we've learned to implement a project addressing an issue within our own communities. Vermont was characterized by the brainstorming of these projects. However, we also got the chance to partake in activities such as hiking and berry-picking, which gave us the opportunity to experience yet another place's culture. Through this program, my eyes to the world were opened. I can't overstate all that I learned throughout those 6 weeks, nor the value I gained from the Experiment in International Living: Leadership Institute.

I relentlessly worked on finishing my application hoping my dreams to go abroad would come true. After a month or two of waiting for a response, I finally received the email. I was in. I was overjoyed in the moment, but I was unaware of all that this experience entailed. My first day with other leaders had already informed me of so much because of the diversity in perspectives and background. I had been around intelligent young people before, but I had never been in a room full of intelligent young minds that were so similar and different from myself. Immediately, I started bonding with these once strangers- some bonds were even stronger than those with the friends I had at home. The strength of these bonds made challenges easier. With this family we created, my group and I had experienced and learned an abundance of things through each other and immersion. One of the many aspects of this program that I loved was being able to learn from the South African people. Through a series of workshops, visits with NGOs, visits to schools, and two homestays I had immersed myself in South African culture, and I was able to evaluate the true ethos of South Africa. Not to mention the leadership workshops that took place in D.C., were used throughout my stay in South Africa, and were strengthened in Vermont. These workshops prepared me for not only South Africa, but for returning to my home community. Because of this experience, I will only continue to advocate- even more than before. Additionally, each day I still utilize what I learned on my journey to approach a wide range of problems including personal, interpersonal, emotional, and even physical. My family noticed a change in me right away as joy was now more of a priority than perfectionism. Who knew a flower could grow so much in 6-weeks?