Take Action Lab: Human Rights Semester in South Africa

The program started with a one-month preparation upon our arrival to South Africa. There we learned more about discovering who we were, did we had a purpose or talents. We continued by learning about Cape Town and South African history and drew a basic understanding of how events shaped the citizens of that nation. Take Action Lab (TAL) became my best online program so far because of the knowledge, support, and connection I made virtually with my "Zoom-mates" and our facilitators.

During our travel, we played a game organized by TAL, to take pictures with the highest number of our peers during our transit flies. While we were amazed to meet and see how different we were from our online calls, that was a funny activity like all those we had during the program.

During our first weeks in Cape Town, the TAL staff repeatedly taught us safety measures. By organizing drama, singing, rule-setting meetings, and competitions, the TAL staff repeatedly taught us safety measures. Maybe I should say, they made us learn by ourselves and watch our friends' safety.

We lived in beautifully equipped houses, where we shared the common spaces but each owned a room. This was easy to discuss with housemates around different cuisines or read a book away from any contact.

We were paired with some local NGOs to work on advocating human rights. I taught high schoolers in sciences and mathematics before winning an end-of-year award. I was excited to teach and learn how work unfolds around school administration. Luckily I had a mentor who was in charge of the school's educational planning.

Through the cultural series by TAL and partners, I learned stories, songs, dances, meals, and traditions from South Africa country and that of my peers. We also visited beautiful spaces like Boulders Beach, Cape Point, and Devil's Peak Mountain aside from having the opportunity to further explore the city. The Learning Reconnects were an awesome time to learn about the various intellectuals who struggle for a better community. And the time to say goodbye to Cape Town was the deepest, full of reflections and goodwill.

No doubt that I grew through the TAL program. Before returning from the program, everyone, including home friends and family remarked on the difference in lovely language and the mindset I had developed. Thanks, I still have growth opportunities through alumni series, gatherings and opportunities.