Customized Faculty-led Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa

We had a 21-day tour in South Africa with EDU Africa and I had the experience of a lifetime! I was so happy during our trip, I learned so many historical stories, lessons, and events that greatly interested me. I miss the great daily schedule and touring, however, I found that I have missed the communities and cuisines within South Africa the most since I have left. While in South Africa, I learned so many new things about some of the local cultures, especially the Zulu culture. Our driver and guides were amazing and caring towards us, and I have only missed Africa since I have left.

EDU Africa created phenomenal programming to allow the students and I to gain a deeper understanding of Cape Town's social, political, economic, and cultural landscape. We were able to enjoy Cape Town's natural wonders and animals, while also learning from residents of the Cape Flats who were willing to share their stories with us. An emphasis on community engagement makes this program such a unique and valuable learning opportunity!

Traveling to Kenya and experiencing the culture, people and essence was life changing. As an academic and consumer of culture, the intentional curriculum of Edu Africa and the Kenyan people was the perfect combination.

It's been a long time since I've visited a country and have felt like I belong. Kenya and Edu Africa did that for me. The Edu Africa staff, service staff, Brackenhurst resort, Masa Mara, the Maasai people...

I look forward to bring more service minded people to partake in the Edu Africa/Kenya/Maasai people experience!

As as promised, as long as I'm alive, I'll be back!!

Working with edu.Africa has been transformational! In an effort to globalize the curriculum in two of my writing classes, I contracted with edu.Africa to customize a Virtual Exchange on the topic, “Understanding the Effects of Capitalist Consumer Patterns.” My students heard from professionals and interacted with peers, creating final products that were written in collaboration with students from Africa. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone I worked with as part of this program was professional, friendly, and accommodating. The students on both sides fully participated, demonstrating intercultural communication skills and an understanding of social justice. Based on student feedback this program was exceptionally well organized and fully engaging. Some of the take-aways were that students from my class were surprised to learn that students from Africa had the same interests, insecurities, goals, and passions. The program gave students a chance to find commonality among their peers from another country and left them feeling more connected with others around the globe and confident about interacting with culturally diverse populations.
I have since worked with the group to offer another program to the next level English Composition class: “Reclaiming Spaces: Land Dispossession & Black Identity in South Africa.” This, too, was a real hit with the students. By examining the inequity between races related to space access in South Africa, my students were able to make connections to concerns related to race relations in the U.S. They were able to examine this issue through the lens of social justice. A highlight for my students was interacting with Njabulo Hlope, a street artist. It unfolded as the program brochure had described it: “(Hlope) believes in the power of public art to kickstart critical conversations about identity, race, and belonging.” These conversations continued throughout the semester and inspired several research writing projects that demonstrated critical and global thinking. This program has definitely brought a passion into my classroom that has students finding purpose in their writing about real world issues.

This was my first international rotation and EDU Africa planned the trip so well. It was very organized with just the right amount of academics, culture and fun. We had support the entire trip with phone numbers and transportation was always scheduled for us. We also had a fun intro week with Swahili lessons, visits to the local markets and a brief introduction to Tanzania culture. We chose to have them organize our trip to Zanzibar for a weekend off and it was amazing! I couldn’t have planned the weekend getaway better myself. Thank you EDU Africa for the amazing experience.

This experience was wonderful and transformative! The itinerary was amazing and I loved the variety of experiences that we had. From the hospital to the beaches of Zanzibar everything was amazing! I felt like we were able to see so much and do so much within 5 weeks. Everything was very well organized and the staff was amazingly helpful. I always felt safe and well taken care of. I would love to come back one day to this beautiful country! This program is overall great from both an educational standpoint and a travel standpoint. Highly recommended!

This trip was absolutely incredible! I learned so much while working in the hospital, but EDU Africa also did a great job at making this trip memorable for us in other ways. They planned an incredible weekend in Zanzibar- from hotels to tours and everything in between. They also planned 3 safaris to round out the trip. I would highly recommend it. We were also able to travel early to hike Kilimanjaro, which was challenging but amazing. EDU Africa was very flexible about arranging extra transportation and accommodation.

We had a 4-wk rotation in Tanzania and we had an amazing time. We spent two a week in orientation, 2.5 weeks working in women’s health at KCMC in Moshi, and reflections following that. Our program organized incredible cultural experiences for our free time - trip to Zanzibar, visiting the hot springs and waterfall in Moshi, 3 days of safari, and staying in a rented camp among a Maasai community. We were also able to come early and climb Kilimanjaro. We were do well-supported. Incredible experience