Civic engagement has always been part of my life, and my experiences in ACE South Africa showed me new ways to give back to communities. At Duke, I have been an executive board member of Duke’s Pancakes for Parkinson’s for the past two years and am going into my Junior year as co-president. Pancakes for Parkinson’s is a club dedicated to raising funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, an organization that supports research in finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease. In Pancakes for Parkinson’s our sole way of supporting The Michael J. Fox Foundation is through monetary donations. We work hard throughout the year, hosting various fundraising events to raise as many funds as possible to donate. Prior to going to South Africa, I was skeptical of the ethics of this service trip. Having been used to donating money to charitable causes I thought that the communities in South Africa would be better off with the cost of the trip donated to the organizations instead. This guilt weighed on me on the plane ride to Cape Town.
It wasn’t until we were a few days into our trip and community engagement work that my mind began to change. In the township of Langa, we were busy giving English lessons to ECDs (Early Childhood Development Centers) as well as volunteering at a sports camp in the afternoon. While our purpose in the ECDs was to teach English and support the teachers at these crowded schools, I saw another unexpected benefit: the exchange of ideas.
While our purpose in the ECDs was to teach English and support the teachers at these crowded schools, I saw another unexpected benefit: the exchange of ideas.
At the ECDs, we introduced new songs and tricks for teaching English that the teachers and students were unfamiliar with. By bringing the lessons we were taught growing up in schools in the US and UK we were able to enrich English lessons in a way that money couldn’t. My favorite moment was reading to the kids at the ECDs, “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,” a book that my parents read to me growing up. At Ladles of Love, another organization where we volunteered, our impact on the communities was much clearer. On our first day, we made 1,400 sandwiches to be sent out to ECDs who needed them. We created toys and prepped meals for communities. It felt right that we were doing a job that required us to be in South Africa and perform tasks that a “check” wouldn’t be able to.
It was being part of the VUSA sports camps where I felt we made the biggest impact with our presence. At the sports camp it didn’t feel like we were volunteering, it felt like we were hanging out. As the days went on, we all became closer to the kids at the camp. It made me proud how many kids knew my name. The biggest impact I hope to leave in South Africa is the presence of women on the rugby field. While the sports programs at VUSA are open to both boys and girls, no girls attended the sports camps. With eight other strong female athletes and me participating in ACE and showing up to play rugby every day, I hope we were able to show the children that women also have a spot on the playing field. And perhaps these kids went home to encourage their sisters and cousins to play rugby with them in the future.
While the sports programs at VUSA are open to both boys and girls, no girls attended the sports camps. With eight other strong female athletes and me participating in ACE and showing up to play rugby every day, I hope we were able to show the children that women also have a spot on the playing field.
While a simple donation would have supported these organizations and their goals, it wouldn’t have provided the same learning opportunities. Being in South Africa and supporting these organizations in person allowed us to teach lessons in both the classroom and field, impacting students and teachers. Especially for the young girls in Langa, we demonstrated that women can be smart, athletic, and capable of achieving anything men can do. My experiences in South Africa were amazing, and I hope we left a lasting impact on those that we worked with.