While most students try to spend their Spring Break relaxing at home or traveling to a beloved vacation-spot with close friends and family, sophomore Sara Gleason has a different ‘vacation’ idea in mind. Starting during the summer of her freshman year of high school back in 2008, Sara traveled to South Africa for the very first time. Sara’s mother, a math teacher at Middlesex School, had become the school’s Director of Community Service and was interested in leading a service trip abroad. However, before she led a trip, she wanted to be sure that she knew what she was getting into and that it would be appropriate for a group of high school students. So, she invited Sara to come with her on a service trip to Cape Town, South Africa that ran through an American non-profit organization called Ambassadors for Children. Both Sara and her mother were deeply moved by their experiences in South Africa; especially by the people they met during their service. Now, as a sophomore at Connecticut College, Sara has begun to arrange another service trip to South Africa during Conn’s Spring Break — organized through Ubuntu Global Connections (www.ubuntuconnects.org), a non-profit organization (established by Sara’s mother) dedicated to offering education service trips to enable American students and adults to do volunteer work in South Africa. This is an excellent opportunity for Conn students to get involved if they are interested in volunteering abroad!
I was able to ask Sara some questions about the program and her previous experience in South Africa. Let’s see what she had to say.
Tell us about your first trip to South Africa and the history of the organization you are working with.
I think the highlight of that trip was getting to know the children of Linawo Children’s Home. Linawo is made up of fifteen children, many of whom were orphaned or neglected, and a few caregivers that really function as a family. I think my mom decided on that trip that she wanted to make a personal commitment to helping to support the Linawo children as they grow up. Since that first trip, my mom has led many service trips to South Africa, and I have been back with her four more times. We continue to make connections with new people in South Africa (now my mom’s service trips usually include a week at a school in the Eastern Cape as well as service in Cape Town) and strengthen our relationships with the Linawo children and others that we met on our first trip in 2008. In the fall of 2011, my mom established Ubuntu Global Connections (www.ubuntuconnects.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to offering education service trips to enable American students and adults to do volunteer work in South Africa. So, though UGC is a relatively new organization and still developing, my mom and I, as well as many others who have been on these service trips to SA and know how powerful the experience is, are really passionate about it.
The South African term, “Ubuntu,” essentially means “a person is who they are through other people.” It is the idea of humanity and that a single person only really exists in relation with other people.
I’ve taken this from the Ubutu Global Connections website because I thought it might be helpful…“The philosophy of Ubuntu Global Connections is that volunteers work with the people being served while learning from the experiences and views of the local people, and that the precise nature of the service to be provided should be dictated locally. The trips foster mutual respect as the volunteers are immersed in the local culture during their time there and have opportunities to learn about the history, traditions and customs of the culture. Through learning these things, the volunteers have a context for the challenges that are faced by the people and are in a better position to understand their needs and support their goals for improving their lives. The educational nature of these trips allows the participants to learn and appreciate the perspective of people in another culture while working with them on meaningful projects that have a lasting impact on both the volunteers and those served. It is our hope that both the volunteers and the people served by the volunteers leave the experience with a greater awareness of others and that they will share what they have learned with their own communities.”
Tell us about your upcoming service trip — what do you plan to do, where will you be working, how many students do you expect to go, what kind of goals or outcomes do you have for the trip, what will the living situation be like, what cultural excursions will you go on?
We will spend the first week of the trip in a rural village on the beautiful coast of the Eastern Cape. We will eat meals with a host family and sleep in the traditional rondovels (circular huts) of the village. Our volunteer work will be with high school students who are in an enrichment program through an NGO called Axium Education. We will most likely be helping in their English, math, and science classrooms and assisting with small group activities. We also may do some one on one tutoring with the students. In addition to service work at the school, we may also help with some environmental initiatives taking place in the village and we will participate in some of the traditional chores done by villagers. Also while we are in the Eastern Cape, we will go on a day hike along the beautiful coast.
The second week of the trip will be in Cape Town. For part of that week, we do homestays in Gugulethu township and get to know the group of amazing women hosting us. We will attend a powerful, music-filled church service in this community. We will volunteer at Linawo Children’s home! We will do projects around their home (ex. painting, cleaning, gardening, etc.), help tutor the nine children who are being homeschooled, and spend time playing with the kids. We will also spend one day to take the children on a field trip, maybe to the zoo or a museum. During our time in Cape town, we will also eat at some great restaurants, including a well known outdoor restaurant that serves barbequed meat by the platter and has the most lively atmosphere. We will also visit some famous landmarks like Table Mountain, Robben Island (which holds the prison that Nelson Mandela was at for 17 years), and Cape Point.
I’m hoping to have 10 or 11 students on the trip. Our adult chaperone is Sara Rothenberger, the Director of Residential Education and Living at Conn. My main goal for the trip is to have it be an enjoyable and meaningful experience for trip members. While I think that our service work is beneficial to the organizations and people with whom we interact, I really believe the impact they have on us is so much greater. Also, I hope that students on this trip are inspired to come home and share their experiences with others and maybe continue their relationship/support with some of the amazing South African organizations and people we work with.
Discuss safety and how people will prepare before going on the trip.
While I have never felt unsafe during my time in South Africa, we will definitely take precautions to make sure that everyone stays safe on our trip. Sara Rothenberger claims she turns into “mama bear” when she is a leader of trips like this. We will stay as a group the majority of our time there. We are also advising trip participants not to bring large amounts of money or any expensive/flashy jewelry. Also, we are not allowing drug or alcohol use on this trip.
People don’t really have to do anything unusual to prepare for this trip… pack, mentally prepare for some challenging and emotional experiences, get ready for long plane rides haha. We are going to do fundraising as a group and get to know each other before we leave for South Africa.
Can you explain the projects you will be working on in more detail? How will they help the area you will be working in and what is the expected goal/outcome?
I think I answered this a bit in the second question. But I think what’s important to note is that we are working with South African Organizations who are already working to make a change in their communities, whether it is by giving a good education to a group of students, or doing environmental work, or giving care to a group of orphaned and neglected children. Our goal is to help them in any ways they see fit, but we are definitely just a small piece of their puzzle. I think that the greatest service we do when we are in South Africa is to spend the time listening and sharing experiences. My mom has heard over and over that for these hard-working people, just knowing that there are people out there, even across the world, who are interested in their struggles and want to support them as they work to solve immense problems, helps them to get through each day.
How can someone get involved and/or what can people do to help from in the U.S?
The group of Conn students going on the trip in march is going to be doing some fundraising before we leave for South Africa. The money we raise will go directly to the organizations we work with over spring break. So a really easy way for members of the Conn community to get involved is to help make our fundraising successful by buying the goods we sell or attend events we put on. On a similar note, anyone who wants to donate money to Ubuntu Global Connections or to any of UGC’s South African partner organizations can do so on the Ubuntu Global Connection’s website, HYPERLINK “http://www.ubuntuconnects.org” www.ubuntuconnects.org. UGC and the South African organizations we work with function on little money and make the most of every penny, so even a small donation would be greatly appreciated. Also, there is the option to organize drives for needed supplies or items (ex. clothing, toys, soccer gear) for some of our South African partner organizations. If anyone is interested in doing that, they can contact me ( HYPERLINK “mailto:sgleaso2@conncoll.edu” sgleaso2@conncoll.edu) or my mom, Amy Gleason ( HYPERLINK “mailto:amy@ubuntuconnects.org” amy@ubuntuconnects.org). Also, I encourage everyone to spread the word about Ubuntu Global Connections. It runs high school and college students trips as well as adult trips, so anyone who is interested in the opportunity to go on one of these trips in the future should contact Amy Gleason. There is a high school trip and a college trip this summer.
Do you have any recommendations of additional volunteer programs and fundraising tips for students interested in volunteering but may not have the funds?
I actually don’t know much about other organzations or programs that offer service trips abroad, but there are definitely tons. I think the experience of working with people from another country and culture and really learning from them is invaluable. It has certainly had a powerful influence on my life, so I think anyone who is interested in volunteering abroad should go online and look into those opportunities. However, traveling abroad to volunteer can be expensive, and the truth is there is so much that can and should be done in terms of volunteer work in the US. So for people who do not have the funds to go abroad, I would say find a volunteer program in the US. In the past, I have been involved in Habitat for Humanity, so I know that is an example of a great organization that helps people all around the US. In terms of fundraising for trip costs, I definitely don’t feel like the most knowledgeable, but I think letter campaigns can be pretty effective (writing to friends and family and asking them to support you). Besides that, I think the key to fundraising is creativity and really figuring what people will pay money for…but I’m not the best at that.
When you volunteer in South Africa, how does that make you feel? What is your favorite aspect of service work?
I think, above anything, I just love getting to go back to Cape Town and visit the South Africans I have gotten to know over the past 5 years and care so much about. They have shown me true resilience, passion, hard work, and selflessness. Knowing them has changed the way I try to live my life. So when I am in South Africa, with these people, I feel grateful for my time with them and also for the fortunate life I have had. I also just love the city and the culture. I think I spend most of my time there just trying to absorb everything. I love being able disconnect from my life at home/school for a while and just immerse myself in everything that I do in South Africa. And I love making connections with people across the world; it’s given me a greater understanding of the common humanity that people all around the world share.
If you are interested in this upcoming service trip or would like to learn more about Ubuntu Global Connections, feel free to contact Sara: sgleason2@conncoll.edu and visit the website: www.ubuntuconnects.org.