Stein Brunvand leads GIEU group to South Africa

Stein Brunvand, SOE associate professor, led a group of University of Michigan students to South Africa as part of the Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates (GIEU) program. This study group, “Teaching Across Borders: Establishing a Virtual Tutoring Program in Johannesburg, South Africa,” laid the foundation for implementing a virtual tutoring program to provide academic support to students in Alexandra Township.

The GIEU South Africa group spent a week and a half in Johannesburg assisting with several different programs for children who have lost parents to Aids and other circumstances, such as the Rose Act Saturday school, which is designed to help students in grade 5-12 get additional tutoring across a wide range of subjects. The university students helped run classes in several different computer labs where sessions on keyboarding, Microsoft Office applications and other computer basics where being taught. While in Johannesburg the group also assisted in an after-school homework program also run by the Rose Act organization. Both the Saturday school and the after-school program are offered specifically to children living in Alexander Township, which is a squatter settlement that borders Johannesburg. Alex, as it is known locally, is an incredibly poor area and the schools there are overcrowded, understaffed and without adequate resources.

In addition to their work in Johannesburg, the GIEU group also spent time living and working at the Village of Joy, which is located about 30 kilometers northwest of the city. Milly Jarvis runs the village and she has adopted 21 children ranging in age from 3-21, most of whom were orphaned or abandoned, and many of whom had been abused or neglected. The GIEU group assisted Ms. Jarvis by working with the children after school on their homework and participating in a range of activities at the village. While at the village the group also worked in the classrooms of a local primary school called Riversands. Students who attend Riversands live in Diepsloot, which is another squatter settlement similar to Alex.

The GIEU visiting group has learned much about life in another country, especially for those whose basic needs are inadequately met, and they have infused some much-needed human resources in the form of energy, knowledge, and enthusiasm. Please join me in welcoming them home from their journey!