Soccer, coloring, drawing, and hugs were part of the mix when 30 Elon students spent time with young pupils at a township school near Johannesburg, South Africa. The service learning day was part of a study abroad course, the first to be offered at Elon based in South Africa.
Elon students enrolled in the Winter Term course “Images of Text and Healing,” focusing on the history of the nation during and post-apartheid, visited the Ekukhanysisweni school for grades 1-7 in the Alexandra Township. The school’s name means “place of light.” The school building was brand new and had been open only three days when Elon students visited on Jan. 19.
Although the South African pupils are taught in English, most in this school speak Zulu. Language barriers dissolved, however, as Elon students played soccer and led art lessons with some of the school’s 1,024 youth. “Despite the challenge of a language barrier, we were able to directly connect to the kids at the school,” said sophomore communications major Chris Ford.
“Walking into a classroom of 40 plus kids that had little to no resources showed the true devotion these teachers have for teaching,” Katie Gordon, a senior education major, said.
Elon students in the South African study abroad class brought supplies to the school such as crayons, books, paper, and soccer balls. The children communicated through smiles and copying the pictures modeled by their American visitors. “Despite their impoverished conditions, these children know that education is the light at the end of the tunnel and the torch that will blaze the way toward the new South Africa,” said junior musical theater major Dionne Eleby.
The South Africa study abroad instructors are Dr. Prudence Layne, assistant professor of English, and Dr. Anthony Hatcher, associate professor of communications.