SOUTH AFRICA: HUMAN RIGHTS & PEACE BUILDING

June 24, 2009 – July 29, 2009

This program is open to students who are motivated to learn about peace building and social healing from a nation that has recently gone through a peaceful transition from a minority dictatorship to a pluralistic democracy.

Program Information

Education & Learning

Focus of the Program

Students will learn about South Africa from South Africans.

Students will be challenged to navigate through the conflicting perceptions South Africans have about their past, present, and future. 

The specific focus is given to South Africa’s transitional justice model, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

Former TRC Commissioners will participate in practical dialogue workshops that develop peace building capacities.

Restorative Justice as Healing

This is a form of justice we use in our Juvenile Justice System.

It involves taking accountability, repairing harm caused by a crime.

It involves all people/peoples involved in a crime.

Cooperation is key.

The people of South Africa faced gross human rights violations during Apartheid.

Through the Truth and Reconciliation Act they were able to heal, forgive, and rebuild their communities.

Restorative Justice South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is located on the southern most tip of South Africa.

The Khayelitsha people are who we will stay with during 2 weeks of the program.

This setting, near Cape Town, is a community of poverty that is struggling to overcome the inequities of the former Apartheid government.

Their Language is Xhosa. Over 1 million people live in this

township.

Academic Program

Course Work: Reading, Writing, Discussing, Participating, Reflecting, Dialoguing

This program is experientially based.  Group process and field trips are central

to the learning approach and students will need to be active participants in discussion, reflection, and dialogue. 

Readings, group discussions, field trips and lectures will establish a theoretical framework for the coursework. 

Pre-trip reading is assigned and the first paper is due upon arrival in Cape Town. 

A final paper or group project will be completed after a workshop series at the University of Cape Town.

Daily Activities

During this time we will meet with government leaders, community organizers, academic and religious institutions, activists, and volunteer associations.

This is an intense two weeks.

The workshops are all day.

We will be exposed to people who are trying to help South Africa’s future through unity, reconciliation and peace.

Weeks 1 & 2 16 – hour days

Daily Activities Continued

We will be staying in a poverty stricken township.

The people of this township live on less than $1 a day.

The state of this township is the direct result of the oppressive government called Apartheid.

South Africa has come a long way since Apartheid. Democracy is the new form of government practiced and has a long way to go.

This part of the trip will be the most difficult, challenging, and rewarding.

By the end I hope to have a better understanding of the injustices that took place during Apartheid and the injustices that are still taking place today.

Weeks 2 & 3 Khayelitsha Township

Living Accommodations

The 1st 2 weeks of the program students will live together in a retreat center or guest house.

The following 2 weeks we will be paired and stay with host families in the township of Khayelitsha. During this week we will attend the University of Cape Town.

The last week of the program will be spent on an environmental preserve.

Costs & Fundraising

$2,660. This is the cost for all accommodations not including the airline ticket.

This covers housing, meals, transportation, workshops, arranged recreation and excursions.

Approximately $1400.00. This is the cost of summer courses associated with this program. (JUS394/JUS494)

Program Fees Course Fees

South Africa Community Fund

Please donate. My program is

sponsored by this non-profit organization.

It is a tax exempt organization.

Any gift that is provided is 100% tax deductible.

Visit the web address below.

All checks for this program can be made payable to SACF and mailed to:

P.O. Box 10777 Tempe, Arizona 85284

Be sure to designate the donations to my name.

Donations should be made by March 30.

www.southafricacommunityfund.org

Opportunity Knocks

This is a wonderful opportunity for me to enhance my education in ways which I never thought would be possible.

I will use all teachings and experiences in my personal life as well as my career in the Justice field.

I’m a strong advocate of Restorative Justice. Today, in our society it’s used for children and adolescence and has been proven to work well.

Human rights are something we should all be concerned with and want to change.

If the people of South Africa can survive and thrive through years of suffering, human rights violations, inequality and come out of that with the ability to understand, heal, and love the same perpetrators who violated their rights . . . Why can’t we?

The Beauty of South Africa