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Posted by Sarah Whitney and Claire Bristow, Fellows
A rainy week in South Africa provided a much needed break from the heat of summer and a comfortable atmosphere for Think Impact’s Global Development Ambassadors to visit the Uta community and learn more about ongoing Fellowship projects. Members of the Project Steering Committee, who are working tirelessly on the planning and development of the Uta Community Center, were excited to meet with the visiting Americans and tell them all about what has been going on for the past five months. Angie Mabuza, the PSC Chairperson, showed the group the building blueprints, gave them a tour of the location, and answered questions about the future of the community center in Uta. The GDAs were fortunate to hear Angie’s story and her vision for the project.
Angie is a vital part of her community—a natural born leader and a strong believer in the potential for growth in Uta. With two daughters herself, she is an advocate for youth in the community, and in an area where women aren’t always given a voice, she is heard.
Angie sees opportunity for students to form performance groups and use their time and talent to entertain their peers and share their ideas. She
envisions women with small businesses selling their goods at these events, generating profit that will both uplift their families and to feed back into the center. Angie is committed to this project because she knows it will help her community. For the first time, Uta is going to have a physical resource for community meetings, government services, a place to host social and cultural events and a facility for health education and business programs. She sees that this will change everything, that a new building can help spark ideas for new groups and community entrepreneurship.
Currently the community center project is in the final stages of planning. Contracts have been drawn up, the community is ready to get the building moving. While these things have been going on, we have been working to identify assets in the community so that once the building is up, there are already programs running to use the center. With all of the great ideas that Angie and the other committee members have for the potential of the center, there is a lot to look forward to!
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
Sometimes it is hard for people to fully understand what it is that SMRC does for development. We can always share pictures, tell stories and offer the numbers like young leaders in the organization have built 3 schools, 4 libraries, 2 soccer fields, etc. But there is no replacement for that in-person, in-the-field exposure to our efforts. Sign up here!
That’s why we are inviting you to join us on an exclusive 9-day adventure to South Africa beginning Labor Day weekend. From September 4-13, SMRC will be staying in the community, enjoying local fare, visiting a world-class safari and seeing Africa’s “Big 5″ and the whole animal kingdom. See what the GDA trip was all about in March.
Interact with the community and learn more about SMRC’s work in the field. Spots are filling up faster than we anticipated. Go to the site now and let us know if you want more information!
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
Great new video about our Global Development Ambassadors trip in March. Take a look and click here to find out how you can join us on our next Ambassadors Trip from September 5-14. Thank you to Alissa Shapiro for her amazing efforts at making this and other films a reality for SMRC!
Posted by Bill Gelfeld, Global Development Ambassador
Having been fortunate enough to receive the opportunity to travel to South Africa with Student Movement for Real Change (SMRC), a DC-based NGO, I was able to witness first-hand the incredible work that they are doing in collaboration with local communities in the province of Manyeleti. SMRC promotes cooperative projects between US undergraduate students interested in development and various villages in rural South Africa. Read the rest of this entry »
Postedy by Jessica Schwartz, Intern
The GDA to South Africa was an amazing way to spend my last spring break in college. SMRC provided the GDA participants with the ability to fully immerse in the culture and life style of rural South Africa. While on the GDA we experienced more in a week then most do in a trip for three weeks. During the GDA there is never a moment when you feel like you are wasting your time or you could be doing something else. This had a lot to with the home stay experience. Andrea, Katie, and I stayed in Richard Siwela’s brother’s home, which is across the street from Richard. The house was beautiful and you could tell the family had put a lot of hard work into it. Read the rest of this entry »
