From Africa, a Lesson in Compassion

CITY WEEKLY DORCHESTER

For one group of Dorchester high school students, the chance to learn about different cultures took them halfway around the world, where they came face to face with some difficult social issues and returned with a new perspective on life.

The group of nine students in grades 11 and 12 from the Codman Academy Charter Public School traveled to South Africa for 16 days in February. They toured Cape Town, Johannesburg, and East London, visiting schools, museums like Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned), and AIDS patients in clinics.

Part of the school's founding charter is to bring a group of students to South Africa in their senior year. School officials organized the first such trip in 2005.

To qualify, students wrote an essay explaining why they wanted to go and their goals for the trip, and they attended a 10-week class on the history and culture of South Africa that met Saturdays.

"For me, the number-one goal is to really have students be exposed to the world in ways that they aren't able to be just sitting in the classroom," said Thabiti Brown, academic dean at the academy who accompanied the students.

The school's foundation board helped raise much of the cost of the program, and Sappi, a South African paper goods company, under wrote some of it. Students paid $300 themselves and helped raised funds through bake sales. Parents also contributed.

School officials said they hope to develop the trip into a broader exchange, in which students and an accompanying teacher live and go to school in South Africa.

Below are excerpts from essays three of the students wrote for City Weekly on their experience.

Stephen Santos

(Grade 11)

The reason I went to Africa was to find a part of myself that I was missing. I am trying to find something in my life. I had been looking to change myself for about the whole school year, but nothing has been working. So I continued the search in Africa.

A moment that struck me was when we were in the Stephen Biko museum. Stephen Biko was a political leader who openly criticized apartheid and oppression in the world. Stephen Biko was arrested, tortured, and beaten and eventually died in prison.

I tried to put myself in the same position that political leaders like him were in, and I realized that I would have probably done the same things that they did. If I were in their situation, I would have been thrown in jail. I am a person that rarely backs down from things if I strongly believe that something is right. And I don't think I would have backed down then either.

What I see that is different between South Africa and here in America is that when South Africans wanted something to change, they actually went out and fought for it. I think now there should be more action and less talking if people really want change.

I am only 17, so my options are a little limited. A lot of people who think that George Bush is an awful president and think that he shouldn't be in office right now are the same people who didn't go to the ballot box and attempt to change anything by voting. So if people really want to change something in America, we should look at South Africa or even our own history to realize if we want to change something, we need to fight for it.

Marlon Thompson

(Grade 12)

It was on Valentine's Day that we left for our journey to Cape Town, South Africa. Many of us did not know what to expect, for it was our first time going to the motherland.

To prepare ourselves for the journey, we took a course in South African history, which proved helpful once we arrived.

After 27 hours had passed, we were finally there. As we made our way around the airport, I started to notice that there were a large number of white people. We had learned in our South African class that the whites control most of the wealth, but in a lot of ways I still had the notion that because it was Africa, there would be many blacks around. Don't misunderstand me, though; there were blacks around. They were mostly handling the baggage, because they were basically workers at the airport. This was my reaction from the Johannesburg airport.

Our time spent in East London was short and fun, but it was there that we encountered the most emotional situation. This happened when we visited an AIDS rehab/treatment clinic. We had gone there to bring the patients some fruits.

We made our way to the section where a guy was staying who was 25 and had full-blown AIDS. Though he was covered by a sheet, I could still make out his frail body, which was extremely skinny. I had my plate of fruits in my hand, and one worker told me to place it beside his bed.

I walked up slowly. His head was covered by the sheet, so the only thing visible was his hair from the position I was in. I got closer, and as I bent over to place the fruit on the night stand, I looked in his direction and caught his eye. His eyes were big and white, and in my opinion he looked scared. I myself got scared, and I turned away from him and walked back.

Though I may have only looked in his eyes for three or so seconds, I could still see he was scared. I finished touring and made my way outside.

The ride back was quiet.

Simone Wilson

(Grade 11)

When we were in Joburg we went to two AIDS clinics. When we arrived at the first clinic, I was a little shaken, but I still proceeded to go in. The clinic was small. They said that they could only hold about 10 patients at a time. That made me wonder about the rest of the people who wanted help, but could not get it because the clinic was full.

The people who looked after the patients were volunteers. They were not being paid for the remarkable work they were doing. That amazed me. They had so little, but they were willing to help. No one said, "I can't do this because I don't have the things I need in order to get the job done."

When we arrived at the second clinic, I could not hold myself together. We were going to go look at some of the patients' rooms. "But before we go, let us pray," she said. I could not hold it in anymore. As she prayed, my eyes watered. I asked God, "Why did this have to happen to these people?"

What touched me the most was when one of the nurses came out and hugged me. She hugged me tightly and told me that I needed to stop crying and that everything was going to be OK. At that moment, my heart and mind felt a sense of relief.

If you were to ask me, would I go back to South Africa, my answer would be, yes, I had so much fun. But I would not just go back for the fun, though; I would go back for the knowledge.

I have a lot of thinking to do about my life. Now I seriously under stand why the grown-ups are always saying that you can't take things for granted, especially education. There are kids that want to go to school, all over the world, but can't because they can't afford it. Over here in the United States education is free.

To whoever reads this, please take advantage of the opportunities that come your way and be grateful for the things that you have in life.

By Colleen Walsh, Boston Globe, April 9, 2006