Halfway There

Wednesday marked the halfway point of our trip. So far our time here has flown by! We've been very intentional with our time and have focused on getting to know different people in Ocean View. We've met some great people and I think everyone in the group has learned a lot from the stories we've heard. It's been really interesting for me to be back in Ocean View and watch my team experience it all for the first time. This is my seventh summer going on a mission trip so leading a group with people who have never been on a mission trip or travelled out of the country before this trip has definitely been an eye opening experience. Working alongside Casey Prince, who actually led a few of my first mission trips, has been great. I've grown so much from both Casey and Sarah in the past and I know I'll grow more from getting to work with them while I'm here. They are both truly amazing people.

One of the projects we have been working on that I've particularly been interested in is researching tutoring programs in the area and assessing the feasibility of establishing one in Ocean View. This past semester I was in a social entrepreneurship class that required us to develop a hypothetical business plan for a social venture. I worked with my close friend, Delaney Dixon on the project. When we started, all we knew was that we wanted to do something relating to Africa (we both have a strong love for this continent) and using a holistic approach that empowered locals to rise up as leaders in their own communities. The final result of the project was a business plan for a tutoring program in Ocean View that helped prepare 15-18 year olds for life after graduation through an engaging curriculum that combined life skills, academic studies, and an entrepreneurial mindset. This curriculum paired with one-on-one help from trained staff and volunteers could give the students the resources they need to pursue their future academic and vocational ambitions.

So far we've gotten to visit a few different tutoring/mentoring programs in the Cape Town area. We've walked away from each program with encouragement and potential future partners. As we see more programs we'll be able to better assess what techniques work best and what styles would work best in OceanView. Even though this was originally just a class assignment, Delaney and I kept having UNC professors and professionals in the education system in North Carolina tell us that we need to actually implement a program like ours. Getting to talk to people in Cape Town who have actually started tutoring programs and hearing their positive feedback about our ideas has been even more encouraging and exciting. Whether or not I'm the one to do it, I would really love to see something in Ocean View that is focused on better preparing students for the 'real world'. The more I'm in Ocean View and study the education system here, the more I realize the need and opportunity to do something about it. Working on this research makes me want to stay longer because 6 weeks is such a short amount of time and there is so much I want to absorb and be part of, but I am graduating from UNC in less than a year so I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.
 -Ali