US students explore Gauteng township
The initiative works with Emshukantambo Secondary School, where the representative council of learners’ executive committee engages with the other learners.
The Phaphama Initiative NGO hosted students and staff from Kean University (KU), New Jersey, US, for their Travelearn study abroad programme.
Kean’s short-term focus was on giving the students more insight into other cultures.
The NGO, founded in 1992, focuses on community travel and tourism.
They show tourists around Soweto and have them sit and engage with the community to learn more about Soweto’s history.
The initiative works with Emshukantambo Secondary School, where the representative council of learners’ executive committee engages with the other learners.
The NGO’s CEO, Lindiwe Tshabalala, said, “We have done tours for 33 years, and this is community-based.”
“I believe we are different because we show tourists the sites and want to bring them into our communities and see our lives, and some get to sleep with us for the full-on experience.”
“This is to show that travel and tourism in our locations are important because they carry so much history.’’
The students and staff from KU experienced flavourful dishes like chakalaka, braai meat and cabbage.
“They also asked questions about Soweto and shared their experience because they were from Vilakazi Street.”
Danielle Brathwaite, a senior student at KU, said this experience has been amazing and informative.
“To experience something first-hand is amazing because we only read about the history.”
“What stood out for me is going to the Soweto Museum and learning about the killings of students and all those who fought during apartheid.”
One of the initiative’s cultures is to give each tourist an African name because they are known to hold some meaning, and the learners had to introduce themselves by their African names and what they meant.
‘’We are in Soweto because we have a program where we take students for short-study abroad experiences, and we had a fantastic opportunity to travel to Cape Town, Johannesburg and Soweto to see important sites and learn more about apartheid,’’ said Karen Smith, the vice president of KU.
She added that she hopes the students take home the knowledge they learn.
