EREA African Immersion

Last term I traveled to South Africa and Kenya for an African Immersion with Edmund Rice Education Australia with a group of thirteen Australian Educators and two Tanzanian Teachers.

In Johannesburg we visited the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which is the original building that Nelson used whilst he was the President of South Africa, his office has been preserved in its original state and the rest of the building is dedicated to the life of Nelson and the struggles that he faced and overcame to become the inspirational leader that he was.

We also visited the Apartheid Museum where we learnt about the long and difficult history of racial discrimination which is referred to as Apartheid. This Museum presented photographs, film and artifacts that gave great insight on their story of liberation and hope for the future.

We then had a home stay in the township of Soweto, a place of informal settlements, huge unemployment and a violent history. The community opened their homes to us and talked to us about their lives in Soweto.

We attended mass at Regina Mundi, a church that still bears the bullet holes from its troubled past. During mass we experienced the most amazing singing in preparation for Easter. We walked along the street where the 1976 student uprising took place, a peaceful student march which turned violent with several students killed. The first student to be shot was Hector Pieterson a 13 year old boy who then became the symbol of youth resistance to apartheid. There is now a memorial and museum in his honor.

Just down the road we visited the only street to have two Nobel Prize winners to have lived in it. Vilakazi Street was where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu both lived. We spent time at Veritas College, a Christian College School that welcomed us into their classrooms to teach students about Australia and students performed on the Marimbas.

I had a wonderful time, the people that I met were so welcoming and invited us into their homes, this was quite an overwhelming experience as their homes consisted of one room with no toilet, water and on one occasion no electricity. It was an unforgettable experience to teach such lovable children who were keen to learn and had big dreams and much hope for their future.

Mrs Jackie Walker