Teaching in South Africa

About a month ago, David Hong (19) from Duke University in the United States came to Cape Town with boxes of equipment and software, working at Hyde Park Primary to teach children about robots. Robots? Computers? Programming? This sounds like quite an exciting but uncertain project. Because let's be honest, how are you going to teach a 10-12 year old child computer sciences? Math and software? To program a robot? Fortunately for the children of Hyde Park Primary, they got David Hong.

With Projects Abroad, we offer quite a variety of teaching projects. Most of the projects focus on teaching English, Surfing and Sports. But recently, gossip and rumors were coming out of Parkwood and Fairways. At the Hyde Park Primary School, someone was teaching small children to build and program robots to be able to recognize colors, throw balls in boxes, dance and navigate their own way through a maze.

The rumors were starting to get more interesting. Not only did we hear David was at this school from 7.30 in the morning till the late afternoons, the children were also present. As a 10-12 year old, your free time probably consists of playing videogames, watching cartoons or playing outside with friends. Still, during a three week school holiday, some of the children were found in the classroom of Hyde Park Primary. Why? David Hong.

Visiting David Hong at his project was quite a joy. Any outsider would be entertained by what he can do with building and programming robots, and amazed with his methods of teaching young kids to do the same. He has a rare quality to keep the children focused and interested, challenges them to find solutions and assists when needed. His pace and patience, his attention and passion, it's all shared by the children. Thanks to David, a 10 year old was now teaching me how to build a robot and program it.

As Projects Abroad, we offer programs to help develop local communities and teach volunteers something about themselves. David is getting the maximum potential out of his visit. Not only do the children of Hyde Park Primary get the opportunity to learn something perspective-changing, incredibly original and interesting, they also have the fortune of learning it from David Hong, a volunteer who is practicing for a possible later teaching career.

You are quite the natural David, and what you have shown us at Hyde Park Primary is extraordinary. You are a true Volunteer of the Month.

Where are they now? - Jessye Kass

Projects Abroad Destination and Project: Teaching and Care in Ghana

What are you doing now?
Graduating high school in June of 2009, I quickly packed my bags and later in the summer embarked on the trip of a lifetime, with Projects Abroad as my support system, I lived and worked in Ghana for over four months. I spent the semester working at Osu Children's Home and Vision Seed Academy, an orphanage and primary school, respectively. Before going to Ghana, I was just an average teenage girl with a dream, now I have returned to Ghana three times and have founded my own organization there based in art therapy. Although attending Brandeis University full-time, each summer I have returned to Ghana, once through Projects Abroad again and the third time by funding from my university. On my second trip, I connected with local Ghanaian artist Serge Clottey and together we founded Attukwei Art Foundation (www.attukweiartfoundation.org). We took our joint passion for art and working with children and brought it together into an organization that brings social and educational programs geared towards artistic methods of learning in schools all over Accra. Our aim is to share the cathartic nature of art with children across Ghana. During the year, I supervise from my computer, working with my staff to increase our programs. Our eventual goal, Serge and mine, is to open up our own school in Ghana, based on the values of artistic methods of learning.

How has your Projects Abroad experience influenced your life?
Projects Abroad has provided me with the resources, support, and experience to fully live my dreams and develop goals for the future. I now have a direction in my life. I know exactly where I am headed and want to do. I fully plan on living, at least part-time, in Ghana for the rest of my life. Without Projects Abroad, my pleasant experiences would not have been so powerful. My host mother was immensely important to me; I lived with her both times I went through PA. Sadly, she passed away in June of this last year. I loved her as my own mother and was able to actually speak my own eulogy at her funeral in front of over 600 local Ghanaian's mourning her death. That is the power of the relationships Projects Abroad gives you access to. My host mother was extremely influential in my development of Attukwei Art Foundation's progress and I will never forget her. Additionally, while in the country this past summer, though not a Projects Abroad volunteer anymore, my sixteen year old sister was able to volunteer through the Projects Abroad veterinary program. I never would have trusted any other organization to take care of my sister, especially because she was so young. Projects Abroad was the seed to the flower that as grown out of my life in Ghana.

What are your plans for the future?
My immediate plans for the future are to extend our programs to HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana. I plan to return to Ghana in May 2012 and move there for several years after my undergraduate graduation in May 2013. Ultimately, as I said, my main goal is to found a school for children.

Employment with Projects Abroad

Overseas Positions
We are currently looking for candidates in a number of our overseas offices. We are in need of Social Managers, Desk Officers, Assistant Managers, and Care/Teaching Coordinators in the following offices: Ghana, Togo, Nepal, South Africa, and Tanzania. Knowledge of English, French and/or German is preferred. If you are interested and feel that you might be qualified, please email
workforus@projects-abroad.net with your cover letter and resume.

Program Advisor/Assistant Country Manager
We are always accepting applications for our Program Advisor and Assistant Country Manager positions. While we do not currently have any openings for these particular positions, we like to keep a lookout for qualified applicants. If you are interested and feel that you are qualified for either of these positions, please review the job description and send your resume and cover letter to
jobs@projects-abroad.org.

Press
Occasionally, we have opportunities for our former volunteers to speak with the media about their time abroad. If you feel that you might be a good candidate to share your experience with the press send us an email at press@projects-abroad.org. We will keep you name on file and check in with you when an opportunity comes up.

As always, we have paid opportunities available for alumni, like you, to help spread the word about Projects Abroad.