Teachers Without Borders – South Africa June/July 2007
Noble Kelly, Director TWB – Canada

My first experience in South Africa was in 2005 working with abandoned and orphaned boys cared for by a friend of mine in Durban. The satisfaction was immediate. With the effects of HIV and AIDS now hitting the level of society that includes health care workers and educators and an education system that cannot fully support its teachers and students, a majority of underprivileged children find themselves in poor and overcrowded conditions, dropping out of school at young ages and without qualified teachers to motivate them. Since 2005, I have been to South Africa four times, bringing computers and resources and helping to train teachers to implement educational technology in schools where it is supported. But much more needed to be done and so started my research into Teachers Without Borders…

In November 2006, I was fortunate to meet Teachers Without Borders founder, Fred Mednick, and Yunus Peer and his Hawaiian team responsible for the work done in South Africa in the past six years. Reading TWB’s philosophy and meeting these people only solidified my trust that I was affiliating with the right organization.

After teaching high school information technology and business courses for 16 years in British Columbia, I found myself becoming frustrated with the negative political climate teachers seem to be facing of late and the way many students and parents were taking education for granted. I knew it was time for me to get back to the reason I went into teaching in the first place—to make a difference. So taking a year’s leave, I embarked on a journey to establish TWB in Canada and to do what we can to close the global educational divide.

Our first step in the learning process was to join the Hawaiian team on their next trip to South Africa. So in late June and most of July 2007, three educators from British Columbia, Canada joined forces with Yunus and his team from Hawaii to deliver best practices workshops in math and science (and for the first time computer use) to rural teachers in three different locations in South Africa.

Other than presenting the computer workshops, I took a behind the scenes role in the program this year to assist and to learn. I found, though short (half day), the computer workshops were very well received and something that the teachers so desperately want more training. Though this was not my first experience working with my peers in South Africa, I was still able to get a better appreciation of their circumstances with each person I talked with. You never get de-sensitized and you always come back with a greater appreciation for your own life. It is life changing every time.

It was the first time for my two colleagues and it was an amazing feeling to watch them experience what I cannot put into words. It is hard to do justice to the experience in discussions with those who have not done this kind of work. Being able to go on a safari, visit the Apartheid Museum, visit rural classrooms in session, see some of the most beautiful and the most impoverished sites, and talk to the locals only helped to better understand and appreciate our experience. We are very humbled by the struggles of our colleagues.

But much needs to be said about the hospitality and generosity of the Peer family, Ameena, Gora and Yunus, without which this would not have been possible. Also the dedication and commitment of Yunus Chamda and the local educational leaders needs to be commended. And finally, I would like to extend my great appreciation for the covenant of “strangers”—the 2007 team—who became quick and, I’m positive, life-long friends. It is very important that you have the support of and are able to travel and work with a group of people with whom you could easily laugh, cry, and especially grow with. Thanks Yunus, Lily, Elspeth, Jennifer, Lynn, Carl and Jim. Aloha and see you next year!

TWB-SA 2007
Back Row: Carl “Numbers” Wheeler & Yunus Peer
Front l-r : Jen Hong, Noble Kelly, Jim Metz, Lily Vu, Lynn Imai, Elspeth Anderson