Teachers Without Borders—South Africa 2006

Paul Heimerdinger

This was the first summer in 20 years that I didn’t teach summer school. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do over the summer, but I knew I would find something to keep me busy. What I found was a life changing experience with Teachers Without Borders—South Africa. Since my return, I feel a huge inner glow, a renewed dedication to teaching and educating others.

Our gang of six teachers from Hawaii under the direction and leadership of Yunus Peer, Punahou School, included math teachers: Jim Metz, Kapiolani Community College, Carl Wheeler, retired Mid-Pacific Institute, Heather Taylor, Punahou School, science teachers: Barbara Mayer, retired Kamehameha Schools, me, Paul Heimerdinger, Iolani School, and photographer and video journalist, George Scott, Chaplain, Punahou School. Our task was to prepare and demonstrate lessons that would help teachers better understand their new National Curriculum and Learning Objectives and give them ideas and lessons that would help them implement those objectives. We held 4 and 5-day workshops in three different provinces for over 300 teachers.

The experience was exhausting at times, but rewarding beyond measure. We arrived in Durban, SA in the dark and drove south to Port Shepstone, which was to be our home base for the next month. Waking up the first morning and looking out my bedroom window and seeing the Indian Ocean only a few blocks away was the first of many “chicken skin” moments to come. It took a couple of days of R & R to let our body clocks adjust to the 12 hour time difference between Hawaii and South Africa and the nearly 48 hours of travel time from Honolulu to Port Shepstone. During these adjustment days we also collected supplies, packed boxes for transit to our workshop sites, and got acquainted with the local community and people.

Our first workshop was in the province of Gauteng at a school called Vaal Institute of Technology near Johannesburg, a full day's drive inland from Port Shepstone through absolutely beautiful rolling countryside. Here our first surprise was how COLD it is in SA in June which is, of course, their winter. Frost on the grass and the truck windows in the mornings was not an image I expected to see in Africa. The unheated classrooms at the Institute were cold, and the teachers and I wore jackets, coats, and in some cases gloves until the sun was out long enough to warm things up a bit. The teachers were eager for new ideas and jumped right into the labs and activities we had prepared. We had a good time getting to know the teachers and visa versa, and at the end of 4 days found it difficult to say goodbye. The closing ceremony for the workshop contained many testimonials of appreciation by the attendees, and their sincere expressions of thanks through words and song ignited that inner glow in my chest that I am still experiencing.

A weekend of recovery in Swaziland and a stay at a wonderful game reserve with numerous animal sightings rejuvenated us for our next workshop in Port Shepstone. The gracious Peer family opened their homes again for our lodging and food needs during this stay. The Port Shepstone High School had a sign for motorists at the gate that warned drivers, “Caution Scholars”. This formerly “whites only” high school just 12 years ago under Apartheid is now open to all races of students. It is a very nice facility, and the attending teachers filled the classrooms with enthusiasm, laughter, and camaraderie. Our labs and activities were refined from the earlier week, and their smoother operation allowed us to get even more done during our four days here. At the end of the week, Barbara did a virus spreading activity and I did an electrical, wiring project that proved very popular. Both of these successful activities ended the week on a high note, and the teachers were eager to return to their schools to tryout their new ideas. At the closing ceremony, the harmonious singing and testimonials of thanks fanned the fire of that inner glow in me that had started a week earlier. The hugs and handshakes gave me “chicken skin” again as we parted our ways. Our supplies were running low, and we spent the weekend getting the things we needed, especially small cardboard boxes, soft drink cans, and empty 2L bottles for our next workshop in the rural area of Umtata, Eastern Cape, the birthplace of Nelson Mandela.

Winding roads took us inland again from the coast through hills and fields dotted with round, thatch roofed houses with goats and cattle nearby. Groups of children playing soccer on dusty fields and clothes drying on fences gave life and color to the brown, dry, wintry countryside. The town of Umtata is bustling with street vendors and taxis that take people to their homes in the surrounding rural areas. Our workshop site was at TRINSET, a small teachers college with very nice facilities on the edge of town. We stayed in the dorm and found our unheated rooms very cold again during the night. We watched the World Cup Finals in the dorm lounge wrapped in blankets for warmth. The teachers arrived early Monday morning, and from their enthusiasm and greetings at the opening ceremony, I knew the week was going to be a good one. I had a chemistry lab for my classroom at this workshop, and the university instructors generously supplied all the equipment and materials I needed. A large hot plate became a very important piece of equipment for warm our hands over in the cold classroom. The facilitators of this workshop were very friendly and attentive to our needs and eager to help us make this week productive for the teachers in attendance. Providing teachers with opportunities to improve their skills and in turn helping children learn was an obvious goal of the workshop leaders here. The eager attendees absorbed our ideas and asked many questions throughout the week. A late afternoon trip during the week to the Nelson Mandela Museum in Umtata was informative and moving, and a second field trip to an outdoor museum at his birthplace with some teachers from the workshop was inspiring. Twelve years has made a big difference in human rights in SA, and a visit to the humble, rural setting of Mandela’s birthplace overlooking a river and rolling hills about an hours drive from Umtata amplified the significance of his struggle and rise to power from his simple beginnings. An informal cookout on our last night in Umtata gave the attending teachers and the TWB teachers a chance to mix on a social level and experience some of each other’s culture. It was an unbelievable evening of singing, dancing, joking and good food. Saying good-bye to all the people who had become our friends during this week was perhaps, the most difficult. That inner glowing feeling of mine had grown stronger again once more. As we packed the van for our departure, a sense of accomplishment came over me, much like one might feel after climbing to the top of a high mountain. I had come a long way, given up time from my summer vacation, and contributed some of my own money to come and help these people, and it was worth every bit of effort, time and money.

The personal satisfaction I have achieved from this experience is huge. Since my return home, many people have asked me, “How was your trip?” I usually give them a much longer answer than they had anticipated. My enthusiasm brings smiles to their faces. One insightful friend asked me a different question, “Do you feel you made a difference?” The answer to that is a resounding, “Yes! Absolutely!” My summer of helping teachers in South Africa has been one of the best summers of my life. . I can’t thank director of TWB-SA, Yunus Peer, enough for selecting me to be a part of the team to make this enriching journey. I also want to thank Iolani School for generously supporting me, the friendly and dedicated South African teachers who took time from their winter break to attend the workshops and to take me into their circles of friends and colleagues, and the numerous people in SA that coordinated and organized the workshops, fed and housed us for a month, and especially two of our SA administrative assistants, Gora Peer and Tokozani Mteshane who helped in innumerable ways to make our journey comfortable and a huge success.