This spring break I have been given the opportunity to co-lead a trip to South Africa with North Park.

The major organization we will be working with is Zimele, a non-profit organization located in southeast South Africa. Zimele is a Zulu word meaning, “to stand on one’s own two feet.” The organization helps Zulu women, gives them job training as well as business skills to run and sustain a fair trade business to live on their own.

The second organization we’ll be with is the Gandhi Foundation. South Africa is home to the largest population of Indian population outside of India. Due to this, Gandhi founded this organization to help reconcile the Indian population with the Zulu and White populations. The Gandhi foundation now does racial reconciliation with all South Africans. Although the Apartheid ended in 1994, racism and segregation still exists in South Africa.

Lastly, I will have the opportunity to go to Cape Town. In Cape Town we will be going to the capture site of Nelson Mandela, as well as Robin Island, the island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Here we’ll be talking the effects of Nelson Mandela’s work in our every day lives and how can we reconcile with each other regardless of the racism and pain in our country.