Lauren Lindstrom’s Travel Blog
My South Africa Journey
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am looking forward to sharing
updates and reflections about my August journey to South Africa.
I will be traveling over a thousand miles to visit Botswana,
Lesotho and several communities in South Africa including
Johannesburg, Pretoria, East London and Cape Town. My host for
the visit is Professor Maximus Sefotho from the Faculty
of Education at the University of Johannesburg. Similar to UC
Davis, the University of Johannesburg is a major research
university with a public service mission and global reach. The
vision of University of Johannesburg is to be “an international
University of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the
future”.
University of Johannesburg Flyer
I just received this beautiful flyer from the University of Johannesburg! The flyer highlights the collaboration between UJ and UC Davis and includes more details about our planned activities in all three countries:
Professor Lauren Lindstrom, University of California –
Davis (USA)
Project Title: Transition into the world of work by youth with
disabilities
Host: Professor Maximus M. Sefotho, University of
Johannesburg
Professor Lauren Lindstrom forged a
collaboration that emerged from an award of a Fulbright
Specialist (2018 – 2023), to work on the project: Transition of
learners with disability and career development for decent work.
Career transition is emerging as an inclusive program aimed at
people with disabilities. Professor Lindstrom has extensive
experience in this field and is poised to share her knowledge to
contribute to the sustainable development goals. The
collaboration included support for the development of a centre
for neurodiversity@UJ by the department of educational
psychology.
Pretoria and the South Africa Department of Basic Education
Today, Professor Max and I were in
Pretoria, making a visit to the South Africa Department of Basic
Education, housed in an impressive building in the city
center. We met with a team of government officials who are
responsible for implementing and monitoring services for students
with disabilities across the nine provinces of South Africa. This
team was very interested in talking with us about career
transition and would ultimately like to ensure that all students
with disabilities obtain productive community-based employment
after completing their schooling. We left the meeting very
energized and look forward to further conversations about
implementation of these concepts in local schools.
University of Botswana
On Tuesday afternoon, we drove
about five hours northeast to Botswana. Once you leave the
sprawling city of Johannesburg, the roads are mainly two lane
(paved), surrounded by low brush and dusty terrain. On our
journey, we saw three baboons crossing the road and a small
gazelle hidden in the brush. Crossing the border into Botswana is
a complicated process! First, we stopped at a low brown building
on the South African side to declare our intentions and fill out
the required paperwork.
Camphill Community, Botswana
One of the highlights of our Botswana visit was a trip to the Camphill Community located in the village of Otse, about 30 miles south of the capitol city of Gabarone. Established in 1974, this school serves youth with disabilities with a comprehensive curriculum adapted from government standards and based on respect for the land and local culture. Many of the 160 students live on campus and go home only every second weekend and during the holidays. Camphill programs include Ronkoromane primary school, Motse Wa Badiri vocational training program, and a large organic farm that includes orchards, market gardens, livestock, poultry and plant propagation. The campus also operates a restaurant, garden shop and conference center where students learn work skills.
Lesotho: Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village
We
stayed two nights at the Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village in
Lesotho. Thaba Bosiu is a sandstone plateau located between
the Orange and Caledon Rivers in the Maseru District of
Lesotho.
It was once the capital of Lesotho, and served as the residence and military stronghold of Moshoeshoe I, the kingdom’s founding father, throughout most of his reign in the mid-19th century. In 1967, Lesotho’s government declared the mountain a national monument.
Lesotho: Career Transition Workshop
Lesotho is a land of great contrasts. In the capital city of Maseru, the streets are crowded with people and taxis, and there are small roadside booths that sell fruit, meat, and even copy/printing services. Up in the mountains, there are mainly dirt roads and many houses are made of stone with thatched roofs. In the villages, I saw boys and men herding cattle, tending sheep and goats, and also transporting their supplies on donkeys. Apparently, the donkeys are called “King of the Road” here and they get the right of way!
In Lesotho, Max and I were the guest speakers for a workshop titled “Career Transitioning for Youth with Disabilities.”
Lesotho: Round Table Discussion at the British Library
On Tuesday afternoon, Lerato Caroline Khutlang hosted a round table discussion [flyer PDF] on Career Transition at the British Library in Maseru. Lerato is a Human Rights Law Specialist and an advocate for women and children’s rights in Lesotho. She did a beautiful job facilitating the conversation, and garnering input from multiple perspectives.
East London: Fort Hare University
Max and I were in East London
today, a city of about 400,000 people that sits alongside the
Indian Ocean. The coastline is rocky here and we saw large
shipping boats coming into the working harbor from the windows of
our hotel.
Our hosts for the daylong event were from the Faculty of Education, Department of Rehabilitative Studies and the Office of International Partnerships at the University of Fort Hare. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss career transition pathways for learners with special needs.
College Street School
Today we drove through city
traffic to College Street School, a special school for students
with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The school was
housed in an older building but the classrooms were bright and
clean with colorful posters on the walls. One of the lead
teachers walked me around to visit some eager secondary students
learning to make coffee drinks to sell to the
teachers. Volunteers have built a nice garden area with
raised beds and the teachers and students sell fresh produce to
local markets.
Garden Route
South Africa continues to surprise and delight! Today we drove over the Garden Route from East London to the town of George on the Western Cape. The landscape here is vastly different from the dusty hills and low brush we saw earlier in our trip.
We were surrounded by lush green hills, flowering bushes, and even pine forests. We also saw orange groves and vineyards and stopped briefly to walk on the sand near the Indian Ocean. My favorite road sign instructed “Feeding Baboons Prohibited”!
University of Cape Town
This week we visited the University
of Cape Town (UCT) in the Western Cape Province of South
Africa. Cape Town is a bustling international city, bordered
on one side by the peaks of Table Mountain and on the other by
the Atlantic Ocean.
Reflections: Heading Home
I am back in the United States now
after a 28-hour flight from Cape Town to Newark, New Jersey, then
on to Denver, and eventually landing in Oregon, where I am living
this year during my sabbatical.
This was quite an amazing journey and an unforgettable opportunity to meet so many people and see so many places in Africa.
During our travels, Professor Max and I visited five universities and three special schools for students with intellectual disabilities.
