Global-Service Learning: A Non-Traditional Study Abroad Experience in Rural Tanzania

- Mark Twain

Anthony Scaletta

“Travel is fatal to Prejudice, Bigotry, & Narrow-Mindedness.”

Where in the World is Karagwe?

Who Lives in Karagwe?

Population: ~ 450,000 96 % Peasant Farmers Subsistence Agriculture Bananas, Potatoes, Cassava, Corn,& Millet Robusta Coffee is main cash crop Per Capita Income: Less than $100/ year “Karibu Sana” Philosophy

Why Karagwe?

Extreme Poverty Disease Malaria

HIV/AIDS Women’s Rights Issues

Water Issues- 66 % Without Direct Access to

Safe Water- Walk distances btw. 1 – 10

miles/day- Waterborne Diseases

• Picking up trash on the shore of a river is Service

• Studying water samples of that river is Learning

• When student researchers analyze the information & formulate ways to help a community, they are performing Service Learning

What is Service Learning?

"The more you go outside of yourself and serve others, the more you appreciate your existence."

- Joseph Sekiku

Global-Service Learning

1. Academic integration– A Teaching and Learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and time for reflection

2. Community partnership– Learning experience is enriched through service with the local community

3. Intercultural immersion and exploration– Service-Learning occurs in an cross-cultural environment

4. Exploration of ‘global citizenship’

Moving from “Me to We”

Personal values & ethics Service in a cross-cultural context Global citizenship Communicate and activate

5. Structured reflection– Journaling and class discussion

Hands-On Approach = Apply academic concepts to the complex issues of the real world Living Classroom = Community Member Lectures

Why Global? "I personally believe that cross

cultural programs are very important in that, they contribute enormously towards making the world a better place to live in. When two or more cultures (or peoples) meet or interact, they share their life experiences. So these offer a learning opportunity for those involved to realize their identities while at the same time, appreciating the other. And this opens the door for the recognition of man as a human being among human beings."

- Joseph Sekiku, Director of FADECO

“If you can build relationships cross-culturally, the sky is the limit.”- Mr. Marvin Worthy

AmizadeMission Amizade empowers individuals and communities through worldwide service and learning

Community-Driven Service• 15-year record of connecting volunteers w/ communities

around the world• Cooperation with communities through long-standing

partnerships • Need Drives Service • Service is defined & directed by local individuals and

organizations• Project Implementation is collaborative• Sustainable Solutions

Global-Service Learning For Academic Credit• Rigorous experiential learning courses designed to

enhance the possibilities of traditional academic courses• Intended to enhance the students’ personal development

and civic awareness

www.amizade.org

Amizade

Themes:• Community-driven service• Intercultural immersion and exchange• Deliberate learning• Structured reflection• Global citizenship

Core Components:• Course participation

Readings, class dialogues• Experiential learning

Service, intercultural immersion, group dynamics• Assignments

Journal writing, group journal, final paper, capstone project

The Integrated Summer Program Model:

Amizade’s Community Partner Organizations Family Alliance for Development &

Cooperation (FADECO) Joseph Sekiku, Founder & Director Grassroots Sustainable Development: Small projects w/ Big

Impacts Working to alleviate poverty and improve standards of living in the

Karagwe District for all people Radio FADECO: Empowerment through Information & Education

Main Objective: Support the implementation of the national poverty eradication strategies

DEVELOPMENT MOUTH PIECE– To be used by the development community in Karagwe to effect sustainable rural socio-

economic development – Access to information is one of the limiting factors in implementing development

programs– Reaches ~ 4 Million People

Amizade’s Community Partner Organizations Family Alliance for Development & Cooperation (FADECO) • Promotes the use of renewable energy technologies

Wind & SolarSolar Fruit Drying

The Eden Centre for Appropriate TechnologiesObjective: Develop, demonstrate and transfer new appropriate technologies and skills in rural Tanzania

• Practical Education

"Give a Man a Fish, Feed Him For a Day. Teach a Man to Fish, Feed Him For a Lifetime.”(Lao Tzu)

Amizade’s Community Partner

Organizations WOMEN EMANCIPATION & DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

(WOMEDA)

Human Rights and Sustainable Development based Grassroots NGO working toward establishing Equality

Promotes the status of marginalized groups by creating & strengthening Equal Opportunities

Provider of:

Socioeconomic and Legal Counseling to Women

Community Education

Child Protection

- Bedding, School Supplies & Uniforms

20 Miles = The Average Distance Walked to Obtain Services

Working in the Community“2 Ears--1 Mouth” Approach: Locally Driven Service

Trust & Understanding fostered over time

WOMEDA Research: CBPR Interviews “What is the baseline situation regarding Women’s Rights in the

Karagwe District?”

Qualitative Research Methods to develop ‘In-Vivo’ Theory & find the Local Woman’s Voice in Rural Tanzania

WOMEDA Rain Water Harvesting Systems Project Goal: Extending Lives through ensuring availability of one of

mankind’s most basic resources

Identify families affected by HIV/AIDS to lessen burden

5 Families received Water Tanks

~ 1 in 6 People on the planet lack access to Safe Water

Water Collection– Women and Children

+ 3.5 Million People die each year from water-related disease98% of water-related deaths occur in the Developing World

84% of water-related deaths are Children under age 14 Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease

Children in the Developing World often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time

The Global Water Crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns

Data Source: Water.org

Why Global-Service Learning?

The Challenge is Global not Local

“This generation’s over-arching challenge is sustainable development, the ability to live together peacefully, prosperously, and sustainably on a crowed planet of nearly 7 billion people. The challenge is global, not local. It is a shared task, not the efforts of individuals interested only in getting ahead of the pack and the rest be damned.” - Jeffery Sachs

Increasingly Globalized World

GSL provides you w/ the skills many employers are looking for:

You can adapt & communicate across cultures

You can make things happen in unfamiliar conditions 

Resume Builder

Less than 5% of US undergraduates study abroad

50% go to France, Germany, Spain, or the United Kingdom.

Service-learning abroad is unique growth experience in places most US students never see 

• GSL embodies the Ubuntu Philosophy:

“We affirm our humanity when we acknowledge

that of others.”

Global Citizenship: Beyond The Program Experience

Moving from “Me to We”

Every Human Life is Equally Valuable

A Global Citizen:• Is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as

a world citizen• Respects and values diversity• Participates in and contributes to the community at a range of

levels from local to global• Is willing to act to make the world a more sustainable place

“ A responsibility comes w/ the acquisition of intercultural knowledge and insights- that this educational experience is not just transformative for the individual but should also benefit the larger society and other cultural groups in the increasingly interdependent world.”

(J. Martin/ T. Nakayama)

Anthony Scaletta

ans126@pitt.edu

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