Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008
Two ¾¨Ó㴫ý staff members accompanied a group of 14 students to South Africa and Malawi as part of a travel cluster course in May.
The course, "African History and Peace Studies Seminar," was taught by Dr. Patricia Clark, ¾¨Ó㴫ý assistant professor of history, and the Rev. James Mohr, College chaplain.
In South Africa, the group visited Soweto, the Cradle of Humankind, and toured Johannesburg, the Apartheid Museum, and a wild game park.
The group spent most of its time in Malawi, the third-poorest nation in the world with an average income of $5 per week and a high rate of HIV/AIDS. They were hosted by members of the Pittsburgh Partnership, a group within the Presbyterian Synod of Blantyre.
Time was spent visiting churches and mission sites in the southern part of the country, where ¾¨Ó㴫ý students sang at worship services; worked in three orphan centers; toured the Mulanje Mission Hospital; met with students from the Zomba Theological College; were honored guests at a Malawi Entertainment Night; and visited a Malawian National Park.
Students stayed with host families, where they experienced wonderful foods and learned about the day-to-day lifestyles that define African cultures.
Mohr said, "We were challenged by the needs of the orphan children, the stresses of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that Africa is facing, and the extreme poverty that seems to lurk on every corner."
"Surprisingly, most homes-or at least, villages-have electricity, although there is very little safe drinking water and people walk everywhere," he added. "American and African culture do not compare at all."
Contact Mohr at (724) 946-7116 or e-mail mohrjr@westminster.edu for more information.Â
