The program offers more than just an exchange between two cultures. It gives young people the opportunity to talk about what is important to them, and to imagine a different kind of life for themselves.
While the Bokamosa Youth perform, many of the American students join in.
“Bokamosa has been doing that here for years, so many of us are familiar with this.”
Drew Looney is in his third year of high school at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School in the eastern state of Maryland. Singing together helps the American and South African students get to know each other.
Teachers at Saint Andrew’s say meeting the South Africans makes some American students think about living or working in another country one day. And attending an American school, even for only a few weeks, often makes members of the South African group decide to get more education.
“I wanted to go a mile from where I was.”
That was Themba. He is 19. Like other members of Bokamosa, he grew up in a town outside of Pretoria called Winterveldt.
“I can say it’s a place under construction.”
As part of Bokamosa, students also write poems and perform plays for schools and churches in Winterveldt. A lot of their creative work discusses issues in the community. For instance: teenage pregnancy, finding a job, or women entering the corporate world.
“Normally a woman doesn’t work, a man must provide. These plays, they address the issues because sometimes conflicts arise when men can say: 'No, you want to take away my pride?'”
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25