Eileen and Larry Kugler took a trip to South Africa with
multicultural educators in 2006. What they found was an overwhelming optimism
about the future in this 20 year-old democracy, rising up from the brutal
decades of Apartheid.
At the same time, they saw the harsh reality. Education for
Blacks, some 90% of the country, had been substandard for years. Teachers
themselves had been trained under systems that prepared them to teach students
to be laborers and nothing more.
Eileen and Larry felt they wanted to contribute in some way With
Larry’s background as a teacher and administrator, and Eileen’s work in family
engagement, they hoped to offer training for teachers and families in a
volunteer visit. They realized that they needed some help in finding the right
place to volunteer. That led them to an international organization that matches
individuals with specific places that need their skills--
People and Places:Responsible Volunteering is based in the UK, but places volunteers all around the
world. Their commitment to sustainable, ethical volunteering has earned them
several awards. With People and Places, it’s all about partnering with the
community to make a sustainable difference, not just creating opportunities for the volunteers
to “feel good” (although that is certainly part of it!).
Eileen and Larry began making plans to go to South Africa, and
their daughter Sara, a literacy
specialist, said, “If you’re going, so am I!” So the three worked with People
and Places to find the right match.
People and Places connected them with their partner on the ground
in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, Paul
Miedema of Calabash Tours. Paul works with a cluster of schools in the city
of Port Elizabeth, along the southeastern coast. He told us of a school with a
strong principal who was asking for volunteers. It was in a township in rural
area about an hour north of Port Elizabeth. Since many volunteers are women
traveling alone, Calabash had a hard time placing anyone in this rural area.
But since we were traveling a a family, would we consider it? Although this was not how we envisioned it,
we said, if that’s where we are needed, that’s where we’ll go.
Next question for us: Do you want to stay with a family in the
township? We were sent a face of a smiling family looking forward to our visit.
So again, we were all in.
And thus began our journey. What we didn’t know: We would fall in
love with the family, the teachers, the students and the entire township; and
we would return often. Sara has returned twice, once with her husband and best
friend. Larry and Eileen have been back five times for a total of 15 weeks. Friends
and educators Randi and Steve Adleberg came with the Kuglers in 2015.
Over the years, many of their friends and colleagues have sought
to support their efforts. To provide a place for tax-deductible contributions
from U.S. citizens, the Kuglers set up The Kugler Education Fund at South Africa Partners. Donations to that fund are
used for projects to improve literacy at this wonderful school.
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