U.S. DONOR TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA
by GCA Executive Director Emily Crowder
This September, 17 Global Camps Africa supporters from the United States traveled to South Africa together to tour the country, connect with the people, and visit our September session of Camp Sizanani. Starting in Cape Town, the group experienced the unparalleled natural beauty of South Africa’s Western Cape – from Table Mountain to the Cape of Good Hope. Our visitors also got to tour the township of Langa, where they spent a morning volunteering at Project Playground with the new Minister of the Department of Social Development, Wendy Kaiser-Philander. When Global Camps Africa launches its pilot camp in the Western Cape in December, children from Langa will be invited to join as campers.
After a tour of Robben Island with a former political prisoner there, a cooking lesson and lunch in the home of a former teacher in the Bo-Kaap neighborhood of Cape Town, and an afternoon visiting the picturesque historic town of Stellenbosch, the group headed to Hoedspruit for two days of safari. Everyone saw the "Big 5" African animals, and many got closer to the animals than they might have expected! Two families brought their children along, and watching them delight in the rhinos, lions, giraffes, and leopards brought out the child-like wonder in everyone.
Two days in Johannesburg was next on the itinerary, and the travelers toured Soweto with a special focus on honoring the students who participated in the 1976 uprising there. Those brave young people ignited the spark that ultimately brought the racist apartheid era to its end, and our group was inspired by their courage in the face of overwhelming repression.
From there, a visit with our Camp Manager, Kabelo Malefane, to the nearby neighborhood where he grew up — and where many of our current campers and staff live — Kliptown. Greeted by young children playing in the dusty street, the scene was sobering. Without running water, the families in the corrugated shacks share portable toilets and outdoor pumps for both drinking water and bathing. Electricity is connected through pirated wires, causing serious risk of fire and electrocution. It was clear that this was a difficult area to survive in, and the group discussed the importance of helping children find hope – and a pathway out of that grinding poverty, which is at the root of so much crime and poor health.
The trip ended with a visit to Camp Sizanani. Our group attended sessions of Yoga, Life Skills, Adventure, Theater, and Arts and Crafts with the campers. Remembering their time in Kliptown, every visitor was struck by how happy, free, and loved the children seemed at camp. Even when the topics in the sessions were heavy, campers were supported by their new friends, their counselors, and GCA’s team of social workers.
During a small group discussion, one of the travelers asked, "What other activities or sessions would you like to have at Camp Sizanani?" A camper replied:
"Everything here is amazing. I don’t think you need to add anything else. At Sizanani, it’s enough."
If you’d like to learn more about joining us on a future trip to South Africa, please email GCA Executive Director Emily Crowder at emily@globalcampsafrica.org. We’re gathering our September 2027 group now!