Unfortunately, this trip was cancelled due to all of the xenophobic violence that has broken out in the townships where we would be teaching.   Previously, the violence was all centralized around Johannesburg (not our area). It has since spread causing Babson to reconsider and cancel the trip.  I am deeply disappointed and heartbroken, but at the same point I understand that it is in the school's best interest to not go.  I was watching a lot of movies/documentaries about the apartheid and Nelson Mandela and looking up pictures and maps of South Africa because I was so excited to go. Despite how saddened I was to hear that the trip was canceled, it is the kids in the program in S. Africa who are really hurt by this.  Not only will they not have the full program to help them with their businesses, but they are also stuck living in all of this violence.

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Every summer, a team of students from Babson College (currently led by Prof. Elizabeth Goldberg) travels to South Africa for three weeks to partner with students from the University of Stellenbosch. Two different week-long developmental entrepreneurship classes are taught to over 125 students at eight local high schools in impoverished communities. The programs focus on the role of small-scale entrepreneurship in restoring balance to the segregated, oppressed communities of people classified as "black" and "colored" under the apartheid regime.  Through this, we will study and experience approaches to economic development in the post-apartheid period, including the effects of community and government programs and policies. 

In order to prepare for the trip, I am studying the effects of colonialism and apartheid rule on South Africa, as well as the nation’s development in the post-apartheid period (1994 - present). This study includes reading a series of books on the area, a film screening, and participating in class lectures and discussions. Some of the literature includes:

Aran S. MacKinnon, The Making of South Africa: Culture and Politics 
Antjie Krog, Country of My Skull
Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness
Film Screening: Long Night’s Journey Into Day

On the weekend between teaching sessions I will be traveling with the group to Capetown to visit major cultural, geographic, and historical sites. Although not an official part of the Babson program, at the conclusion of the teaching period most of the group will be staying on to participate in a Safari while we are in the country.

During the trip, I will be documenting my experiences through photography of South Africa and will be publishing a photobook upon my return. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, email me at ekneen@gmail.com.