Kylie Wishneski, Empathic Global Leadership for Social Change: South Africa Summer 2024
One of my favorite things about this program was the opportunities provided for personal reflection. We had the ongoing assignment of keeping a journal, writing each day to reflect on our experiences and analyze a system we observed (literal or figurative). I’m sure that years from now I will be glad to have a physical record of my memories of South Africa.
The one word we heard throughout the trip had a profound impact on me. Ubuntu is a Zulu concept that indirectly translates to ‘I am because you are’. Ubuntu could be felt woven throughout South Africa, within communities and between them despite their differences. One of the University of Johannesburg students referred to Americans by saying “you guys just don’t have ubuntu”. Though it was said largely as a joke, in many ways she was right. As a country, we have become increasingly divided. Her words reminded me of the importance of being tolerant and accepting, and to remember our shared humanity.
With everyone we met, there was a greater emphasis on the community you create than is found in the US. We have long prided ourselves on American individualism and frequently forget how important it is to care about, support, and be supported by those around us. Over the past several years, I have increasingly spent my time dedicated to school. Though it is my hope that eventually this work will pay off, it has come at the expense of seeing my family more often and spending time with my friends outside of studying or class. South Africans are incredibly hard working, but for many family still comes above all else. My experience abroad has reminded me of the importance of connection and community. I am making it my goal to reject individualism, to lean on my friends when I need to, and be there when they need someone to lean on too.
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