Study Abroad Program Focused on Girls Education, Solar Energy, and the Arts
During the month of July 2015, seven John Jay College students and two Hunter College students participated in the first-ever John Jay College study abroad program offered in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Students were enrolled in AFR 280 course entitled Tanzania: Exploring Arts, Culture, and Society led by Africana Studies Assistant Professor Crystal Leigh Endsley. Over a period of four weeks, students traveled Zanzibar, meeting with ministers of government, conducting arts and poetry workshops, installing three We Share Solar Suitcases for sustainable energy, and volunteering at the Zanzibar International Film Festival.
The program began in UNESCO World Heritage site of Stonetown, the urban capital of Zanzibar. The program was designed as a cultural immersion experience in Zanzibar that critically engaged with various forms of the arts as social justice activism, with a particular focus on women and girls. CUNY students explored many aspects of Zanzibari history and culture, from observing Ramadan and learning to cook Swahili dishes from scratch inside family homes to meeting with famous photo-journalist and fighter for the Revolution, Ally Saleh. Mr. Saleh is also a newly elected member of Parliament and he spent the afternoon with students, sharing his historic experience and responding to questions regarding government and citizen relations, local police and community history, as well as questions about the role of women and youth in contemporary politics.
Prior to departure, students were trained by Girls Do STEAM! Director, Dr. Marla Jaksch and We Share Solar expert Aman Gill in the installation of solar suitcases and the importance of sustainable energy as it relates to development. Students also received instruction about peer education and the integral role the arts and design play in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. Once in country, Dr. Endsley led students to collaborate with the Zanzibar Outreach Program (ZOP), a non-profit NGO that is steered by a board of community members including several ministers of government, medical doctors, and engineers, headed by Dr. Nafaul Mohammed.
The CUNY students traveled to Pemba Island where they successfully installed all three We Share Solar suitcase systems at Utaani Secondary School in Wete. The STEM-focused institution is an all girls’ school that enrolls girls who live locally and commute and also students who reside at the school in their dormitories. The dormitories along with the focus on STEM curriculum mark Utaani as a unique school offering unusual opportunities to Zanzibari girls. After a four-day installation process, the project was a tremendous success. Chrishane Fernando (John Jay) and Kemi Adesunloro (John Jay) were part of the roof team responsible for attaching the solar panels to the roof. Allie Mattil (Hunter College), Arianie Marte (John Jay), Erick Barksdale (John Jay) and Amanda Taylor (John Jay) assessed and attached the suitcases with the control panels and hung the lights. Howard Borden (John Jay), Leah Link (John Jay), and Latoya Bethune (Hunter College) were responsible for measurements and institutional information, as well as interviewing the community members receiving the We Share Solar suitcases. The girls’ faces lit up almost as bright as the lights when they were switched on as a result of the solar panels, providing electricity, safety, and a positive impact on over 600 high school girls. Additional donations were raised by John Jay students who organized the distribution of these supplies to the school and to the girls.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this program is that the We Share Solar suitcases were assembled by a group of high school girls in Trenton, New Jersey, and the girls—who are all members of the BothHands Artlet of Trenton directed by award-winning artist and film maker Bentrice Jusu—also participated in an arts and poetry workshop. The John Jay students conducted a similar workshop with the girls at Utaani during the solar suitcase install. A short video of this collaboration between John Jay College students, ZOP, BothHands Artlet, and the Girls Do STEAM! Program will be featured at the upcoming United Nations International Day of the Girl SpeakOut! on Friday, October 9, 2015 from 3:00-5:00 PM.
The John Jay students spent their last days on the island volunteering at the largest film festival in Africa—the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). John Jay’s students were the first group of US students to be invited to participate at ZIFF, and their duties ranged from interviewing African music superstars such as Mama Dorothy Masouka and Moussa Diallo for the press junket, to introducing films and actors such as Leleti Khumalo of Sarafina!, as well as participating in the screenings that featured films from all over the world. Each night of ZIFF ended with a live concert, co-hosted by Professor Crystal Endsley, featuring some of the most popular local and international acts,
After four weeks immersed in Zanzibar culture, arts as activism, and community service, all nine students reflected on their participation in the program in daily journal entries. One student shared, “This experience has been life-changing, I learned so much about myself and others…thank you for the vital information, amazing experience, and so much more that I got on this trip.”