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South Africa

U.S. Fulbright

Help Us, to Help You, to Help Others

August 6, 2015
Tiffany Burd

Tiffany N. Burd (second from left, middle row) at the Community Support Worker Graduation Ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa

Receiving a Fulbright U.S. Student grant fulfilled a lifelong dream of working in one of the most challenging communities in the world: a South African township. The grant allowed me to research the strengths of an extremely impoverished community with an estimated 40% HIV prevalence rate. The findings of the assessment were used to plan and implement HIV prevention programs at a local community resource center, Butterfly House, which serves 400 orphans and vulnerable children.

I conducted hundreds of interviews with people living around Butterfly House and quickly realized their strength. While interviewing a woman in her shack, I learned of her community activism efforts. She had mobilized over five hundred women to sign petitions to shut down a local pub that had been serving underage youth. A man shared his interest in nutrition and his endeavor to build a community garden. Others spoke of their participation in neighborhood watches. The list continued to grow and I left each interview knowing that each of us had shared a moment of mutual understanding of the world.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project

Fulbright-MTP: Myth-busting in the American South

May 28, 2015
Fulbright-MTP Participant, Nhlalala Mavundza, from South Africa explores the San Antonio, Texas Riverwalk. May 25, 2015

Fulbright-MTP Participant, Nhlalala Mavundza, from South Africa explores the San Antonio, Texas Riverwalk. May 25, 2015

Throughout my time as a Fulbright Student, I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to interact with other Fulbright Students from around the world. Each time it is eye-opening and a learning experience to learn about places I’ve never seen, and people I’ve never met. Joining the Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project (MTP), I knew the experience would be similar and I would have an opportunity to learn about new places and different American cultures through the stories of the Millennials I would travel with by train.

When the trip began in Los Angeles, I experienced culture shock unlike the first one I experienced when I arrived in the United States in August 2013. I’ve been living in Ohio for the past two years, and it’s now my home. I compare everywhere I travel in the U.S. to Ohio and my home country, South Africa.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project

Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project Participants

May 13, 2015

The U.S. Department of State selected the following six Fulbright Foreign Students to participate in the third Millennial Trains Project (MTP) voyage across the United States — leaving from Los Angeles, California on May 21 and ending in Washington, DC on May 31— as an enrichment component of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. The Fulbrighters will join 19 American riders on the MTP journey to gain an in-depth understanding of life in the United States and to strengthen their skills in leadership, social entrepreneurship, and communication.

Meet the six Fulbright participants:

Saja AlQuzweeni is a Fulbright Forieng Student from Iraq completing a Master's in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Saja Al Quzweeni is a Fulbright Foreign Student from Iraq

Saja Al Quzweeni is a Fulbright Foreign Student from Baghdad, Iraq, currently pursuing a master’s in environmental science and policy at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Saja’s MTP project is an extension of research she completed last year at Growing Power, a nonprofit organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that works in urban agriculture as an approach to increase food security in lower income and food desert communities. Small plots of land are used for intensive growing to offer healthy, affordable food to inner city communities, while merging agriculture and wise environmental practices to revitalize urban areas.

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U.S. Fulbright

Expanding My Context of Art, By Antonio McAfee, 2009-2010, South Africa

August 13, 2012

South African contemporary art and my experience with facilitating arts programming were the basis of my Fulbright project in Johannesburg.  These interests started while I was an undergraduate at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC.  The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art held two exhibitions that surveyed contemporary African Art.  The diversity of materials and the directness to social issues resonated with me.  During that time, I was working for artists, galleries and museums, helping to maintain and organize studios, exhibitions and collections.

The Fulbright Program became an option while I was in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania.  Faculty members were helpful by referring me to readings about African cultures and art, which led me to develop my proposal’s context.  The texts unexpectedly planted a seed that resulted in African cultural objects and ideas becoming incorporated into my artwork.  After a conversation with a fellow student, I decided to apply for a Fulbright grant.  Shortly after, I met Cheryl Shipman, the university’s Coordinator of Research and Fellowships (and Penn’s campus Fulbright Program Adviser), who was instrumental in explaining the application process and demystifying the program.  The bulk of my proposal’s development came from research I conducted at the library, online and through writing numerous drafts.  My hope was to engage with the contemporary South African art sector and to see how certain organizations had evolved from their origins as rebellious entities during the ‘80s and ‘90s to the present.  The chair of University of Witwatersrand’s Postgraduate Arts, Culture and Heritage Management Program wrote my letter of affiliation.  I introduced myself by emailing her out of the blue and sent her a draft of my proposal.  After a positive response, I asked if she would write the letter.

In South Africa, I was a graduate student in the University’s management program.  The management courses I took included leadership and policy, arts marketing and fundraising, and operational skills.  Additionally, I conducted interviews with local artists and administrators regarding their relationships with local, provincial and national government art agencies.

Outside of school, I became very familiar with the local art scene by befriending artists and attending exhibitions and events.  Collaborating with a local artist, I worked on a group exhibition.  I juried images from a U.S. Embassy class “Photographing Your Environment,” for kids from Pretoria’s Mamelodi Township.  I also had a radio show on the University of Witwatersrand’s VOW (Voice of Wits) 90.5 FM.

Since my time in South Africa, the Fulbright Program continues to be an important part of my life.  As a 2012 Fulbright Alumni Ambassador, my responsibility is to promote the program, educate others about the application process and share my overseas experiences.  Currently, I am adjunct faculty at the Corcoran College of Art and Design and Northern Virginia Community College, work full-time at a photography lab in Maryland, and continue to expand my artistic practice.

For those interested in applying for a research/study Fulbright grant, specificity is essential in developing your project.  Pursuing a research topic that is important to you and that will allow you to be of service to others in a pertinent location is crucial.  The “to be of service” component is about reciprocal relationships.  How can a place and community assist you and your goals?  How can you assist them?  For artists, the Fulbright Program is perfect.  It encourages autonomous projects requiring individuals from around the world to inform and engage with each other and, consequently, long-lasting relationships and experiences.

Photo: Antonio McAfee (right), 2009-2010, South Africa, with a few of his Arts and Culture Management Classmates from the University of Witwatersrand

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U.S. Fulbright

A Community Response to HIV/AIDS , By Chaunetta Jones, 2007-2008, South Africa

June 10, 2010

Molo, sisi! This warm, isiXhosa “hello” greeted me when I arrived in Grahamstown, South Africa to begin my Fulbright experience. Like many other Fulbright grantees, I never could have imagined that my time in-country would be so enriching and life-changing. While South Africa is currently enjoying the global spotlight as the host of the 2010 World Cup, the country remains challenged by how to meet the needs of the nearly 6 million South Africans infected with HIV/AIDS.

My Fulbright project was part of my larger dissertation research that examines what happens in communities when HIV/AIDS treatment has been made available. During my year in Grahamstown, I was affiliated with the Raphael Centre, an NGO that offers testing and support services to those infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. As a medical anthropologist, I worked closely with HIV-positive men and women to trace how they make decisions about their care and treatment, and more specifically, how they decide if and/or how they will take antiretroviral treatment. While the nature of my project was extremely sensitive and it was challenging to deal with the types of suffering I witnessed, I will forever be grateful to those who shared their life experiences with me.

As a Fulbrighter, I took seriously my role as a cultural ambassador and fully embraced the tenant of “community engagement.” In addition to my research, I served on the Local AIDS Council, helped to organize World AIDS Day events, coordinated candlelight memorial services for HIV/AIDS victims, served as a foster mother for an orphaned infant, and – what I am most proud of—helped to create Camp Siyaphumelela. Siyaphumelela, isiXhosa for “We are coping/We are succeeding,” was designed to provide teenagers affected by HIV/AIDS with coping mechanisms to deal with the challenges they face in their everyday lives. Through the use of drama, dance, and music, camp participants are able to use various art media to express their emotions, and more importantly, create a trusting group of peers to support them long after their time at camp. With the tools gained during camp, the teens truly can say, “Siyaphumelela!”

A few tips for applicants:

1. My primary advice to Fulbright applicants would be to START EARLY! The process will take several months and it is very important to start working on the pieces of your application, particularly securing an affiliation, as early as possible. Also, I definitely recommend that applicants get feedback from their Fulbright Program Advisers (FPAs), professors and/or colleagues before submitting their applications. If you are a currently enrolled student, you must apply through your campus’s FPA if available. At-large applicants (those not applying through an FPA) should seek out advice and feedback from colleagues, experts in the field, and former teachers or professors.

2. In the Statement of Grant Purpose, you really want to make clear why you have chosen to do your project and why that project is a great fit for the country you have selected. I think it is important to demonstrate that you have done your homework, understand your project’s specifics and any sensitivities involved.

3. Think of the Personal Statement as a “narrative CV.” What about you, your academic training and unique life experiences make you the best person to carry out your project? These are the things that I think should be highlighted in your application, as well as the ways in which you demonstrate a commitment to promoting and enhancing cultural exchange. I would encourage applicants to be creative, but also make sure that your personal statement is honest and leaves readers with a true sense of why your project is important and who you are.

Good luck!

Top photo: Chaunetta Jones, 2007-2008, South Africa, with rescued orphans Asanda and Luvo who benefit from the Raphael Centre’s outreach and support services.

Bottom photo: Chaunetta Jones, 2007-2008, South Africa (top row, second from left), with several Camp Siyaphumelela participants.

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