Written by Joyce Perrelli

Marjorie Schlenoff, a San Francisco psychotherapist, and her husband, Larry, visited Cape Town, South Africa, in 2005. They were inspired by the racially integrated population and urban ambience, but were dismayed by the severe shortage of teachers in the nearby post-Apartheid black townships. Unable to find a U.S. charity with a mission of sending teachers to South Africa, the Schlenoffs founded Teach With Africa (TWA) in 2007, a non-profit organization with the goal of selecting, preparing, and supporting a teaching team for a summer program. For this revolutionary educational initiative, “TWA partnered with the LEAP School in South Africa, to educate economically and socially challenged students and embark on a mission of reciprocity: To Teach and To Learn,” explains Amy Schoew, the Executive Director of TWA.

The LEAP school, founded in 2004, serves about 300 black high school students. It provides a structured learning environment, emphasizing science and math, two subjects that had been purposely omitted from black students’ curriculum during Apartheid, but are necessary for college admission. Students from Langa and other townships arrive by bus at the campuses in Cape Town and Johannesburg. “There is so much hope there,” adds Schoew.

TWA partnered with Dominican University in San Rafael, the Wright Institute in Berkeley, and other organizations to recruit and select educators to be TWA Fellows. The Fellows—credentialed teachers, mental health professionals, and people that hold Green MBAs (Masters of Business Administration degrees that focus on sustainability and social responsibility)—went through an intensive training prior to arriving at the LEAP School in Cape Town for a two-month assignment in summer 2008.

The goal is to positively impact the whole child. LEAP students struggle with more than just homework—many families are impacted by AIDS, adult illiteracy, and drug use. Drawing on Marjorie’s psychotherapy background, the TWA Fellows apply a holistic approach of looking at the whole life of the student. While Fellows who are credential teachers focus on classroom enrichment and hands-on learning activities, mental health professionals emphasize life skills such as making the right choices, taking responsibility for actions, and bringing about positive change in their community. The Green MBAs taught entrepreneurship and sustainability, including how to start and market a business.

Upon returning to the States, the TWA Fellows have used their summer experiences to bring a new richness into their classrooms at local schools. One Fellow has started a Life Orientation program, another has launched a global pen-pal program, and another is organizing a service club to raise funds by selling sustainable tote bags made in a Cape Town township.

TWA is run by a handful of part-time employees and volunteers with oversight by the board of directors. The majority of its funding comes from the Annual Gala, which will be held in February 2009. TWA hopes to expand its program to support 15 teachers during summer 2009.

Teach with Africa truly is the gift that keeps on giving to Marjorie and countless other students and educators.
Learn more about Teach with Africa and the upcoming Gala at: www.teachwithafrica.org

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photos by Teach Africa
illustration by olivia trinidad



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