Tanzania 2011!

Karibuni Tanzania! The 2011 NSCC International Learning Program in Tanzania is on the ground and running! Students and faculty from the School of Health and Human Services, the IT Program and the Tourism Program have safely landed in Dar es Salaam and are already busy meeting new friends, integrating into a new culture and working hard on their various programs.

Nine students, two faculty and one Academic Chair from the School of Health and Human Services are working with a peer education organization in Dar es Salaam, Kimara Peer Educators. Kimara provides peer counselling and outreach programs for people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in their community. The NSCC group is learning about how this type of support model works in Tanzania and what the challenges and rewards are for an NGO such as Kimara.

Four students and one faculty from the Tourism Program will be doing various activities around Tanzania in order to learn about the similarities and differences in the tourism industry compared to Nova Scotia's. The group will first head to our partner institution VETA Mikumi to spend time with tourism students and faculty before heading off to experience a variety of different options Tanzania has to offer to tourists. This program is part of the ongoing Education for Employment project on building capacity in tourism training funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. NSCC Dean of Organizational Learning, Claudine Lowry and Pictou Campus Academic Chair, Audrey Arseneau will also be working in Mikumi on this project with the four faculty from VETA Mikumi who will be traveling to Nova Scotia this summer to take part in the CCEDP program in Truro.

And finally, two students and two faculty from the Information Technology program will also be headed to VETA Mikumi on a pilot International Service Learning program. The NSCC group will work with staff at VETA to try and implement a proper infrastructure of networking and internet capability in Mikumi.

Stay tuned for blog entries from the various students and faculty as they move through their programs in Tanzania and experience international learning that will change their lives.