It feels surreal that two out of the eight weeks of the DukeEngage Durban project have already gone by. It feels like yesterday that we were receiving emails informing us that DukeEngage applications were officially open and inviting students to apply, yet now we are almost a quarter into our program. Looking back, I did not know what to expect of this experience, yet so far it has been so much better than I have ever imagined. Starting definitely came with some problems, especially in the first week. For example, there was the time difference between the United States and South Africa, internet connectivity and audio issues, and other scheduling and communication problems. These were just some side effects that came about trying to organize an international virtual program in a global pandemic, yet the benefits from it have greatly outweighed the costs, at least for me personally, as it has allowed for us to stay connected in the midst of a global pandemic and to try to have a positive impact. After the first week, when we had all gotten introduced to the program and it had started rolling, we were able to find ways to avoid (or at least minimize) these problems and each get into our own rhythms. We’ve been able to find a good balance between working individually and cooperating with our peers, as well as our South African partner organizations. By partnering with organizations in South Africa such as the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, I have been able to connect with people on another part of the globe and learn so much in these few weeks. I’ve been able to explore topics of interest that I’ve never really been able to before, and learn about them from the lens of community engagement. Overall, I am really excited for the next six weeks of the program, and can’t wait to see what’s to come!
