Plans are shaping for service learning in Africa

A small group of Western Washington University professors traveled to Kenya this summer to develop a different kind of “study abroad” course to take students to Africa, where they will apply classroom concepts to help serve the needs of girls orphaned by AIDS.

This initial visit by the WWU faculty team will clear the way for a full student-faculty service-learning experience next summer.

The group visited Ombogo Girls’ Academy, a boarding school for girls between the ages of 15 and 18 located in the Rangwe district of Kenya, a region that has the world’s highest adolescent birthrates and lowest number of girls enrolled in primary school.

The project is a partnership with the non-profit Slum Doctor Programme, an organization assisting those Africa affected by AIDS.