When you drop a pebble in a bucket of water, you never really know how far the rings will spread. I have had a professional interest in diversity in our country for a long time. More recent events have made me think about diversity and multicultural perspective in a global sense. The world is so vast yet so small. In order to understand our neighbors across the street, it is important to experience our neighbors across the globe. We need to understand who they are and where they came from in order to understand what they value and what they want to be, rather than let those decisions be ours based on our perspectives and our views of the world.
In the last several years, I have travelled to China, Peru, South Africa and Cuba with Nanda Journeys. As an educator and speech language pathologist, I never really thought about how enriching my life would in turn enrich the lives of generations of students that would follow me.
I recently received an email from a former colleague that talked about preparing teacher education students to be global citizens. It made me think about how one person can influence so many others for generations. Dr. Wendy Paterson, Dean of the School of Education at SUNY Buffalo State, wrote:
“I have been thinking of you a lot lately. As I have been reviewing some of my faculty for tenure and promotion, I remembered all that you did for me as you helped me attain the full professorship. Today I was reading the book 21st Century Skills and read two statements that immediately made me think of you: 1) “Diversity is one thing we all have in common.” 2) The skills to become socially adept, cross-culturally fluent global learners and citizens are more important than ever.”
I wonder if you know how far-reaching your global initiative took us…we embarked on a process to emphasize the importance of global attitudes and multicultural knowledge for teachers. In those first years, we engaged with some of our globally active faculty and were able to establish new PDS school contacts in Zambia and Chile. We are now on five continents with 6-8 active school sites where our students and faculty learn about education on a global scale. This has transformed Childhood and Exceptional Education…I just want you to see what you started. As we say in teacher education, ‘The teacher will never know how much she (he) affects the future, only that she (he) will.’ You have most certainly had an impact on my life and on the lives of so many of our marvelous students.”
As one of her students said: “Travel is the one thing you spend money on, that actually can make you richer.” {Original author unknown}
How do you spell “first rate?” I have travelled with Nanda Journeys to Peru, Cuba, and South Africa. The trips were worry-free, so we could concentrate on the cultural global experience.
I have included some photos from my travels. The accommodations are always first rate. The meals and cultural experiences are also top shelf. With qualified guides, we had ample opportunity to learn not only about the people, but also about the place. From safaris, to jungle river exploration, to arts and architecture—the trips helped enrich my personal and professional life.
The cultural experiences in hospitals and schools for us were varying and enlightening. I visited schools in the Andes mountains where the children spoke three languages; schools for the deaf in Johannesburg where all children had cochlear implants; and schools for the deaf in Havana where sign language was used. I visited a school in a township of Cape Town where the children’s hearing and vision was being tested using blue tooth technology since there was no electricity in the school. I visited the sparse polyclinics in Cuba, a rehabilitation center in the Andes mountains of Peru, and a state-of-the-art hospital in Johannesburg. All the visits were varied and all showed that people everywhere are doing what they can to deliver services given their circumstances.
But the best feature of the travels is the opportunity to develop professional relationships with like-minded people. The friendships and relationships have extended beyond the time of the trips themselves. The travels have also enriched my professional life. Since returning from South Africa, I have made conference presentations at national conferences with my colleagues that I met in Johannesburg. I have consulted on a publication about speech language services in South Africa and published an article on health care in Cuba.
I am looking forward to the next planned journey to Vietnam and Cambodia in the spring of 2019. Because of the interest in interprofessional service delivery here, and because of the mode of delivery of services in southeast Asia, the spring trip is intended to be interprofessional with rehabilitation specialists.
About Dr. Dolores Battle
Dr. Battle is Professor Emeritus of Speech Language Pathology at SUNY Buffalo State. She is the former president of both the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP). She has received numerous awards for her work in multicultural and global issues in the profession including Honors of ASHA, Honored member of the IALP, The Diversity Incentive award from the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Science and Disorders. She is widely published in communication disorders in culturally and linguistically diverse populations and has traveled professionally to 37 countries on five continents including in Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Greece, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, and Australia.
What could a speech-language pathologist learn about clinical service by travelling to South Africa?
Imagine visiting a small Anglican school in a township outside of Cape Town South Africa, called Khayelitsha, which is home to 2.4 million black and colored persons who were displaced during the apartheid era. Imagine learning how the 3E Learning Project aims to screen the hearing and vision of 10,000 5-6-year-old children in underserved communities. Imagine a community where 40% of the residents are under the age of 19 years and where the annual income for a family of four is the equivalent of $1872 USD. Imagine a school with no electricity and no running water and no indoor toilet facilities. Imagine a school where the official language of instruction is English, but the language of the community is Xhosa, or Sotho, or any one of 11 other official languages in the country. Imagine a school where books are not in evidence and where there is no computer or television. Imagine hearing screening being done using bluetooth to deliver the sounds and an app on a mobile phone being used to test vision. Despite all that there is, and all that there is not, imagine a mural painted on the wall of the school that says, “Rise and Shine Globally”.
Imagine visiting the cosmopolitan city of Cape Town, home of Bishop Tutu, and the city of Johannesburg, home of Nelson Mandela. Imagine visiting the island where Nelson Mandela was held for 27 years and who later forgave those who retained him and later became the president of the country to lead its transformation to a country where equality is the goal of everyday life. Imagine visiting the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and the District 6 Museum in Cape Town, and talking with those who lived through apartheid and are now involved in transforming the diverse nation to its place in modern society driven by a recognition of the value of diversity but the importance of equality.
Imagine standing on at the Cape of Good Hope and reflecting on a vast country with diverse people, diverse geography, diverse vegetation and amazingly diverse animal life. Imagine being among the elephants, lions, rhinoceros and hippos within days of being among African penguins, seals and baboons.
Imagine what we can learn about the glories of the world around us, the wonder of what our fellow man has accomplished against all odds, and the challenges that remain and optimism of what the future holds. Imagine what the world could be if we all took the advice from that school in Khayelitsha to “Rise and Shine Globally”. What a wonderful world it would be.
Excellent global partnerships are integral at Nanda Journeys and enable us to create our unique and immersive journeys. To be successful in the travel industry, you must surround yourself with a team who strives for excellence and has an eye for detail. We truly believe our global partners are just the right addition to our team. Through these collaborations, we develop our customized journeys that ensure a unique and rewarding educational program. As you may know, Nanda Journeys sells more than just cookie cutter sightseeing tours. We prefer to focus our trips to include an immersive, career enriching experience, allowing professionals the opportunity to engage in site visits and roundtable discussions with their overseas counterparts.
For the last 20 years, we have been collaborating with our South African global partner headquartered in Cape Town. They are a passionate South African team with a deep love for their country and, through programs like ours, they have the chance to showcase all Southern Africa has to offer. Nanda Journeys counts on industry experts in their team and values the friendships that are built by working closely with them. Our mutual passion for international travel, along with the ultimate goal of providing a unique journey, cements those bonds. The opportunity to visit their country and spend time training with their team is one I will never forget. I have fond memories of driving from Johannesburg to Kruger National Park with their managing director. She shared her passion for her home country with me, leaving an impression of not only the diversity of the flora and fauna but an appreciation for the rich culture, history and people themselves.
Our global partner in Tanzania focuses specifically on inbound travel to Tanzania. Their knowledge and passion for their country really shines through and their dedicated staff are truly unique. The teachers and music enthusiasts enrolled on our Music Education Journey to Tanzania will be spending time at the School of St. Jude this coming July. They are a non-governmental organization (NGO) I had the pleasure of visiting a few years back and one that we continue to support with each new journey that visits their lovely country. The school is dedicated to providing innovative educational services to the most disadvantaged children of Arusha and you can really see the love for the children and country the staff have. Our upcoming group will explore the education system in Tanzania and take part in various school activities like joining in a music and art class with the children. We are passionate at Nanda Journeys about giving back and proud to support organizations like this one, who is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the children living in poverty. I would encourage you to take a look at their website and learn more about their fantastic school.
Gemma Sisia, founder of the School of St. Jude, speaking with a past delegation
Lunch with the children of St. Jude
I will forever have memories of exploring Egypt guided by an incredible team of Egyptologists. They are truly experts in what they do! From bringing the history of ancient Egypt to life, to making sure every experience is not only educational but magical and fun too, they make sure each journey is an incredible experience. One of my favorite memories is visiting the Step pyramid of Djoser in the Saqqara necropolis. It is the oldest complete stone building complex known to history and was truly a marvel for its time. Djoser was the first king of the Third Dynasty of Egypt and was in power around 2670 BCE. He is believed to be the first to build in stone. It’s amazing to have the opportunity to step back in time and just take it all in!
Learning to walk like an Egyptian from our Egyptologist
Our dear friends in India have hosted, adopted and nurtured us as if we are family. The experiences they have helped us to build over the years have been truly remarkable. Imagine, meeting the Supreme Court Justice in India, chatting with the King & Queen and Prime Minister of Bhutan, being the first western guests in a remote village in Rajasthan, dining with a family and learning how to cook true South Indian dishes. These are all experiences we have collaborated on and designed with our colleagues in India. We know, without a shadow of a doubt, that our clients will be cared for like family when traveling to India, Bhutan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar & Thailand.
We are honored to be able to deliver the programs we are so passionate about. We couldn’t do what we do without our global partners! Nanda continues to build on these relationships and to seek new partnerships each year to offer even more exciting destinations. These relationships are built based on a lot of hard work, mutual respect and trust, and dedication to a common mission. I am honored to call our global partners my friends and want to really express how much we value their professionalism, dedication and passion.
When you travel with Nanda Journeys, you can trust that you will have a wide network of industry experts putting their extensive experience to work to ensure you have a fantastic, educational and fun program! We at Nanda want to extend a big THANK YOU to our global partners. We could not do what we do without each one of you. Here is to the next 20 years!
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