Cal Poly SLO Impact

What an incredible group of young men and women that made the journey from California to Cape Town!

16 students and 3 staff members led by the Service in Action team spent two weeks in South Africa learning, exploring and working side by side with Film School Africa students and staff.

Their first few days were spent at a crèche (pre-school) painting, cleaning, building, scraping and of course—playing with little ones. The place was an explosion of colour by the time the team left, complete with a massive mural, fresh swings and sandbox, power-washed shade cloths, a winding painted road, new storage cupboard and an unexpected water leak fixed. We were even able to treat the teachers to a luxurious brunch complete with pampering nail treatments.

They also jumped in and accomplished a lot of work on the Film School Africa campus.

Clearing out trees and shrubs, leveling ground for paving, trimming the neighbor’s trees that hang over our driveway, lots of lots of walls painted—including getting our new logo onto the wall—and they did it all working side by side with FSA students.

In addition to some work projects around campus, students got to know each other in a deeper way by delving into small groups and creating an artistic expression as a result. This served to facilitate discussion so students could really get to know one another better.

And of course a lot of fun was had! From Table Mountain to the Waterfront, a day in Franschhoek to a guided tour through the colorful homes of Bo-Kaap. And let’s not forget the animals: ostriches, penguins, cheetahs and even a little game drive with zebras and giraffes. Lots of learning excursions like Robben Island to a guided tour of Stellenbosch, the District 6 Museum and a lot of really great meals.