Three second year Youth Work and Community Development students from the University of Leeds have taken up a 10 week internship with the Durban University of Technology. Lauren Angus (27), Lauren Hackfath (21) and Vicky Simpson (21) arrived in South Africa on Monday 21 February and they were geared up for the internship.

The students said their expectations for the internship are to familiarise themselves with the South African culture as well as to explore the social issues affecting youth and community development.

Lauren Hackfath said: “Coming to South Africa is such a great opportunity for all of us. I personally seek to gain more experience within my field. I also want to engage with the local youth, educating young girls on HIV/AIDS and safe sex.”

The students will spend a bulk of the internship with the Gandhi Development Trust (GDT) where they will be accompanied to do outreach work in areas around Durban.

GDT’s Kanya Padayachee said: “Some of the tasks include travelling to schools around Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu raising awareness on critical issues such as HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and prejudice to strengthen our links in the area.”

The interns will comply with GDT’s vision to promote and spread the values of peace and non-violence towards the creation of a compassionate society. During the first week of March they will visit primary schools in Ixopo to assist and develop the pupils’ reading skills in English. As GDT is actively involved in raising awareness on climate change matters the interns will partake in all initiatives pertaining to this.

In the final weeks of the internship the interns will work closely with the DUT Child and Youth Care department. To get a good grasp of the course curriculum, they will attend lectures with first to fourth year students and thereafter work in children’s homes to gain practical experience.

Pictured L-R: Kanya Padayachee, Vicky Simpson, Mondli Zwane, Lauren Angus, Lauren Hackfath and Indrani Naidoo

–Naledi Hlefane