Port Elizabeth

View of the townships

Ubuntu Education Fund is based on the African philosophy of “ubuntu,” a person is a person through other people. Pace Academy’s Journey to South Africa focus on lessons in common humanity, mutual responsibility and interdependence.

Our first stop was in Port Elizabeth to visit The Ubuntu Education Fund. Ubuntu began its mission in the Eastern Cape to help improve the resident’s lives by fostering self-empowered, community-based health and education initiatives. Ubuntu has been featured on CNN, Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative, and his book, GIVING, How Each of Us Can Change The World (Giving was part of our reading requirement for the trip).

We visited one of the highest points of the city that overlooks the townships. Rows and rows of houses that can easily be described as shacks, lined the narrow streets that represent the limitations of Apartheid and the restrictions placed on black South Africans under its leadership.

Preparing the smilie.

From there, we were taken by foot on a guided tour were Brandon stopped traffic and caused a scene when local school girls screamed “Justin Beber” and pointed in his direction. We got a first hand look at the local shops, a lesson in local herbs and ventured to eat a “smilie.” Similes are sheep heads and eaten by locals. The heads are prepared over fires on the side of the road and when cocked to perfection, a smile appears on the face of the sheep.


Soon after, we found ourselves at Schotia, one of South Africa's premiere game reserves, just minutes from Port Elizabeth.  There, we got a view of South Africa's animals, including a late night encounter with the king of the jungle.