Speaker from South Africa to talk about community organizing for social justice
Nomthandazo Skohosana, founder and director of Vukani Community Development Organization, will speak at 4:45 p.m. today, Wednesday, Feb. 13, in the auditorium, Room 126, John R. Roach Center for the Liberal Arts.
She will speak on "Ordinary Person, Extraordinary Story," making a real difference in community organizing for poverty alleviation, children's rights, and HIV/AIDS education.
Nomthandazo Skohosana
This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Located in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, Skohosana's community continues to experience high levels of poverty, unemployment, HIV and AIDS, and lacks basic services such as water and sanitation. The goal of her organization is to organize the community to work on issues of poverty alleviation and children's rights, as well as HIV and AIDS education.
Vukani is derived from one of the local languages and means "wake up." The organization was conceptualized after Skohosana saw the need to rally her community to "wake up" and become active builders of the new South African democracy.
Skohosana, a grant recipient at the Center for Tolerance Education in New York, will speak about community organizing with regard to children suffering from HIV/AIDS and the difficulties they encounter in poverty and education. Read more about her on the International Center for Tolerance Education Web site.
This event is co-sponsored by the Foreign Affairs Club, Luann Dummer Center for Women, Theology Department, College of Education, Political Science Department and Globally Minded Students Association.
For more information e-mail Matthew Eldred, president of the Foreign Affairs Club, or Liz Klages, faculty adviser.
