Over spring break, the PolyGlobal program took 15 students to stay in Cape Town, South Africa for two weeks, a long-running trip that was first introduced in 2019.

The PolyGlobal Program is built on the idea that cross-cultural connection facilitates empathy and appreciation, a sentiment reflected in this year’s trip. Poly students helped South African kids with academic competitions, taught them to make pottery with Club Mudd, a student-led Poly ceramics club, and exchanged dances from their respective cultures.

“We are developing empathy, hearing perspective, and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable around people that have different practices, different views, and look differently,” said PolyGlobal director Rick Caragher, who served as the trip’s lead chaperone alongside colleagues Jack Prater and Lena Etoka. “But we can still fundamentally respect their humanity and their dignity.”

Poly students also explored different problems that the community struggled with and worked to find innovative solutions. Through a local tutoring program called iThuba, the students met and connected with elementary school students living in the Langa township. They also had the opportunity to learn about South African history and culture by visiting the Desmond Tutu and the District Six museums, where the students focused specifically on the lasting impact of apartheid in today’s communities.

Harper Doyle, a sophomore on the trip, shared, “Trash everywhere clogged up their drains, and we made trash cans out of cardboard that the iThuba kids actually started using.”

Caragher hopes to continue running the South Africa trip and to expand the program, ensuring that more students can participate in an enlightening, cross-cultural experience.