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Adriana, who is based in Brazil, studies transitional justice and the impact of mining companies on indigenous people in the Amazon. When she came to Cape Town to compare the findings of her research in Brazil with indigenous people from Southern Africa, she realized that her abilities in English were hindering the research. This realization led her to Scalabrini’s English School  – which opened up her world to the melting pot of South Africa.

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When Adriana arrived in Cape Town, she only knew basic greetings and how to say ‘thank you’. Like many people in South Africa, English was to be her third language. “I was born close to Venezuela, so for me, learning and speaking Spanish was easier. It is similar to Portuguese. English is different to other languages and is difficult to learn.”

English is not a common language in Brazil and is mostly spoken by the younger generations. Language has been an important part of Adriana’s research. “When Brazil was colonized, it was forbidden to speak other languages. Even the indigenous people in Brazil cannot speak their indigenous languages. There are 174 different languages in Brazil. Only the indigenous people who live inside their own tribes speak their indigenous languages…In South Africa, people speak their own languages. It’s not like this in Brazil. If these people die, we will lose those languages.”

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Adriana and her family lived in Cape Town for two years.  In the beginning this proved difficult because of the language barrier, but through her lessons with English School, Adriana improved her English abilities enough to be able to communicate easily. “[speaking English] provided me with the most important thing that I need – to speak to people and understand. I am not scared about talking to people anymore. Before English School, Adriana was very shy to try and communicate in English, but she now has the confidence to use the language

English School helped Adriana build on, not only her speaking skills, but her writing and reading too. “Because of that, I was able to contact people across Africa. I now have a group of people that I discuss all the readings of different genocides with, as well as my other findings.”

Adriana has found both similarities and differences between the indigenous populations in Southern Africa and Latin America. “Across the world, there has been a refusal to recognise the crimes against humanity {with regards to indigenous populations}.” Adriana has found similar practices in Africa and Latin America with the “illegal appropriation of labour, lands and resources from the communities.” The differences are centered around reparations. Where in Latin America, the judicial process is looking at individual reparations, the African concept – in some countries – “is about collective reparations and building the memory.”

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Adriana and her family left South Africa just before Level 5 lockdown in South Africa. They made the decision to go home because her step-son back home in Brazil fell ill. He sadly passed away from Covid-19 before his symptoms were understood.

When the pandemic hit South Africa, English School needed to adapt to be able to continue. English classes were moved online – this enabled Adriana to continue her English studies online. “It was not the same, but I loved it. English School still provided us with lessons and sent us links to watch some videos, they also helped us with our writing.” Adriana was able to complete her course with English School via WhatsApp.

Adriana now hopes to begin learning her fourth language –French – in order to continue her research of the indigenous people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Before coming to South Africa, Charlotte never imagined that she would be able to further her education past high school.  A chance encounter with a stranger in a taxi led Charlotte to Scalabrini – she now holds a BA degree in Management specializing in Logistics and Operations. 

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Charlotte’s journey with UpLearn began in 2018.  When she completed her Associate of Arts (AA) she experienced her first graduation. “It was amazing! There were 28 student’s graduating and everyone was very excited. After receiving our certificates there were many tears … but they were more like tears of joy.”  

After graduating, Charlotte began her BA in Management. Students are given four years to complete their AA and BA, but it took Charlotte just over a year. “The journey was really a difficult one. Whenever you accomplish something in a short period of time, it’s going to be tough.” Being a mother of two young children and having duties to do at home whilst finding the time to study is not always easy. This was where Charlotte saw huge benefits with UpLearn. “[With UpLearn], you can choose your own schedule and working online is flexible, you can do it at night when your children are sleeping or on weekends when their father is there.” 

When Charlotte first came to Scalabrini she accessed Employment Access and through being at the office she met some of the UpLearn students – and she immediately let Employment Access know that she wanted to study too. Charlotte’s dreams were almost dashed when she was told that UpLearn was full. “I was so disappointed, because I really wanted to educate myself. After a month I received a call from EAP saying one student dropped out from the programme, but there was a long waiting list. I didn’t know if I stood a chance. I decided to apply and sent my application. They then called me in for an interview.  After two weeks they contacted me and said congratulations I made it through! That was the happiest day of my life.” 

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While still living in Zimbabwe, Charlotte worked as a secretary and furthering her education was just a dream. “In Zimbabwe if you do not have mathematics your chances of going to university are very slim. I never knew that I would end up at a university and leave with a degree.”  

“I was not an A student, but if you look at me now, you can say I have a degree. With dedication and perseverance, you can achieve this. [Before UpLearn] I was very shy. Through being equipped with different skills and being part of workshops where you have to facilitate sometimes, I have learnt to become bolder and more confident. I have become more confident because I have gained skills.”  

Charlotte felt supported by UpLearn during her studies and always knew that there was someone to assist with problems relating to studies or personal problems. “There is constant support available to students. Even during Covid they gave us 10 gigs of data so we can complete our assignments and last year every student got given a laptop. They (UpLearn) always provide resources.” 

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At the time of speaking to Charlotte, she was busy with an internship with the Global Education Movement (GEM), where she is responsible for graduate support and helping with CV’s and cover letters – similar work to the services she first accessed at Scalabrini with the Employment Access Team.  

UpLearn is a part of GEM launched by SNHU in five different countries: Rwanda, South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, and Lebanon. Charlotte assists people from each of these countries. GEM’s aim is to address the reality that worldwide there are more than 65 million refugees and other displaced peoples and only 1% have access to higher education. The objective of the initiative is to give those who may be prohibited from accessing tertiary education by financial or legal barriers an opportunity to empower themselves through education.    

The internship was supposed to be three months, but when the interview took place her internship had already been extended more than once. “I started in June 2020. It was supposed to be 3 months, but they decided to extend it with a month. They extended it again and now I am still there. I am enjoying it and I am so grateful to be granted such a wonderful opportunity.” 

With a firm interest in logistics – Charlotte hopes to one day work for a transport company in the logistics team – specifically focusing on keeping packages safe. “I read in so many cases whereby some goods are being lost when transporting them. I would like to introduce an idea or a system of different packaging, which makes sure the goods arrive safely at their destination. We don’t want to have a case where goods are lost or broken.” 

**Update** 

Since this article was written, Charlotte’s internship at GEM has turned into a part time position as Assistant Editor.  

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