How often do we see it on television? Tsunamis, floods, hunger, rascism and more. How many times do people actually look at these things and that it truly opens their eyes?
Not that often.
But this is nothing to be ashamed of, there is no harm in peacefully going to bed even if you know that there are people who aren’t even able to sleep any more because their houses are destroyed by wars. It is understandable and it is human nature to care but be afraid to actually step in.
The CHN now has something new to offer.
A semester applicable to all educations and institutes in the school is Humanitarian Hospitality Management.
But what is this? And who does this?
Right now there is only one group of 12 students working on this semester. Guided by 2 co-ordinators,
Mrs. Medema and Mr. Megally, these students are learning about situations in the world, about what defines a crisis, the psychology behind it, the NGOs which are there to help, the Governmental Organization such as
the United Nations and of course the violations of Human rights throughout the world.
The semester consists currently of three modules, next year to be replaced by two and will contain all the necessary preparations for a 6 weeks internship in Port Alfred at the end.
In the first module the students learnt about three separate countries, Rwanda, Bosnia and Afghanistan, they analyzed the situations, compared them and proposed a conclusion and further research topics.
But why is this semester offered? Happy Megally and Monique Medema offer a personal opinion of why they
are working on this semester. “I think that on some degree everyone, who is part of society, should help in society, no matter how.” Happy explains,“Therefore it is interesting for students to learn how they can help
and that is why they can go to South Africa.They become part of the population and they experience what
it is like in a situation as such.”
“As a humanitarian worker it is necessary to gain experience in working in a completely different world.” Monique adds,“A developing country opens your eyes which is very useful in this field.This year we will start working in the townships of South Africa with our students. Combining the humanitarian fieldwork with educating students is an ideal situation for me.”
So the students, a motivated group from a lot of different educations, even some graduated, feel that there is a deeper reason for why they chose this semester. For a few it was really the experience, as they feel that they were born in a rich and luxurious country, they desire to see what it can be like when things are different.
Mark Rothengatter:“Everyone has his own interests and core values. It depends on the person what he/she
wants to do and what kind of role humanitarian assitance plays in their lives.Nevertheless, I think this module can be a stimulating factor for students to consider the ‘other side’ of the industry.”
Chantal Alewijnse has another opinion about Humanitarian Assistance.“In my opinion it is an unorganized sector where it is not always clear what their real goals and missions are.” And that is also the importance of
the semester, the realization of the need of proper management in the sector.
Then again, one of the most shared reasons is interest.“I was rather late with the choice of my module, this was very interesting for me because I would like to go to south Africa and I am very interested in the subject.” Twan Welboren explains.
Now the semester has started and many things have already been seen and discovered but a few things really stuck out. The literature! More than 1500 pages were copied for the students to read and they did. But not without the required amount of blood sweat and tears.
The cases! Working in the first module on one country each group had to analyze several intensive cases, which together with classes and lectures were compared.
South Africa, townships in need of help.
A country which was once almost led to ruin by the Apartheid now still feels the differences between people
and in Port Alfred there is a lot of work which can be done. “Most of the students of this group are going to South-Africa to do something for the local people. For example, develop a plan to ensure an increase of tourism.This can help the people there to build on a better future.”
So how does the future of the Humanitarian Assistance look? Renate Barendregt has her own opinion on this.“By educating our group I believe that out of the twelve students there are probably some people who want to continue in this work field. And even if it is only one person, that person might be able to change the world.”
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams and it seems that most of the students
have a heart for the case. Birgit Koezema smiles broadly,“My overall impression of this semester?” “Fantastic Interesting New Experiences.”
And Austrian student Katharina Maier agrees:“It has been the greatest and most interesting module in my
whole studying career.”
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