African Excursion
Local educator
takes her skills
to South Africa
to train teachers
BY FELECIA P. MCMILLAN
COMMUNITY CORRI SPONDI \[
Alease Rae Motley Jones of
Burlington was one of six teachc
ers selected to share their knowl
edge and expertise with col
leagues in rural South Africa
through a unique partnership
between two N.C. companies:
The South Africa Booksmart
Foundation of High Point and
Triangle Pharmaceuticals Inc. of
Durham. Jones and the five other
. teachers were selected because of
their specialized training and
experience in the areas of library
science, early childhood develop
ment and elementary education.
Jones is a kindergarten teacher in
Caswell County Schools.
The group left on Saturday,
June 30, from Raleigh and
returned on July 18 from the
three-week trip. They trained
more than 225 South African
teachers with 480 Hours of
instruction. The trip was a follow
up to a book launch that took
place in 2000. The teachers went
to show the South African educa
tors how to use the textbooks and
resource materials to fight illiter
acy in the rural townships of
South Africa. .??
"It was a very rewarding
experience. It was also an eye
opener that makes me appreciate
what is available in America."
Jones said. We take so many
things for granted. I was greatly
concerned with the lack of basic
materials such as chalk, crayons,
even dictionaries or paper. The
South African teachers had open
arms for anything we could give
away."
Jones was also amazed with
the professionalism and creativity
of the African instructors.
"I was very impressed with
the high level of training and
understanding the South African
teachers have, and I was glad that
they wanted to stay in contact
with the American teachers,"
Jones said. "At the end of each
session they sang songs of praise,
danced and hugged us because
they were so grateful. It was very
moving. All of the American
teachers were moved to tears."
Robert Brown, the founder of
South Africa Brxtksmart Founda
tion, which is based in High
Point, sees literacy as a way to
fight many of the ills in South
Africa.
"Reading is vital to the eco
nomic foundation of a country
and our efforts to promote litera- ?
cy through programs such as the
teacher training workshops help
to aid that process," Brown said.
The training program was
made possible through a grant
from Triangle Pharmaceuticals
Inc.
"This was my first trip to
Africa. I was so impressed with
the vastness of the land," Jones
said. "I have seen South Africa in
National Geographic magazine
or on television programs, but I
saw beaches like I have never
seen before. It was so beautiful.
The sand was white and the water
was a clear blue-green."
Although Jones was
impressed with the lay of the ter
rain, she was greatly distressed to
find that the schools in the rural
townships of South Africa had no
ctjucational resources or provi
sions for elementary school stu
dents. As an educator, Jones con
siders the formative years "a crit
ical time for acquiring knowl
edge." For this reason she was
pleased to offer her expertise to
the teachers in order to aid the
children.
Carl Mentz, a white native of
South Africa and also director of
information systems and research
for B&C Associates, went on the
trip as a guide.
"This is an amazing project
hecailse it provides opportunities
to students who would not have
education without it. A lot of the
children in these areas are not
able to have resources. They are
sharing books," Mentz said.
"Because the local government
has many needs, they cannot pro
vide 100 percent for all of them.
Unfortunately, education is usual
ly neglected. Can you imagine
having a science test and not even
having a science btxik to study?"
Jones and her colleagues
would awaken at 7:30 each morn
ing and prepare their materials
after breakfast. At each site, they
would call roll and present for
about 60 attendants during each
session. Jones focused on pre-pri
mary or early childhood develop
ment.
July 2-3, they trained teachers
in Durban from two cities in the
province of Kwa-zulu Natal: Port
Shepstone and Pietermaritzburg.
They stayed in a local city lodge
or hotel The training sessions
were administered from 8 a.m.
until 4 p.m. During die sessions,
they allowed the teachers breaks
for lunch and tea, Jones.said.
The teachers1 were insistent
that the teaching continue
because they wanted to get all of
the information they could gain.
July5-6 foundJones and her
colleagues in Nongoma, an
exceptionally rural area of Natal.
Jones was fascinated to meet
King Goodwill Zwelithini, king
of the Zulus. He is a direct
descendant of Shaka Zulu, and he
has at least four queens. He pro
vided shelter for the educators
while they were in the area.
July 9-10, Jones and the oth
ers taught in the Eastern Cape
Province in the city of Umtata.
There, they trained teachers from
East London and Port Elizabeth
who attended. In addition, several
Education Department personnel
from Eastern Cape participated.
July 12-13, they went to Cape
Town to train educators'and the
mayor of Cape Town attended the
sessions. July 16-17, Jones and
her fellow educators trained
teachers in Johannesburg. On
July 18, the teachers flew back to
the States.
The South Africa Booksmart
Foundation began in 1993 with
the shipment of hooks and other
resource materials donated from
the Guilford County public
schools. Since then, the founda
tion has transported more than 2
million books to South Africa to
establish more than 100 satellite
libraries.
Photo courtesy of Jones
Alease Jones, far right, poses with other educators during their recent trip to South Africa.
Jones is a teacher in Caswell County.
bbAM
from page AI
corp before launching Blaylock &
Partners in 199.1. In his 20-year
career on Wall Street. Blaylock
has worked with a diverse range
of corporate clients and institu
tional investors. As the primary
strategist at Blaylock & Partners.
Blaylock's leadership has resulted
in a number of unique industry
achievements. For example, B&P
was listed as the Corporate Capi
tal Raiser of the Year by Corporate
Finance Magazine in 1999. Black
Enterprise Magazine listed the
firm as top women/minority
investment bank. In addition, the
firm ranked among the top 20
investment banking firms in the
United Slates for underwriting
investment grade debt for 1999.
Blaylock graduated from East
Forsyth High School and went on
to Georgetown University, where
tie earned a B.S. degree and was a
member of the school's first
NCAA Final Four basketball
team. He serves on the board of
visitors at Georgetown University
md the New York University
Stem School of Business. In addi
ion, he serves on the board of the
\mencan General Life Insurance
Company of New York. His other
tharitable board work includes the
American Ballet Theatre, the
Inner-City Scholarship Fund, Prep
for Prep and the Covenant House,
which presented him with the
1997 Man of the Year Award.
The theme of the SSAH's
banquet is "We've Come This
Far...," and Blaylock will speak on
that topic from his perspective as
an investment banker.
Billy Rich, president of
SSAH, will preside at the banquet.
Phyllis A. Davis, co-chair of the
banquet, will give the welcome.
Rev. Henry S. Lewis Jr., pastor of
Went/ Memorial United Church
of Christ and immediate past pres
ident of SSAH and board of direc
tors, will give the Invocation.
Attorney Harold L. Kennedy Jr..
of the SSAH board .of directors,
will give historical reflections.
Then a full dinner will be served.
Raphael O. Black of the SSAH
board of directors will provide
music. Attorney Kenneth W.
Lewis, of Buford & Lewis.
PLLC, in Raleigh, will introduce
the speaker. After B lay lock's
speech. Mayor Pro Tempore and
Alderman Vivian H. Burke will
make a presentation from the city.
THE SSAH Banquet Com
mittee will be recognized. Dr.
Lenwood G. Davis, Dr. William J.
Rice and Dr. James H. McLaugh
lin - SSAH authors of "African
Americans ? in Winston
Salem/Forsyth County, A Pictorial
History," which was published in
1999 - will he recognized, and
copies of the book will be for sale.
Other items on the program
for the banquet are: recognition of
the Urban Planning Class, WSSU;
announcements by Joan Card
well. co-chair of the SSAH ban
quet and chair of the Forsyth
County Board of Elections; recog
nition of elected officials and can
didates; singing of "Lift Every
Voice and Sing"; remarks by Dr.
Harold L. Martin Sr.. chancellor
of WSSU; and Benediction by
Rev. Henry S. Lewis Jr.
Phyllis Davis said of the ban
quet: "It's a fund-raiser. We arc
trying to build capital to enhance
the opportunity to preserve the
history of Afro-Americans in
Winston-Salem and Forsyth
County."
Joan Cardwell said the ban
quet is held annually during Black
History Month. "We had (N.C.)
Chief Justice Henry Frye (as
speaker) one year. We've had
some other state legislators (as
speakers)."
Tickets for the event arc $25
per person. Tables of eight arc
available. All members of SSAH
arc selling tickets to the event. For
more information, call Billy Rich
at (336) 650-1459 or William
Rice at 767-64%.
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Edelman, McCain
to speak at WFU
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Former presidential hopeful
John McCain, a U.S. senator
from Arizona and decorated
Navy veteran, is scheduled to
deliver Wake Forest University's
commencement address on May
20, and Marian Wright Edelman,
founder and president of the Chil
dren's Defense Fund, is sched
uled to deliver the baccalaureate
address during commencement
weekend.
Edelman is a graduate of
Spelman College and Yale Law
School. She was the first black
e>
0
woman
admitted
to the
Missis
sippi Bar.
She
directed
t h e
NAACP
Legal
Defense
and Edu- Eldelman
cational
Fund office in Jackson until 1968,
when she became counsel for the
Set Wake Forest .-// AS
PTA is planning
health fair Feb. 12
I ROM STAFF Kl PORTS
The Ashley Elementary
School Wellness Center in eon
junction with the school's PTA
will sponsor a community health
fair at Ashley on Feb. 1.2, begin
ning at 6:30 p.m.
The Wellness Center at Ash
ley is a collaborative effort of
Wake Forest Baptist Medical
Center, Forsyth Medical Ceff
ter/Novant Health and Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
A variety of agencies will be
on hand to discuss the services
they offer to the community.
Mandy Scales, the center's
registered nurse, said the health
fair is being held to acquaint
community residents with the
services and agencies in their
community.
"We're having this to pro
mote the awareness of health
issues and to give the community
access to everything that is avail
able to them." she said.
Representatives will be on
hand to discuss Medicaid and
Health Choice Enrollment.
Scales said a lot of people are not
familiar with Health Choice
Enrollment, which is a medical
program for people who can't
qualify for Medicaid services but
don't have medical insurance.
There will be discussion of
many relevant issues that relate
to health, including information
on nutrition and healthy snacks.
Representatives from the Health
Department will provide infor
mation on parenting, teen talk,
puberty/family planning, dental
health and healthy kids. Woman
Wise, program for women's
health issues will provide blood
pressure screening. A representa
tive from Today's Woman will
provide much adult wellness
information. Enrollment packets
will be available for the Down
town Health Plaza.
Karen Patterson, the center's
social worker, said the health fair
also\vill provide information on
mental health issues.
"There's going to be a lot of
information on how to get servic
es for everyday mental health
needs," Patterson said. "We can
point people toward support
groups, provide parenting tips
and general information about
where to go to obtain whatever
services they might want or
need."
Information on substance
abuse, depression, stress and
methods of coping will be avail
able.
"There is such stereotype
about mental health," Patterson
said. "But that is an area we all
have to deal with every day in
dealing with the stress we face
from day to day."
[00, Itfy
birthday cards, holiday cards, invitations, good news from home,
a note of congratulations, what would a mailbox be without them?
The United States Postal Service is doing everything we
can to make the mail safe for us all. As we know, life must go on,
including the celebration of Black History Month.
This year is the Black Heritage Series' 25th year wherein
outstanding African Americans in various fields are honored with
a commemorative stamp.
In February 2002, we proudly honor the prolific
writer and one of the leading figures of the Harlem
i Renaissance, Langston Hughes. He wrotp against
all the odds and succeeded, never letting anyone
\ or anything stop him from writing a poem, a song,
'#*? a story or a letter.
We won't, either.
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