Working with Seven Passes Initiative (SPI)

This semester has been a whirlwind, to say the least. However, one of the biggest highlights of going back to school has been having the opportunity to work with Wilmi, Shunty, and others at the Seven Passes Initiative in Touwsranten, South Africa.

It is no secret that my group has had our fair of challenges. What started as four members quickly became two, but I honestly could not have asked for a better partner than Savannah. In addition to this decrease in capacity, we also faced challenges in meeting with SPI. Wilmi and her team are incredibly busy and it’s been a puzzle coordinating meeting times across different time zones, schedules, holidays, and more. But none of these obstacles stopped us from pursuing our goal.

I think it’s fair to say that this project was never just about earning a good grade in a graduate class. For myself and Savannah, we have been invested in this organization, this community, and our shared goals since the beginning. Off the bat after our first Meeting with Wilmi, I knew that she was going to be an incredible resource and an absolute joy to work with. Her passion for her community and service is unmatched and contagious. She leads with a level of integrity and compassion that is sure to get anyone on board. She listened to us and our ideas, but also challenged them in a way that ensured we took every detail into account when formulating our final program.

Our plan is still being developed, and that’s okay. What we will be presenting as our final for the class will reflect the progress we’ve made and what is stillt to come. Just like our program, this is a marathon, not a sprint. And we are in it for the long haul.

We’ve coordinated with SPI and plan to continue working on this initiative beyond the length of this course. Savannah and I have both even mentioned wanting to go out to Touwsranten for the final 5k, whenever we can get that scheduled. So thank you to Miriam, Alden, and especially Hannah (our trusty liaison) for being with us each step of the way thus far.