WELCOME - GSJ PARTICIPANTS TO SOUTH AFRICA

ABOVE PHOTO- PLANNING MEETING IN SWEDEN APRIL 2009

Our questions are: -- NEEDS TO BE MET HERE ON THEIR JOURNEY IN OCTOBER 2009.

THE FAMILY SITUATION/THE SOCIAL SOCIATY
Who has the responsibility for a child with family problems?
What happens when a child loses his/her parents?
What different types of families are there?

THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
Tell us about the school system!
Are there any costs?
How many years in school?
Do boys and girls have the same opportunity at school?
Curicculum?

THE CHILDRENS HEALTH CARE
Is there any maternity welfare?
How is the program for childrens vaccination?
Are there any costs for childrens health care ?
Wat kind of help can the family with a physically challenged child get?

It would be nice if wee could meet and talk to:
l Socialworkers
l Teachers, principals, students
l Nurses
l Other persons that you think is important for our studies.

Best reagards from Frida, Laila, Anette and Mia

NEXT GROUP:

Our focus is everyday life, culture and ecotourism. To understand how to relate to sustainable development and ecotourism, we want to first get a picture of everyday life. What similarities and differences we can see in comparison with our own lives? Some key areas are: - Children, the elderly, women and men everyday life - School - Work, cultivating, getting food - Spirituality and religion - Health, modern medicine - traditional medicine - Future - Culture, craft - Animals - Fun We would like to try to share your everyday life in the villages. We wish for example to follow the children to school, follow with any family member to work, recreational activities, church and store. We (also the man in our group) would like to cook in the family. Can we be involved in getting and preparing food? Are there any youth projects that we could visit? We are interested in health care and want to see if there are differences between modern and traditional care. If possible, we would like to meet both the traditional medicine man and a district doctor in the village. Is there the opportunity to meet artisans, artists, cultural workers and cultural organisations?

FROM:

• Siv Åkesson, principal of preschool in Ulricehamn, working with children aged between 1 and 5 years.
• Crister Carlsson, principal of preschool in Härryda municipality.
• Dragana Mrdja, teacher in the Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian language in Härryda municipality.
• Edit Szabo, teacher in the 4th grade in Bergsjön. Eva Cronander, 32 years, teacher in primary school in Mölndal municipality.

NEXT GROUP

We are four people in our group. Håkan Holgerson and Ann-Christine Frankenberg who are school managers in two different districts in the area of Gothenburg. And Christiane Holzwart and Åsa Carlsson who are headmasters of two compulsory schools.

During our visit we are curious to learn more about the upbringing conditions for your children and youths.
· What are the upbringing conditions for your children and youths?
· What support do the families get from the society during the childhood?
· Could we visit schools in order to learn about education system?
· If it is possible we would like to visit and know more about maternity welfare/ child care?

We are really excited to experience South Africa, your everyday life, culture, nature and everything else.

NEXT GROUP
We are curious and looking forward to meet you in our upcoming trip with the Global School journey. We have taken part of your newsletters with joy and it feels exciting to soon be seeing you. Overall, we are about 25 people who are divided into four groups. Our group consists of:

• Terese Söderman in Ulricehamn. She works with children aged one to five.
• Jennie Utbult is 32 years and works as a pree-schooleteacher in Ulricehamn. She works as Terese.
• Lena Lidberg - pree-schooleteacher with children aged one to five. She works in Mölnlycke.
• Rosanna Wernér -a teacher in primary-school for in Gothenburg.
• Helen Andersson is 38 years and works as a teacher for children aged 6 to 8 years in a school in Mölndal.
• Ola Henricsson- a teacher in a primary-school in Gothenburg for.

We feel privileged that we have got the oppurtunity to describe our desires and interests. First of all we want to be involved and participate in our host families everyday lives. In our group we are interested in culture and education. Music, dance and oral storytelling is something that we like to take part of. We want to visit schools in the village and talk with teachers and students. Is it possible to invite teachers to a workshop one evening? Is there any chance to meet representatives of sparetime activities, we would like to do so. We wish to meet and talk to a pastor about the Church's role in the village.

Otherwise, we are convinced that it will be a wonderful experince to meet you i South Africa.

Best regards
Terese, Jennie, Rosanna, Lena, Helené och Ola

NEXT GROUP
We are four in our group and interested in the issues of gender and local democracy.

• Ann C is a teacher working with small children in a Primary School,
• Annika G works as a Coordinator for Preschool issues of the Harryda Municipality.
• Annika J is a local politician of the Conservative Party, member of the City Council of Gothenburg, Vice Chairman of the District Council of Bergsjön which is highly multi-cultured. Annika J has a MBA degree in Economics.
• Humayun K is a local politician of the Social Democratic Party, member of both the City Council of Gothenburg and District Council of Bergsjön. Humayun K is an academician with MA in History, also studied Business Management and Computer System Development.
  
  Our interests are described below in short :
  
  · Education system & gender issues (equal rights and opportunities between the sexes)
  · Law of inheritance & its impact on boys and girls
  · Working opportunities and conditions for boys and girls
  · Preventive & Family planning advises to the teenagers
  · The importance & development of gender as issue in debates of your soceity.
  · Possibility to meet members of City / District / Municipal Councils, local leaders from different political parties.
  · Meet Clan leaders, know about their power structure in the rural areas, proceedings of local justice in these areas. Very local decision making structures upto the point where state steps in.
  · Local / District Court of Justice.
  
  It would be very interesting for us to visit places like maternity centres, youth clinics, day care centres, primary and secondary schools, different youth recreation activities centres and other organizations who work for young people.