In This Issue

Fall/Winter 2005
Volume 1 • Issue 2

Professors Receive
Allan Meyers Award

Director’s Corner

UM Students Receive
National Award

Center Updates Acronym

Prevention Center
of Excellence

$2.9M Reading Program Grant

Director Named
AUCD President

New Leadership for CAC

Search Tool Facilitates
Access to MEC Training

Grant to Increase Access
to Volunteer Opportunities

Intervention Methods
Subject of Conference

Screening Instrument
Under Development

Co-Instructional Model
Developed by CCIDS

Center Staff Star in
New Video

Guest Column:
CAC Member Tours
South Africa

Brain Research Informs
Best Practice

Partnership for EC
Health Formed

Presentations & Publications

CenterPoint Home

CAC Member Tours South Africa with Ambassador Program

Guest Column by Clare Collins

To attempt to summarize my impressions and experiences as an ambassador to South Africa is daunting. In early June, I joined 12 colleagues as a member of the People to People Ambassador Program. Together, our delegation ventured to this land of remarkable character. Our purpose was to share information about our supports for individuals with disabilities and to learn from our colleagues in South Africa of their opportunities, challenges, and vision.

Thinking ahead to the trip, I struggled to envision the people and the land. Was South Africa a country of poverty and despair, as it is often portrayed, or was it a country of wealth, a leader in medicine and education? Once there, after spending time in many areas of the country, among people of great wealth and unimaginable poverty, it became clear to me that the heart, character, and future of South Africa is being shaped by people who look to themselves as their greatest resource.

This was no more evident than in the time I spent visiting programs, hospitals, and schools. The majority of the supports for individuals with disabilities in South Africa might be compared to those in the United States in the 1960s. At the Cluny Farm near Johannesburg, the 40 or so residents—most in their 50s—have lived and worked at the farm much of their adult lives. Throughout that time, most of the employees have remained constant, providing a real sense of community within the high walls and locked gates. A working farm, Cluny is nearly self-sustaining with residents reliant upon the gardens, livestock, and poultry raised for food, while the bakery and metal shop produce goods for sale to provide income for the farm. Residents receive approximately $23 a month in government subsidies to meet any additional needs. The residents are filled with pride in their home and work, are very knowledgeable about every aspect of the farm and its products, and eager to share every detail.

While in Cape Town, we visited the Mary Harding School, a small campus supporting day students from the community and 15 residential children. The financial resources of the school are minimal, as evidenced most recently by the fact that it took nearly four months for me to get a response to an e-mail because their one computer hadn’t been working. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, I found myself engaged in the lives of children who are learning and growing by accessing their individual abilities particularly in music, dance, and art. The complex itself is relatively non-descript, but the people within it are vibrant with the energy of their achievements.

The director of the school told us that as recently as a week before we arrived, she considered canceling our visit as they were having considerable struggles and she was concerned we would judge them by this. On the contrary, it was through the heart and personal vision of each child that we gained some insight into the program and left truly inspired.

At the University of Praetoria Center for Assisted and Augmentive Communication (CAAC), students are working toward developing and providing supports to individuals utilizing the resources of the community. I presented them with the Foundations of Inclusive Education staff development curriculum and the Foundations of Early Childhood Education curriculum, developed by The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS). I have since received several e-mails regarding both and hope this will lead to further exchange between CCIDS and the University of Praetoria CAAC.

The Western Cape IASSID (International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities) invited us to participate in their conference, giving us a tremendous opportunity to network with our colleagues. The challenges they expressed center around the prevalence of AIDS (1 in 3 South Africans are known to have AIDS), the complete lack of financial resources, and the extraordinary violation of the rights of individuals with disabilities. Support staff spoke of concerns familiar to most of us regarding relationships, employment, and community. Here again, we recognized that while the supports for people may not be perceived as being advanced by American standards, the vision is clear and reflective of the character of the people of South Africa. It is the fundamental belief that each person has gifts within that are the foundation to their future, that the relationship of the family is the greatest support to each member, and that the community of neighbors includes all.

Leaving South Africa was difficult, as the experience proved to be both humbling and energizing. I was humbled by the fact that the lives of people with disabilities are so rich as a result of being encouraged to develop all of their abilities without extraordinary financial resources, and the fact that this, in many instances, is accomplished by families and communities on their own. While there are many formal programs that are quite restrictive and isolated, there existed a vision for expanded opportunities and reaching out into the communities of South Africa. This was the energizing component; to see people who have so little recognizing that their futures can be determined only by themselves, through their dedication and perseverance. The people have no expectation that there will be a governmental system upon which they can rely; rather, they turn to themselves, their families, and their community—all resources that cannot be cut back or taken away.

— Clare Collins