Downtown Jersey City teen Jade Bowles hopes a two-week trip to South Africa, which was set to begin last week, will broaden her grasp of life in that country and help her prepare for her future education.
Bowles, 14, left from Kennedy Airport in Queens on Wednesday for a 23-hour flight to the country where soccer’s World Cup Tournament was recently held.
Once she’s on the ground, she will assist at a safari animal shelter, including nursing lion cubs back to health, and will work at a children’s orphanage.
She’s taking the trip as a Student Ambassador through the People-to-People Ambassador Program. The 501© 3 non-profit organization was created in 1956 by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower to foster better relations with other countries.
“I’m looking forward to helping at the orphanage and seeing penguins by the coast.” – Jade Bowles
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In the four years in which the Montgomery Street resident has taken part in People to People, Bowles has traveled to China, England, France, and Australia.
Two days before she left the U.S. for the South African city of Johannesburg, Bowles spoke about the upcoming trip, which finishes on Aug. 17.
“I’m looking forward to helping at the orphanage and seeing penguins by the coast,” Bowles said. South Africa is home to the African penguin.
She will also give friends and family a peek into her trip. Bowles plans to post photos and notes on her Facebook page.
Keeping tabs will be Bowles’ mom Mahaley, at home over 7,900 miles away.
“It’s a great experience, especially going to the motherland,” Mahaley Bowles said. “I wish I was on the trip with her, but I will be living vicariously through her experiences.”
Going abroad = priceless
It was not easy for the teen, who will start classes at County Prep High School in the fall, to prepare for her excursion to South Africa.
First she had to raise $7,000 for the trip to cover airfare, lodging, and other expenses. That was pulled off with help from her mom, who received financial assistance from relatives, fellow parishioners at Mt. Olive Baptist Church on Arlington Avenue, and some local officials.
Then she had to take online classes to learn about the country’s language, customs, and history. That included learning about the oppressive apartheid ruling system that segregated South Africa’s black and white population for about 50 years until it ended in 1994.
A trip to the United Nations and the South African Embassy in New York rounded out her education.
The students attending can earn anywhere from two to five college credits from the trip, which Mahaley Bowles joked will enable her to “save on college tuition.”
Jade Bowles believes the experience will help her prepare for her future education, in high school and beyond.
“I will probably be in a class and they will talk about South Africa, and I will be able to tell them about it,” Bowles said.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.