By Kang Ye-ji
A provincial manager from South Africa’s piece of advice for the female BRIDGE participants was this: “don’t wear short skirts.”
“I noticed that a lot of Korean girls wear short skirts. In South Africa, however, especially in rural areas, the workers should wear longer skirts as a sign of respect for elders,” Mpho Caroline Mataboge, 32, told The Korea Times last week.
Her previous volunteer experience was with Project Literacy, a non-profit organization that offers unemployed adults in rural area basic education (ABET) classes. Three Korean volunteers will work in partnership with the organization.
“There is a lot of illiteracy among adults in South Africa. We try to educate them. Once you educate parents, they are motivated to educate their kids,” she said.
According to the CIA World Factbook, illiteracy in South Africa isn’t so bad.
Amongst the 49-million population, 86 percent can read and write. But, for a country with a short life expectancy, educating the small number of illiterate adults still stands as an important task.
Putting an end to racial segregation, the country achieved democracy in 1994, electing its first black president, Nelson Mandela. In June this year, it hosted the FIFA World Cup, feeding the self-esteem of the entire African continent.
Kang Ye-ji is Korea Times intern.