City Year in South Africa

This report summarizes the lessons from a fairly small-scale effort to adapt a very successful U.S.-based model for service-learning to the challenging circumstances of South Africa. Seen through a lens of the dramatic need for better prepared young workers in this country, the project represented a shift in emphasis for the City Year model. The report examines the process of adapting the project mission to the context, and reflects on the challenge of balancing “fidelity to the (original) model” with the demands of a new economic and social context.