By TOVE I.S. GERHARDSEN
'Name seven of the 10 countries in southern Africa.'
A question like this may get the better of all of us, but not the students in BYU's Zimbabwe preparation class. One late Wednesday night, the 11 students in the class were divided into two teams and placed on either side of the table in the conference room of the Kennedy Center to answer questions for their final.
To make this final even more informal, the students were equipped with their own buzzers a la Jeopardy. However, the questions and the answers reflected that these students were prepared for something beyond the game.
Starting this spring, these BYU students will be doing service projects at Camelot School in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe, with whom the International Field Studies/Internships Program at BYU has developed a partnership, said Lora Anderson, adviser for the new Zimbabwe Program.
According to Anderson, 11 BYU students have been selected to go in groups of two to four until 1999. The students were selected based on background and preparation, but the most important criterions were the character-related characteristics including adaptability, creativity, independence, cultural sensitivity and the ability to represent the LDS Church.
'We want to focus on service, and we want to develop slowly and continuously each semester and evaluate what we have done,' Anderson said.
The relationship between BYU and Camelot was established when BYU student Thira Schmidl was recommended to do her student teaching at Camelot. She was recommended by the brother of the school's founder, who is a BYU student, according to information about the Zimbabwe Program.
During Winter Semester and Summer Term 1997, three BYU students, including adviser Anderson and facilitator Schmidl of the Zimbabwe Program, worked at Camelot School.
According to the Zimbabwe Program information, Camelot is a non-elitist, private school that offers an alternative to boarding schools for Zimbabwean children living in Kwe Kwe. Kwe Kwe is a medium-sized town of about 75,000 people, 125 miles south of the capital, Harare.
Camelot School was founded in 1993 by Neville and Jenny Newbold, an LDS couple who were both raised in Zimbabwe, when the oldest of their five children reached school age, Anderson said.
The school, which started as a small nursery in the couple's home, has now grown into Camelot Primary, Junior and High schools, and has more than 200 students and 20 teachers, according to information about the Zimbabwe program.
According to Random House-Webster's Dictionary, the name 'Camelot' is defined as 'any idyllic place or period, especially one of great happiness.'
'The vision is to create this setting in a natural bush environment,' Anderson said. The school motto is the Latin term ad altiora, meaning 'to higher learning.'
According to Zimbabwe Program information, the greatest objective of the school is to enhance learning through diverse methods in a way that will develop a well-rounded student who can cope in society. School directors emphasize extracurricular activities, especially music.
The BYU students who participate in the Zimbabwe Program will work as peer mentors, because there are a lot of broken families and social problems in the community. They will also work with enrichment classes such as music, sports, drama and life skills.
'The BYU students are developing curriculums which will develop life skills for the (Camelot) students,' Anderson said.
The student teams will also have a chance to use any special skills they may have. One semester, dance may be emphasized and another team may emphasize music the next semester. The BYU students will also work as directors and counselors for youth camps.
'There are three school terms which are pretty closely timed to the semesters at BYU. At Camelot, the students have one (month-long) holiday, and (we will arrange) special youth camps based on special students' and groups' needs,' Anderson said.
Anderson and two faculty members will be going back to Zimbabwe in August to determine 'whether or not to recruit for Fall 1999. These are pilot projects which might change,' she said.
Zimbabwe Program organizers are also working to raise funds for a resource center for the Camelot School, which does not have a library. They are also working with the local Rotary Club to build a health clinic.
In addition, students will be distributing clothes from LDS charities, and Deseret Industries interns will also work with an environment group on the camps. The interns will also be involved in leadership in the local LDS Church in the area, Anderson said.
Anderson worked at Camelot in February 1997 while she was doing research for BYU's International Development.
She also used her background in organizational behavior to help school officials to develop a formal structure that includes a board of directors, code of conduct and a mission and vision statement, she said. This could tell 'teachers how to assess the students with their academic and social needs.'
According to the Zimbabwe Program, the following funds are established to receive donors: education funds, volunteer scholarship fund, youth leadership fund and community fund. Anyone interested in supporting the cause may contact the Kennedy Center for International Studies at BYU.