SEE Africa runs its first cultural program: The African Tour and Taste!

Tomorrow 21 students from 3 different high schools in Brooklyn will embark on a journey into Africa's past and present as they venture through a guided tour of Brooklyn Museum's African Innovations gallery. Students will have a chance to ponder the purpose and meaning behind numerous art pieces all while thinking about why it is important to understand and have awareness about art, food, and cultures from other parts of the world. 

Major historical artworks to be examined along the way include: Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), Banda Mask, Pwoom Itok Mask, and the Likishi Masquerage costume. Students will have an opportunity to appreciate African artists' design, inspiration, and mediums of choice while contemplating these 4 historical pieces. As for more modern art, students will be discussing the effects of modernity and cross-global relations as they examine Skipping Girl, and Elvis' Mask for Nyau Society. SEE Africa hopes that students leave the museum with a heightened sense of appreciation for cultures other than their own and a thirst to learn more about African art and culture. 

A one mile trek to the Nigerian restaurant Buka will follow the tour at Brooklyn Museum. At Buka, students will have an opportunity to try 8 different west African dishes including: Suya, Moi Moi, Jollof rice, Dodo, Dundun, Akara, and fufu with 2 different types of stew. For most students attending this event it will be their first time eating west African food.

SEE Africa would like to thank all those who supported this program (our first African Tour and Taste) by donating to the Spartans for SEE Africa page. If you would still like to contribute and make this amazing cross cultural experience accessible to another Brooklyn youth, please don't hesitate to visit this page.

Support Spartans for SEE Africa at the Tuxedo Park Spartan Race!

SEE Africa's founder, Jessica McClish has been running the Tuxedo Park Spartan Race in upstate New York since SEE Africa was conceived in 2011. This year she attacks the obstacles with a full team of Spartans for SEE Africa including, Gretchen Gunn, Johnny Evans, and Nestor Varela.

All donations towards this race will go directly to SEE Africa and will support cross cultural exchange and leadership development for Brooklyn Youth. Change a child's life one travel experience at a time!

Because there are 20 obstacles that we will be tackling as a team, we ask that (if you have it in your heart and your means) to give $1 per obstacle for a total of $20.

We also have a rewards for those of you who like to go above and beyond! 

The first 10 people to donate $30 or more will receive a free t-shirt that says "Spartans for SEE Africa" and contains our logo. 

Any donation less than this will receive a postcard of our team with our CHAMPION metals post race! Thanks for your support! 

And as the spartan's say, "AROO, AROO, AROO!"

SEE Africa is a 501 (c) (3) Tax Exempt organization!

It became official on December 12, 2013. SEE Africa received its tax exemption letter from the IRS. So what does that mean for YOU, our supporters? Officially all donations of money, goods, or services to SEE Africa can be claimed as tax deductible. Now you can feel even better about the positive change your making when you  contribute to the mission of providing low-income youth with access to cross cultural experiences! If you would like to donate now to SEE Africa, please visit our crowdfunding page. You could also get a cool t-shirt with a donation of $30 or more!

Minister of Education describes education challenges in Ghana

Learn about what Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Ghana's new Minister of Education, thinks needs to happen to improve education in her country.


Interview here

Do you remember the first time you traveled abroad?

You wanted to make sure your clothes were right for the weather. You wanted to make sure you didn’t forget a thing. You laid out everything the night before you left on your bed and packed it and unpacked 3 times just to make sure you didn’t forget your tooth brush, batteries, and favorite book.

You had knots in your stomach all the way to the airport. You wondered, “What color will the dirt be? What new plants will I see? What will it smell like?” Of course, when you arrived you found a world so different from anything you’d ever known, yet the people…

You bonded with the people as if they were old friends back home. Their language was unfamiliar, as was their food, their streets, their faces. But despite all those differences, it turned out you had much in common.

For me, travel is never just a vacation—every trip is a chance to see just how diverse the world is. When I first went to Ghana in 2006, I felt all the anxiety described above. But every day I saw something new, until some new things began to seem normal. Gradually, I learned to see the world through the eyes of the people around me.

Now, I am trying to pass this gift on to a small group of students. Shortly after returning from Ghana seven years ago, I moved to New York to teach biology to children from under-served parts of Brooklyn. It’s been a thrill getting to know my students these last few years, but I would like to take their education to the next level. With your help, I’m hoping to take a group of Brooklyn’s most inquisitive children back to Ghana—to expose them to the landmarks and delicacies of a new place, of course, but also to help them see that they are not just American citizens, but global citizens.

The only thing standing between these students and Ghana is a little bit of fundraising—which is where you come in. These children uniformly come from low-income households; their families are working to pay their share, but I hope you might consider helping us at SEE Africa to ease their burden by making a modest contribution. Any amount would be sincerely appreciated. I appreciate your help in whatever form it comes, whether it’s a financial contribution or moral support.

No matter how you contribute, you’ll be helping these children turn this “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity into the first of many.