by Barbara Wiedemann
Early in the 2024 spring semester, alumna Ebon Freeman-James, ’02 (MSW), and her family joined fellow Board of Advisors member Alice Washington and a number of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work faculty and staff on the first leg of a journey to South Africa and Zambia.
We spoke with Freeman-James (at left in banner above) about a day trip to Afrika Tikkun and the Basic Package of Support (BPS) organizations in the township of Orange Farm — south of Johannesburg and Soweto — to visit with community partners of the School’s Global Social Development Innovations (GSDI). Both Afrika Tikkun and the BPS program were developed in part as a result of “Siyakha Youth Assets,” a nationwide cluster randomized research project which was a partnership between the School of Social Work’s GSDI and the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA).
Q: You’re a 2002 MSW graduate who has remained a very active partner with the School. What do we need to know about you as a professional and about your leadership roles at the School and with other organizations?
A: I am the Director of the Deployed Program and Community Engagement at Our Military Kids which focuses on wellbeing for children of service members in the National Guard and Reserves. Having an MSW has prepared me for success in both the macro and direct practice areas of social work. As a clinical social worker, I’ve found rewarding positions in hospice social work, ministry and various paid and volunteer community-based leadership positions throughout my career.
At the School of Social Work, I was a long-time president of the Alumni Association and since that time, have served on the Board of Advisors. As president, I also served on Carolina’s General Alumni Association board as part of my responsibilities.
Q: When Associate Deans Kandace Farrar and Gina Chowa approached you about this trip last fall, what was your response?
A: An immediate “yes!” I had participated in a 2008 School of Social Work trip to Kenya, and I also spent time there taking a faith-based graduate course on providing community services there. The School does a great job connecting with global partners. I knew the trip would be meaningful for us and for the people who we were going to see. I am always eager to learn about how to partner with people, meet them where they are, and learn from them.
It proved to be a life-changing experience for my whole family, including my then-13-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son and my husband, who serves in the United States Air Force and was able to take some time to travel with us.
One thing I really appreciate about the School is that we do terrific research and analysis, but we also open these types of experiences and have an inclusive view of who can participate and contribute, which is so welcoming.
Q: What stands out for you as you look back on the February 28 visit with University of Johannesburg’s Professor Lauren Graham, the director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa? Let’s start at Africa Tikkun and talk about their “cradle-to-career” or one could say “cradle-to-grave” work in Orange Farm.
That visit was so impactful. Oftentimes with programs, they drill down on one thing they do very, very well. I appreciate the fact they have an ambitious cradle-to-career framework. They are not just helping young people and hoping once they get out, they’ll do okay in school.
That comprehensiveness stood out as meaningful. It really considers the whole person. The spiritual piece, physical fitness piece, the education piece, the time management piece. So did the efforts to build confidence by teaching youth to be successful in conversations, on job interviews, in choosing what to wear and say and present in the interview.
One thing I really appreciate about the School is that we do terrific research and analysis, but we also open these types of experiences and have an inclusive view of who can participate and contribute, which is so welcoming.
-Ebon Freeman-James, ’02 (MSW)
Q: Tell us about your experience at Basic Package of Support (BPS) in Orange Farm.
They are teaching people skills they can use immediately. In other words, it is not a four-year-long training program before participants can support themselves and their families. Along with learning a craft or trade, there are practical skills and participants are taught to do things with excellence. I was also inspired by the constant thinking about ways to expand. They are doing a good job but continue to look for evidence-based options for doing things even better.
I also appreciated the conversation we had about how the people who teach and learn there represent that program in their community. I was motivated by the message that “You are representing your program, throughout your life and choices. Model this throughout the community.” It’s a very different concept than what we often see through the lens of a traditional Western worldview.
Q: You and your family had some time to explore the South African cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg in your spare time on this trip. What might a family with young children be interested in exploring in Cape Town or Johannesburg?
It’s a beautiful place. We had the chance to see mountains and beaches. It was an amazing opportunity to explore natural beauty, animals, scenery, and natural wonders of the world in one place. And we found it very accessible, family-friendly, and affordable. The food was excellent, even for a child with food allergies! This trip was a good mix of learning but also getting to know the culture of the place we were in.
That was highlighted by the brai [the South African equivalent to an American barbeque] held by a Carolina alum who is a native of South Africa. He hosted us for a traditional evening of delicious food. We had time to meet with friends and neighbors, and we had interesting conversations about people’s perception of the United States and how things are going here versus there.
What I found most striking was the impact of apartheid on the community there. We walked down streets where the community had been completely leveled because Black people lived there; shacks where people were “othered” — it was a very impactful, life-changing trip.
Pictured: UNC SSW Board of Advisors member Ebon Freeman-James ’02 (MSW) with (at right) Nellie Zembee, Monitoring and Evaluation Lead at Afrika Tikkun and Ph.D. student at CSDA. (Photos courtesy Barbara Wiedemann)
