By TAMARAH NEILL Staff Writer

As Niagara College continues to grow, so do its international branches.Pre-Health and Sciences Department faculty member Lora Miani is preparing content this term for Go Global, Live Local, a new six-week course beginning in May. 

Niagara’s new course, Go Global, Live Local, provides an opportunity to learn and work in South Africa. Photo by Tamarah Neill

Registration for the three-credit, general-elective course begins this month. Students will complete a two-week placement with a local or international organization, where they will participate in projects researching important global issues such as health care, education, culture, and social and community development. This spring, the international co-operative destination is East London, South Africa.

The class, which has a maximum enrolment of 20, will cost about $295, excluding possible travel costs for the 10 to 12 students she says she hopes to take with her to South Africa. There are no pre-requisites for the course. Part-time or full-time students from any program can register, but, Miani says, she expects the travel option to fill quickly, and those interested in doing an international co-operative are encouraged to register right away.

Last May, Miani travelled with a group of nine mostly Pre-Health students to the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, where they worked alongside the Department of Housing personnel researching the living conditions of individuals suffering from HIV-AIDS. Miani says Go Global, Live Local “encourages its participants to become an active part of a spirited team that strives to understand real-world problems and make a positive difference in their own lives and in those of others.”

Jos Nolle, director of Niagara’s International Department, is travelling to South Africa at the end of this month. He says he’ll be back with updates and a better idea of what Miani and the students can expect to be involved in during their two-week stay.

Nolle says he hopes some follow-up work from the 2009 trip can be arranged for the 2010 trip. “We have worked in the area for almost 12 years now, so we have a good network with our partner school as well as [with] a variety of local community organizations.”

Talk of the course already has first-year Dental Hygiene student Dusty Campell eager to sign up. Campell, 24, who graduated from Pre-Health Sciences in April of 2009, missed out on a couple of opportunities to travel to Africa, but says this year “he’s definitely onboard” and “refuses, regardless of the cost” to miss out again. Campell says he has always wanted to travel to a Third

World country for “a chance to help out as much as possible and bring happiness and hope to the children,” and calls this course a “wonderful and perfect opportunity” to do so. “This course will help open our eyes to the world.”