Students Make Global Impact at Round Square Service Project in South Africa

September 24, 2025

By Elsie ’26

Gurnoop ’28, Max ’27, and I represented Cate at the 2025 Round Square International Service Project. Alongside a team of around 45 other students, they spent 2 weeks living at the Tiger Kloof school in Vryburg, South Africa. We stayed in the prestigious boarding school’s dorm rooms and engaged with local students and faculty. One cultural aspect of the trip included dance and music classes with residents of the area, and we were amazed by their marimba skills. The students and faculty were divided into five groups called Barazas, where we would discuss, reflect on our day, and participate in construction tasks together.

Aside from getting to know the other students, we spent most of our days at the work site of the desired Créche. Every day, a member of each Baraza group would be the leader, meeting with the project workers in the mornings and giving instructions to their respective group. I found this particularly complicated as my construction skills are not the best. With that in mind, every student leader did an outstanding job translating complex tasks into fun accomplishments. Our days would look like collecting rocks from the river, digging soil, mixing cement, cleaning trash, raking, designing, and buying snacks from the nearby corner store.

I signed up for the 2025 Round Square International Service Project because I wanted to go somewhere I had never been and make a lasting impact with the help of students worldwide. I knew multiple countries would be represented on this trip; however, I was surprised when I was met with people from over 17 countries. Making friends and hearing each person’s unique perspectives on global and social issues made me realize how much diversity is in our world, and most importantly, how important it is to build bridges that connect people who live so far apart.

The town we visited was called Vryburg, and it is located in the North West Province. Driving through and working in this community-oriented locality each day opened my eyes to a few things. We live in a world that is more advanced than many places, and the infinite resources we have access to allow us to build and innovate extremely fast, which we often take for granted. The people of Vryburg are extremely friendly and wear constant smiles on their faces, acting as if they are all close family, something I wish we would do. Our generation can make an incredible impact on our world if we are dedicated to being leaders and, more importantly, collaborators. I am sure of this because we attended a celebratory ceremony on the last day and witnessed multiple individuals share their appreciation for our work. I am so grateful to be a part of this fantastic team, and I encourage every Cate student to do the same!

By Max ’27

One of the most gratifying feelings is discovering something you genuinely enjoy that you had never considered. It feels like gaining a new power that you never had access to. For me, this feeling stemmed from traveling across the world to do service for the benefit of others. Discovering that I enjoyed making an impact in a community left me excited for each day of work, as the opportunity was something I had never experienced before. Compounding this, discovering new perspectives is an inherently fascinating component of meeting people worldwide. Lo and behold, the Round Square International Service Project was a prime enabler for me to delve deeper into the motivations behind the ideas of others. On the trip, I learned that new perspectives are not just something to be explored, but something to be treasured. The impact of experiencing the diversity on the journey and absorbing the locals’ traditions was nearly more potent than the feeling of making a profound difference in a community. Combining these two feelings made the experience one of the most memorable of my life. As a result, I wholeheartedly recommend participating in a Round Square trip to any Cate student.

By Gurnoop ’28

This was not just about buying a plane ticket and going to South Africa for a summer “vacation.” It wasn’t just about the pictures and the fun of saying you went to South Africa.  It was a mission, rooted in service, humanity, and connection. I was given an incredible opportunity to work alongside many other people from around the world in a village, helping build a school. Not just another school, but the only school in the village where young children will go and become future leaders and presidents. Every day as we drove into the village, the locals were at first unsure of who we were. But once they saw our purpose, their confusion turned into joy. Their kids, cousins, and nephews will now have a place of education. That brought joy to me to see that other people are getting excited over the work that we are doing. I remember a local filling up water from the work site on a donkey-driven cart. A friend of mine asked him, “What will you be doing with this water?” He replied, “I will be taking it back home to my mom so she can cook”. I was in shock. It is so easy for us to just run to the store and get fresh water, yet for some, they have to search for it. That is one conversation I will never forget. No matter how many times I say it, it will never fully capture how deeply this experience changed my view of the world. I came back home, inspired to keep serving and building, not just structures, but bridges between people from all across the world. If I ever get the chance to do it again, I will be there in a heartbeat.