ABSTRACT
To further study the relationships developed through international service learning (ISL), I lived in a home for street children in eastern Africa for one month in 2013, where several U.S. university international service learning groups are hosted each summer. Responding to the call for service learning research to move beyond the frequency of a phenomenon to address social issues that are pertinent to both the students and communities (Arends, 2013, 2014; Erasmus, 2011; Kahn, 2011; Kiely & Hartman, 2010), I designed a qualitative study based on dialogue with participants to better understand service learning relationships (Forester, 1999; Glesne, 2011). The organization that operates the home provides shelter, food, education, and business development for children and youth orphaned by AIDS, displaced parents, or economic circumstances. During my stay, 78 ISL faculty, undergraduate, graduate students spent three to five weeks at the organization working on various projects and interacting with the residents. Partners of the organization also facilitate projects in the wider community by providing students and faculty with transportation and assistance in connecting with members of the general public to conduct research.
