Our history

KwaZulu-Natal Experimental College is a part of the International DRH Movement. DRH is a Scandinavian abbreviation that stands for "Den reisende H¢gskole" which translates into "the Traveling Folk High School"
The first school of this kind was started in 1970 in Denmark, with the aim of providing a different type of education. It was created by a group of teachers who were not satisfied with the ordinary education system, claiming that students did not learn enough from sitting in a classroom, just listening to a teacher. They created a school where the whole world became a classroom! Together with their students they travelled overland from Denmark to India. They travelled in their own old bus, they hitchhiked, they stayed over with families and lived the way people did in the country they were in.
They did investigations about how everything functioned for people in these countries by visiting and interviewing peasants, ministers, working people, land owner, small and large businesses, politicians, teachers, nurses etc.
The people they met on their way became their greatest inspiration and learning source.
Over the years many more travels like this took place, not only to India, but also to other parts of Asia, Africa and Latin and South America. The students and teachers learned at first hand what the world was all about!
More and more schools like this were started up in Denmark and also in Norway. One of the main principles of these schools was to be open and available to everyone. Thus the name "folk" high school, which represents that it is a school for ordinary people, by ordinary people, regardless of background, race, qualifications, gender etc.

But travelling in those parts of the world did give birth to more than just inspiration. What those travellers saw was people living in poverty, without proper food, clothing, education, health care, clean water and many other basic things. They met people with the same aspirations and dreams, but with less opportunities to turn them into reality.
It was then that some of the teachers of all those schools decided to start up a development aid organisation. They decided to start their work in southern Africa, to support those people suffering from the system of apartheid and the aftermath of colonialism.
They were invited by the Zimbabwean government to build a school for refugees returning to an independent Zimbabwe. After that more invitations followed from other governments in southern Africa and more and more projects were set up.
Through trial and learning the organisation created a system for generating funds in Europe and since then, many projects have been established in Zimbabwe, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi and South Africa.
The focus of all the projects is to work together with people and educate them so they themselves can take charge of their lives. The projects deal with development in the fields of education, health (including the AIDS issue), environment, construction and economy.
Today new projects are also being started in India, China and Central America.

All projects are linked together under the official name of "The Federation for National Associations connected to the International Humana People to People Movement". (Or Humana People to People in short).
In each country this Federation is represented by a local organisation. In South Africa Humana People to People is represented by DAPP (Development Aid from People to People).

At the same time as Humana People to People was spreading its wings, the DRH schools started educating volunteers to be send out to these projects to help creating development. These volunteers were previously known as Solidarity Workers, today they are called Development Instructors. Around 800 are being educated on a yearly basis to spend 6 months at one of Humana People to People’s projects.

KwaZulu-Natal Experimental College is the 11th school to open its doors within the DRH Movement; there are already 5 schools in Denmark, 1 in Norway, 1 in the UK and 3 in the USA. Soon there will also be 1 in India, 1 in China and yet another one in Denmark.
The schools in the Movement meet on a regular basis, either in person or via the net, to discuss new developments, share experiences and use the benefits of being in a Movement together.

The history of the DRH Movement and Humana People to People is reflected in the way the schools are run today. Although not all schools are offering the programme of a bus travel to India anymore, some of the same principles of education apply.
The schools are open and available for everyone, the participants are in the centre of their own education and development and learn by doing, in and outside the classroom!
The main attention is on cooperation in an international context and to show examples of solidarity and humanism.