Final Reflection

A week and a half ago I returned from the WWW trip to South Africa, and sitting in my bedroom I just began to cry. I’d never in my life had an experience as life changing as this one, and I am undoubtedly changed forever. Going into this experience, I knew I would feel the typical emotions associated with community service: accomplishment, gratefulness, sympathy. Yet, I never expected to feel the other emotions this trip inevitably caused. In South Africa, not only did we experience African culture and the sense of hope and community that is linked with that, but we also were taught to love unconditionally no matter the circumstances. I believe we saw how humanity truly should be. The orphanage probably believes they were the lucky ones, but we were the ones lucky enough to get a glimpse into life and the way love should be integrated within a community. I came back to Bangkok with a new outlook on life and everything around me. Nothing looks the same anymore, and I truly was humbled by my experiences in Africa. My new understanding goes deeper than that of African culture; it goes all the way into the roots of humanity, showing me that the only way to a higher understanding of those around you is to put yourself out into the unknown with an open mind, and an open heart.

Goodbyes.

We left the school and made our way down the path to the orphanage. When I walked through the barbed wire gates into the Siyakhula Centre today, I felt like I was home. I couldn't wait to run and find my little girl. Today was it- the day for goodbyes. I'm really going to miss all the children. The children's smiles have so much heart and joy and it's amazing to see how they've changed over the past 4 days. The first day we were here they'd barely smile when you'd tickle them, but now they're smiling all the time, just because. Like I said in the beginning, all these children really need is love; we gave it to them. It breaks my heart that we're about to leave. It's as if we teased them with the idea of being loved, and now we're ripping it out of their hands before they have a chance to truly grasp onto it. Each and every one of them are so full of life, they just need a chance to be able to live. They've gone through so much already and I just want to figure out a way to make their lives easier. Watching them just sitting in the sand smiling and playing is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. To see these children so happy leaves me with such an indescribable feeling. I know I'll be back here some day soon. I need to do more to help these children.

Off to School we go...

Today we went to the primary school. I knew there were over a thousand kids at the school, but I don't think I comprehended at the time how extremely overwhelming it would be. We were split up into 2 groups and each group went in a different second grade classroom. The classroom I was in had 65 students. First, we drew a map on the chalk board and introduced ourselves and told the students where we were from. So many of the children were in awe at how far we'd traveled to come to South Africa. The students wanted to sing the South African National Anthem for us, and it was truly beautiful. To see all these children sitting in a classrooom smiling and singing a song about how much they love their country was incredible. The joy these children bring me is unparalleled. Our group decided to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and the Barney Song. Needless to say, the South African kids sounded much better than we did. We then taught them how to make an oragami frog. The frog is really fun because when you tap it, it hops; it's like a homemade toy. The children really loved making the frogs. I think it was truly something different for them, and they found it interesting how it was a Japanese tradition. Then, there was recess...
Recess was insane. We brought balloons because we thought it would be fun to blowthem up and toss them around with the kids. Bad idea. Most of these children had never seen a balloon before, so when we started blowing them up, the kids went crazy. It was cute at first, but when all the classes were let out and there were over 500 kids in the courtyard, it just got downright scary. It was a mob scene. We stopped blowing up the balloons, and instead started talking to the students. It was so funny how they were so fascinated with the Asian kids from ISB. White people are different for them because of the Afrikaaners, but Asians seem really foreign. They loved touching everyone's hair and one student from ISB would be surrounded by 30 kids. It was an amazing cultural experience.

After recess we made friendship bracelets with the students. I think it was a really good way for us to all feel connected. Most of the girls were master braiders, but the boys had some difficulties. Everyone's turned out really great though, and I hope the children keep them for a long time. I'm wearing mine now, and it really means a lot to me.

After making bracelets, we decided it was time to pass out the stuffed animals and writing utensils that we had collected from our drive at school.The children lined up outside the classroom in a single file line. Valentine and I sat down, and each student ever so patiently walked up to us and collected their gift.The way their faces glowed when they saw what we were giving them was beautiful. After all the kids took their sits, they all said thank you. Standing in front of them, I couldn't help but cry. There's so much I want to do for these children I don't even know where to begin. I know we're making a different already, but more needs to be done.

The Last Day

Today will be our last day helping at the orphanage. Today the boys' bedroom and the shop will be finished, and the logo on the front wall will finally be finished! It's a bittersweet day; I don't think any of us are ready to leave the orphanage. Ellen and I patiently stenciled the lettering on the wall and then painted over it with white paint. We thought it looked amazing, but the wall just seemed too plain. We then brainstormed and decided to fill the wall with handprints. As soon as we started to handprint the wall the local primary school was released for lunch. Kids gathered around the gate and watched us handprint the wall. They shouted hello and we took a break and talked with them for a bit.
When we returned to putting our handprints on the walls, Elizabeth, the owner of the orphanage, opened the flood gates and all the children game rushing in. They all ran up to Ellen, Paige and I and asked us to paint there hands. The next thing I knew all of them were putting their handprints on the wall.I started to tear up just because it was so incredible. They all wanted to help make the orphanage a better place and they all wanted to be able to be part of something amazing. Even the really little children tried to put their handprints on the wall. The wall now is truly something special; it's something so many people contributed to and put their own heart into. It's beautiful.

"Help Us"

In the office at the orphanage, there were multiple drafts of a letter Elizabeth was writing. While organizing papers, one of the students took a draft. Here is what the letter said:

My name is Elizabeth Mariya,
I am a project director at Siyakhula and Hospice Centre. I need your help.
I have two hundred and twenty five orphans and ninety five HIV patients. My wish is for you to help me with a building of a hospice where all my patients suffering from AIDS can get a place to get supervised medication from. We don't have any food plus there is no transport. My wish is for you to put a good word with government officials and COME HELP US.


I wish there was more we could do...

This Evening's Events

After leaving the orphanage, we decided to make a quick stop at a local grocery store. We walked in and all the lights were off and the door was caged shut; if Peter hadn't have been there, we would've assumed it was closed. Peter asked the man if we could come in and the shop owner immediately said no. After some discussion, Peter convinced the man to let us in so we could buy food. Peter explained the shop owner was most likely skeptical because white people would never normally come into the shop, and if some did it was most likely just to look. All 22 of us bought soda, chips, cookies,
popcorn- everything looked good to us because we were starving. Everything seemed so cheap to us. Looking at the man just made me smile; he was so incredibly happy.
In the past five minutes he probably made more money than he makes in most weeks. Before we left, he asked us to return before we left South Africa.


As soon as we got back to our hotel, we left for our daily game drive. Today's was especially incredible. I've said before South Africa is the most beautiful place I have ever been, and today only reassured that statement. One of the park rangers, Phillip, took us to his favorite hiking spot. We got out of the jeeps and walked up to the top of one of the hills. The view was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen. The sun was about to set, and the light was bouncing of all the lakes. The sky was perfectly blue and everything was so green and beautiful. I could've stayed up there for hours.

"Why are you Making it Look so Happy?"

Today was our second day at the orphanage, and it was absolutely packed. We painted the logo on the wall, finished cleaning the ampitheater and also played with the children. We decided to make the logo a large red heart with the name of the orphanage, Siyakhula Centre, written in white on the inside. In order to do this, we had to stop at the hardware store to buy red paint. Leaving our driver in the van, we proceeded to go into the hardware store. After picking out a liter of red paint, we walked up to the chaiser. She rang up our items and told us the final price. Peter then starts to bargain with the lady at the register! The woman laughs and finally agrees to a price. Imagine trying to bargain with a cashier at Home Depot; that definitely would not turn out okay... It's just one more thing I've learned about Africa culture. We then walked back to our van, and as we approached a group of 4 or 5 teenage girls were standing in their school uniform talking to our driver. We then realized, one of the girls just gave the driver her phone number. Our driver is well into his twenties, and it was so shocking to see this play out. This is another aspect of African culture that is hard for me to understand. That situation also seems similar to what Peter told us about the spreading of HIV/AIDS. We witnessed first hand an example of African culture that can be blamed for stopping awareness efforts from helping to prevent HIV/AIDS.


Once we arrived at the orphanage, we began painting right away. We painted two more coats of blue paint on the front wall, and then decided it was time to start sketching the red heart. We searched around the orphanage for a pencil, but couldn't find one, so Peter and Paige walked over to the school to ask to borrow a pencil. Paige came back about 30 minutes later with a pencil in hand. She said it was
shocking how difficult it was just to find one pencil. It feels good to know that in two days we'll be giving this school hundreds of pencils; they're truly needed.

While we waited for the blue paint to dry, we helped finish cleaning the ampitheater. With 2 brooms made out of sticks, and 2 shovels, we finally finished! As soon as enough sand was cleared so we could see the concrete we started working faster and faster until it was finally finished! Looking down on it, we all just felt so accomplished. The children now I have a place to perform songs or dances for each other or even people in the community. It looks amazing.

As we started painting the heart, an African woman stopped and just looked at us. Then she asked, "Why are you making it look so happy?" We just smiled. It made me truly step back and think about what we were doing for the school. I looked around and the place really did look brighter and happier; it looked like a better place for the children to live.












There reaches a time every day where the little kids get sleepy and decide to take a nap. Today, one of them fell asleep in my arms and she was absolutely the sweetest thing ever. I've really attached to her, and she's so beautiful; her smile is incredibly contagious. Leaving her will be hard...

"What Happens in the Bush... Stays in the Bush"

Tonight's game drive was fascinating. After almost hitting a Rhino, our ranger noticed something odd in the bushes. He hopped out, surveyed the land and got back inside the jeep. He then explained he had just spotted a poacher camp. The poacher's cut the elctric fencing that surrounds the game reserve and set up camps throughout. The ranger said the bush is so thick, so it's often very hard to find them, but lately poaching has become a huge problem in the area. Over 60% of the people in the surrounding area are unemployed and poaching is a way to gain relatively quick cash. Eight months ago the Japanese Prime Minister made a public statement claiming Rhino horn cured him of cancer. Since then, there has been 70 Rhino poachings and the numbers are continuing to climb. Techincally it's illegal to shoot a poacher, but the ranger said it often happens on "accident". He then explained Kruger National Park has a very strict "shoot and kill" policy. If an unregistered car is seen driving around after sundown, the guards shoot first and ask questions later. Needless to say, I learned a lot today.

Once in a Lifetime

Wow. I don't even know what else to say... just... wow. Today was incredible. Walking up to the orphanage and seeing their living conditions just hurt my heart; there's no other way to explain how I felt. The vans pulled up and we all filed out. Feeling lost inside a barbed wire fence, we all just stood and stared. Kids at the school across the street started screaming, "Hello! I love you!" and waving. It just broke my heart to see how happy our mere presence made them. Just... wow. That's when I believed I'd be able to make a difference. They made me believe. The owner of the orphanage, Elizabeth, greeted us with broken English. The language the people in rural Nelspruit speak is a mix between Afrikaans, Zulu and English. As she was speaking, I noticed 3 small children quietly sitting on a straw mat. All I wanted to do was run up and hug them. After her warm welcome, Peter split us into work groups and we began painting. I was in a group with two other girls and we were assigned to design a new logo for the orphanage and re-paint the front wall with the new logo. I took this task very close to heart; this is the wall the whole community will see and it is the one soul image that will represent the orphanage. After painting 3 coats of light blue on the wall, I began to help another group clean the old ampitheater. The orphanage sits on the grounds of an old community park, but not knowing what to do with the ampitheater it had mainly turned into the orphanage's dumping group. Feet of dust and trash lay on every step. 3 students and I slowly began working our way from the top. At 12:30 we were half way done. The vans were supposed to arrive at 1, so we decided to go spend some time with the children. The van finally showed up 2 hours late. Hungry and exhausted we were all ready to get back to our hotel. Pulling out of the orphanage we hit a massive pile of rocks.
Everyone proceeded to get out of the van and after multiple atempts to push the van over the rocks, our drive was about to give up. Then, a grou pof local boys walked up and surveyed the van. They attempted to lift the van over the rocks. Then 2 other cars stopped and men got out to help. Their sense of community was absolutely beautiful. Seeing everyone come together and help really moved me. Something like that would never be seen in America or ever Thailand. I had noticed their sense of community earlier in the day as well, though. People in the community were constantly stopping, waving and saying, "hello". With 11 men lifting the van, it was finally cleared from the pile of rocks.

Here We Go...

Today's our first day at the orphanage, and that's really all I've been able to think about since we landed in Johannesburg. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm ready to work hard to give these children the best home we can. I just want to play with them and love them; that's really all they need.

The Ride Home

Although the game drive in Kruger was amazing, the part of the day that stands out the most is the ride back to our hotel. We drove through rural South African towns that sit in the depths of the valleys. On the 45 minute drive home, I counted 22 funeral parlors. That really hit me hard. 22. So many people were walking alongside the road as well, many of whom were children- not teenagers, but children. They were just walking alone, staring straight ahead. I had an urge to ask them their story and find where they were coming from and where they were headed. This car ride opened my eyes to the poverty and horrors that lie within the depths of the beautiful scenery that engulfs South Africa.

Kruger National Park

Today we had a 12 hour game drive in Kruger National Park. With a 4am start to the day, it's safe to say everyone slept during the 45 minute drive to Kruger. We pulled into the park just as the sun was rising over Crocodile River. With a herd of buffalo asleep by the river and 3 crocodile already sunning on a rock, it was the perfect start to our first day in the African bush. The day was nothing less than incredible. From bats and monkeys joining us at lunch, to tracking a cheetah, Kruger was truly beautiful. There's 40,000 kilometers of road in the park; if every road is traveled, only 6% of the park will be seen. It's an incredible habitat that has been preserved for these animals.

The HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Wow. I just had one of the most eye opening conversations of my life. Our guide, Peter, just discussed and explained the HIV/AIDS epidemic to us in a way I've never heard before. I've always had an interest in the epidemic and I have done multiple research projects on the virus and the syndrome, yet I never understood why education and awareness efforts never succeeded in reducing the number infected. Peter helped explain this to the group, and I realized the real issue lies in the culture of Africa. Morals and values that exist in the western world have little to no value in Africa. Sex here is seen as a favore for some people. Men will often offer rides home to young girls, and in exchange he girl feels she owes him sex. Many of these girls get pregnant and their children, if not them as well, become a victim to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Some villages have as many as 30,000 deathes due to HIV/AIDS every month. That statistic is shocking. Even though new cultural values won't be established for many generations, every little thing helps lead Africa in the right direction. Peter also informed us about the orphanage and school we'll be working at. The orphanage is for children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS; 18 children sleep there, but over 200 are fed every day. Around 95 of these 200 are infected. The primary school. which we will be going to on our last day, has 1,170 students and each classroom holds up to 85 kids. It is estimated over half of these students have HIV/AIDS. I'm glad I have the opportunity to not only change the lives of the children, but contribute to HIV/AIDS efforts as well.



This is Beyonce. She is living with HIV/AIDS and is one of the 18 children who sleep at the orphanage.

First Impressions

We just arrived at our hotel after a six hour drive. We got lost. Multiple times. Our van also ran out of gas right as we reached the gate to our hotel, so two pick-up trucks came to take us to our cabins. What a fun way to start out trip- riding through a reserve in the back of a pick-up. I absolutely loved it. As we pulled up to our cabins two water buffalo were drinking water out of the pool. Our hotel is on a private game reserve that covers 5,000 acres. They have hundreds of animals on the reserve and it's so exciting to be immersed in their habitat. After we put our luggage our room, we went to check out the dining area. The staff was lined up and began to sing and dance for us. It was so humbling to see them welcome us this way.

The Arrival

We've landed in Johannesburg! Not only is this my first time on the continent of Africa, but it is also my first time in the Southern Hemisphere. It's approaching winter in South Africa, so at 6am, it was a chilly 55 degrees. For those of us from Thailand, it might as well be snowing. After leaving the airport we made out way to Nelspruit, a town 4 hours north of Johannesburg. With 20 kids, 3 adults, and too much luggage, it was the most crowded van ride of my life. After 2 hours of napping, we all woke up and realized how beautiful South Africa truly is. Green mountains, hills, valleys and plains were visible as far as the eye could see. We had the windows down, and the breeze was incredible. The air is so clean here, and it's just so easy to breathe. I loved looking out the window at the crowded towns that were created in the depths of the valleys and the sides of the hills. All the houses, although small, were so colorful and it created such a pleasant view. I can honestly say South Africa is the most naturally beautiful country I've ever seen. I can't believe I'm here.

The Last Meeting

COUNTDOWN TO SOUTH AFRICA: 3 DAYS. I'm so excited for this trip and so ready to go! Today we sorted through all the donations the elementary school brought in. We recieved lots of tshirts as well as pens, shoes and markers. A few kids on our trip also brought in reference books for us to bring to the orphanage. I donated 30 t-shirts from my ISB Dance for Peace Program, and Teresa brought in a few t-shirts from Model Uunited Nations as well. I bought my hiking backpack this weekend- all part of the experience! I can't wait to visit this country because I know it's truly one of a kind, filled with culture and life and I definitely will see things in South Africa I've never seen before in my life. It's going to be an amazing trip.

T-Shirt Drive

Today my friend Teresa and I went down to the elementary school and set up cardboard boxes for the South Africa T-Shirt Drive. Hopefully lots of the little kids will participate and bring in their spare clothes. After our trip Teresa and I will be going down to the second grade classrooms and giving presentations on our trip and our experiences in Africa. We'll come back in a couple weeks and check on the boxes.

Activity Sign-Up

Today we officially signed up for our various activities in Africa. I have chosen to teach dance and help build an outside porch for the school. I'm especially excited to teach dance to the kids, because with every group of kids I teach I learn something different and experience new things. It will be incredible to watch them grow over the course of the week; I really believe dance can help in so many aspects of peoples' lives. It will be amazing to open the kids eyes to how art can help issues in their community. I know dance is already a big part of the culture in South Africa, so I'm sure I'll learn a few dance moves too :) My three best friends are also doing the dance program with me, and we started brainstorming playlists today. I really can't wait to get there and dance with these kids.

The First Meeting

Our first WWW meeting was today. Three of my best friends are on the trip with me, two of twhich are on the cheer team as well, so that's really exciting. The trip is mostly filled with juniors, but that's part of the fun of WWW. You always get to make new friends and have inside jokes with people you've never even talked to before. We learned that we're going to be helping out at an orphanage. The orphanage has over 300 kids, so there will be a lot to do. Ms. Watts one of our supervisors, said the orphanage really needs school supplies as well as necessities like blankets and clothes. I suggested we have a bake sale or something to raise moeny to buy all the kids tshirts, but we settled on the idea of a clothes drive instead. We'll be starting the clothes drive sometimes in January. We also started brainstorming activities we could do with the children. One of our supervisors is also the head of community service, and I had previously discussed with her my work in Klong Toey. She though it seemed like a great idea for me to take that philanthropy and initiative and apply to to our South Africa trip. So, if everything goes as planned I will be teaching hip hop to the children in South Africa! It's such a great opportunity to help them learn and grow as people, and I know dancing will give them hope for a better future. During the next meeting we'll sign up for our activities.

South Africa!

I just registered for the South Africa: Service and Safari Week Without Walls Trip! I'm so excited to finally have the chance to go to Africa and do community service work. The country is beautiful and it will be so interesting to learn about their culture and the people. This WWW trip will be so different from my WWW trips to Prague and Russia. Both of those trips were filled with snow and sight-seeing; this trip will be filled with heat and adventure. We will be staying in Kruger National Park, which is one of the largest and oldest game reserves in Africa. I've been looking at pictures online and it looks truly beautiful. I"m not sure yet what community service work we will be doing, but I think it's along the lines of teaching English or helping to build a school. I know we will be working with children. Our first meeting is in a couple weeks and I can't wait to see who's on my trip and find out more details about what we will be doing.