So for all who don't know, I signed on to be a mentor in the Journey for Change program directed by Malaak Compton-Rock, Chris Rock's wife and amazing worker for the global community. Malaak's enlightenment for our trip and this Journey for Change program is 1. travel 2. service 3. advocacy. The program involves 30 kids from HIV/AIDS high-risk areas in Brooklyn, and 15 college mentors from NYC universities like NYU, Pratt, and CCNY. The kids range from 11 to 15 years old.
My two mentees that are specifically assigned to me for a one-year structured mentorship program are Marie (13) and Jasmine (15). Both are terrific and have so much potential for a great journey in South Africa in the coming weeks. Jasmine has two little sisters, one little brother and is in the 10th grade. Marie has two big brothers, two big sisters, one little sister, and is in 9th grade. Both mentees have a love for Math, dislike for science, and are from the Bushwick core of the Salvation Army.
This is us leaving Bushwick!
We arrived in Johannesburg to an exhausting day. All 30 kids were pretty tired after a long and noisy flight without sleep. We were welcomed by Salvation Army representatives that are stationed in South Africa, Elizabeth Berry-Gips, the US Ambassador's wife, and Robert Donaldson, a Lieutenant Colonel of the Salvation Army originally from New Zealand, working in South Africa.
It was phenomenal for the kids to see firsthand that the Salvation Army is really a global effort for change. I guess most Americans just see the local faces of volunteers who stand outside ringing bells around Christmas time, but there is so much more. The Salvation Army builds community even here in South Africa. I also didn't realize its religious affiliations with Christianity. I guess I must seem really naïve for not knowing that, but hey—we learn something new everyday. A great quote from the welcome ceremony to sum up the religious sentiment in South Africa: “If you look under a tree there's a church there”.
One of the best things I took away from the day is how fortunate I am to have so much in the USA, when in South Africa there are so many people living with less opportunity. This is obviously going to be a reoccurring theme. A Salvation Army representative said “He wondered, 'If the sky will look the same in America...it did”.
The representatives from the Salvation Army also welcomed us with various dances that I will soon post to my travel youtube channel (yet to be created), so look forward to that! THEY WERE AMAZING and extremely uplifting.
After our welcome we had some serious time learning and re-learning about HIV/AIDS, the different campaigns they are running in different parts of Africa, and the different statistics that really brought everything together. I won't write much about statistics now because there is a lot of other things I'd love to just get out onto my blog. Check out the next posting for information about the actual work we are doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment