Postcards from Around the Globe
JUNE 18, 2007 - SOUTH AFRICA - Richard C. Jones
Every trip has life-changing potential, some have a bit more than others, because after one of them, the hope is the person will be a little bit different...the days unspool: van rides, drummers and dancers, lunch, work, dinner, presentations, votes of thanks, debriefings, showers, campus tours/visits, and finally, collapse in bed.
While touring Lesedi Village, it occured to me that this one particular woman, weaving, might repeat this task some 10,000 more times for foreign visitors; while participating in home care visits, the homes are small, with just a room or two, they're sometimes dark and hot; worse yet, is the inconvenience of no electricity or hot water! A lack of language did not prevent us from doing the work, a heartening revelation.
Coming from the United States, where most everyone has the luxury of solid walls, roofs, running water, I find the lack of infrastructure, to say the least, sobering, especially with the World Cup arriving in 2010.
To give 'something back' is such an oxymoron because it's almost as if we've taken something that didn't belong to us in the first place: perhaps dignity, respect, compassion, empathy... it is with hope, these Men of Morehouse, might return 'home' changed: wiser, braver, more empowering of their 'brothers', with peace of mind, and especially, passion...
More Postcards
AUGUST 15, 2007 - BEIJING, CHINA - Brandon E. Lawrence
JUNE 18, 2007 - SOUTH AFRICA - Richard C. Jones
MAY 29, 2007 - SOUTH AFRICA - Mauri J. Robinson
MAY 29, 2007 - SOUTH AFRICA - Kelechi Kalu
MAY 28, 2007 - SOUTH AFRICA - Kweku Arko-Gilbert
