Project Africa: Part 2.
For my volunteer work in Africa, I went through the organization African Impact (AI). One of my setbacks of going to Africa was not knowing which organization would be legitimate when I would arrive. There are so many organizations that exist that claim to do good volunteer work however, I have also heard numerous horror stories; basically, arriving in unknown territory and finding out that the organization does not exist. In my profession, we hear horror stories of much worse when young women travel to foreign countries in chase of their dreams. I had to be cautious. I chose African Impact because in 2011, one of my girlfriends and her boyfriend volunteered in South Africa through their education program. She had heard about the organization through a family friend that had gone through African Impact's conservation program. After knowing that numerous people that had gone, survived, and had exceptional experiences, and after exchanging numerous emails with one of African Impact's program co-ordinators, I concluded that African Impact would be the right organization to go with.
When I arrived in Livingstone and after getting debriefed about African Impact and The Happy Africa Foundation (THAF) I was more than convinced that the choice I made was the best one I could have made. African Impact was established by a family in Zimbabwe in 2004 and is now one of the largest on-the-ground facilitators of volunteer projects in Southern and East Africa. One of their partners is THAF--a charity that African Impact was influential in establishing. Donations, and volunteers of African Impact, are managed and distributed on behalf of THAF within the communities.
AI and THAF facilitated the trip of a lifetime and I do not think it could have gone any better. The experience changed my perspective and understanding on privilege, health care, love, cheer, sorrow, pain, happiness, and joy. It also reignited my spark for international issues; a passion that occasionally gets lost in the turbulence of day to day living. And for reigniting that spark, I am more than thankful.