This is the last blog of our trip…

An overwhelming amount of thanks should be given to all of the people who made this journey and learning experience as remarkable as it was.  The first and foremost person is Lisa McBeth-Snyder, without whom this entire trip would not have been possible nor as incredible!  She has been a great teacher, mentor, resource and even “mom” to all of us girls over the last four weeks.  I speak for everyone on this trip when I say she is an amazing person and we are more than lucky to have been able to share this entire experience with her! 

HUGE thanks as well to both the Cape Town Hollow Hotel and The Courtyard for their wonderful accommodations, friendly and attentive staff (housing 23 girls is no small feat)!  Also, big thanks to Patrick and Toni! And of course to our safari rangers and staff at Mashatu, they exceeded our expectations for the safari adventure!

And finally, to all of the moms, dads, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends at home who made this trip possible for each of us!  I can say first hand, as a TA and senior, the girls on this trip made all of you at home proud with their outstanding willingness to always go the extra mile, whether for a single patient or for the entire clinic. 

The authors of Half The Sky (a book we read for class on the trip) state “to tackle an issue effectively, you need to understand it—and it’s impossible to understand an issue simply by reading about it. You need to see it firsthand, even live in its midst.”  They are very right in their statement and we are fortunate enough to have been able to study abroad, in a country where there are serious issues facing maternal and child health.  We have now witnessed firsthand the pressing issues occurring in South Africa as well as in many other parts of the world.  In just a few short weeks, we have developed global perspectives on healthcare and reflected on issues in the US as well.  Our new perspectives will certainly prove beneficial as we begin our careers in the health system (sadly very soon for those of us who are seniors!) and work with patients of all backgrounds.

The people we met on our travels to the clinics, hospitals, schools and orphanages were by far some of the most talented, beautiful and warm-hearted people we’ve ever met, but the girls who came on this trip were equally as amazing as them.  We have learned so much from the people we encountered and through each other.  We are leaving here with new friends in South Africa and Botswana as well as new friendships amongst ourselves.  A person we met or experience we had during this trip has touched every single one of us and we will never forget the memories we have made with our friends, new and old.

 As we crammed one last tanning and journaling session by the pool, it is safe to say we already miss South Africa and all of its beauty, from Table Mountain to Mashatu (even though that’s Botswana!) and every wonderful, kind and spirited person we have met along the way! 

We will see you soon (after our 16 hour plane ride) and we probably will complain about the cold, but we will definitely talk your ear off about our adventures here in the wonderful Republic of South Africa!

-Victoria Allen

Molweni (this means hello) everyone! Today we started bright an early at 5 am for our last ride at Mashatu. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that our time on safari has been one of the most amazing and awe inspiring moments of our lives. We’ve seen three countries, been to two, and have had amazing experiences in both game reserves we visited along the way. It was a once in a lifetime experience that we were all sad to see end!

We left for our safari on Saturday, ending up at a reserve on the northern tip of South Africa known as Mapungubwe. We barely had time to put our things down before the first group of girls went on their safari ride! You haven’t been off road-ing until you’ve been in one of these jeeps… the turns and hills that our rangers can navigate are crazy. We saw countless impala, springbok, and kudu (deer-like animals), along with some zebra, giraffe, and even a rhino! We also took the time to see the confluence point – a site on the Mapungubwe reserve where you can stare out at the Limpopo River and the borders of both Zimbabwe and Bostwana. Mashatu (the reserve where we spent most of our time) was even visible from this point! Cedric, one of the rangers, told us a Kenyan superstition about the Baobab tree. This tree can live to be over a thousand years old, and looks upside down without its leaves. Legend says that if a person runs around the tree seven times, they change their sex! Kali tried to convince Cedric to let her test the myth, but he refused. He claimed to have run around the tree 6 and one half times, which is why he had such long hair…

The next morning we took a tour of the Mapungubwe heritage site. Remains of a human settlement dating back to about the first century A.D. were found here, and it appears to be the first example of a kingdom in South Africa. It’s still being excavated today, and all across the ground were remains of pots, huts, and even arrowheads. Once we were done our visit here, we were on our way to Botswana and Mashatu!

To get to Botswana, we had to cross the Limpopo River via cable car. These were basically metal lifts suspended across the river on a thick cable rope… it was a crazy start to a crazy couple of days! It’s hard to write about our experiences at safari without using the words “amazing”, “awesome”, and “beautiful” every two seconds. From the setting to our camps, from the animals we saw to the people who took care of us and showed us around the reserve, it’s almost impossible to put the experience into words. We would get up at 5 am (shocking to most of our parents!), have coffee and snack, go out on a drive till about 9 am, have brunch at 10 am, free time until high tea at 3:30, then we would leave for a drive till about 8 pm. We got back in time for a delicious dinner, then it was time to pass out in our tents (or rooms) till the next day. We saw lions, leopards, elephants (such cute babies!), countless birds and venison, and so much more. We had some amazing tour guides and researchers with us who did their best to answer any questions and put up with all of our craziness! I had such an amazing (see!) time with each and every one of these girls, and would like to say that I couldn’t imagine going on this trip with any other group of people. TIA!!

I’d also like to add a shout out to Deb Hotra, Kali’s mom. Happy 42^nd birthday ;-) “Thank you for your never ending support and understanding. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you. Love you ma”

Megan Wilson

Today was our final day in Pretoria before Safari.  One of the saddest days of the trips, we had to say goodbye to all the wonderful children and staff we met at our various locations.  Everyone spent the day playing with the children, dreading for when it would end.  When that time finally came, we gave hugs and well wishes. 

During our time, a housemother at New Beginningz shared a story about one of the children.  A little more than a week ago, New Beginningz received a call to pick up a child from Pretoria.  It took some time trying to figure out what language he spoke. He finally responded to a language commonly used in Zimbabwe.   They suspected he was less than two years old because he did not know his name or many words.  He did not appear abused, had no medical problems, and is very clever.  The workers believe he was either taken from his parents or he somehow wondered off.  Because he does not know his name, it is very hard to track down where he belongs.  This story was incredibly sad.  I could not imagine being the parent of this little boy.  It’s frustrating to learn how difficult it is to communicate between countries especially in these dire situations.     

After leaving our sites, a few girls went into Hatfield to buy needed supplies for each placement.  We raised about 10,200 rand which equals around $1300.  New Beginningz asked for supplies such as diapers, Q-tips, wet wipes, vasoline, and formula.  Luvoyo needed many cooking supplies such as knives (currently they have only 1-2 knives which they use for everything), cleaning supplies, and hygiene products. They will each also receive some cash for necessities. We learned that every year at Motheong the kids go on a field trip, that provides great learning experiences for them; however not every child’s family is able to pay, so the teachers contribute money in order for every person to be able to participate.  Because this costs the teachers thousands of rand each year, we have decided to donate a portion of the contributions to Motheong to ensure that all children are able to attend.

Once everything was put away, class was held.  We went around our group reflecting on what we saw in the various hospitals/clinics/schools/orphanages and compared it to what we have learned and seen in America.  Some of the topics discussed: anywhere you go, you will find nurses who are in it for the money and nurses who are in it because they actually care, kangaroo mother care appears to be more prevalent in SA, and cultural beliefs can make it harder for families in SA to accept newer medical practices. 

We ended our evening with a group dinner at the Blue Crane. Tomorrow we will be making our way to Botswana for Safari!    

-Christine Carrow

Today everyone continued their placements at the orphanages and schools where we have been going throughout the week.  I went back to New Beginningz and loved being greeted by the same children that we’ve been spending time with the past few days.  We’ve gotten to know the kids and their unique personalities, even if they wear us out with their extreme levels of energy.  I don’t know how the three house moms who live there and take care of all the kids twenty-four hours a day do it, but they are amazing.  The same group returned to Motheong to talk to the sixth graders about puberty and menstruation and had a discussion with the seventh graders about safe sex practices.  They loved making connections with the students and feel that the past few days there have been very rewarding both for themselves and for the students.  At Luvoyo the day was spent playing the kids, singing songs, and helping in the kitchen.  Although we’ve all had different experiences at our placement sites, each is special in its own way, and everyone will be sad to say goodbye to the kids on our last day tomorrow.

In the afternoon we went on a hike through a nature reserve a few miles outside of Pretoria.  We were told we could see animals when we got to the top of the hill, but there were no guarantees, so everyone kept their fingers crossed (or did a giraffe chant) and it worked! While walking on the trail we saw a herd of zebra, wildebeest, ostriches, and a giraffe with her baby.  At one point we were within feet of zebra on our one side, and giraffe on our other.  It was amazing to see these wild animals so close up with nothing separating you from them, and was definitely a great intro to our safari that is yet to come!

It’s hard to believe that anything could top the weeks that we’ve spent in South Africa so far, but I’m sure that our last week will be the best one yet!

-Meredith

Hello family and friends! Today was another amazing day here in South Africa. We started our day at our placement sites with the majority of us returning to the site we were at on Monday. The majority of us will continue to go back to our original site for the rest of the week so that the children will see a familiar face. And as always, the time spent with these children was a rewarding experience for everyone today.

Today I was at Motheong Primary School with Dana, Kali, Maggie, and Tori. We split the girls and boys of the fifth grade class into two different classrooms. Maggie and Tori talked to the boys about puberty while Kali, Dana and I talked to the girls about the menstrual cycle. Both the boys and girls were very interested in what we had to say and of course, they had us laughing with some of their innocent questions. We also spent time in gym class with the students today, or “athletics,” as they call it at Motheong. The children did sprints, long jump, and shot put. The five of us girls gave the long jump a try. Sadly, we were easily out jumped by the entire fourth grade class! The students at Motheong really impressed us today with not only their incredible athletic talent but curiosity and attentiveness during our discussions.

The rest of our group today was either at New Beginningz or Luvoyo.  The girls at New Beginningz spent their time playing with the children and babies and helping the housemothers with daily tasks. The children at New Beginningz range from 1 month to 4 years old, so the group definitely had their hands full while there. The group that went to Luvoyo spent their day with 4 and 5 year olds as well. The facility is outside so their day involved a lot of playing and running around with the kids. All of the children, whether it is at Motheong, New Beginningz, or Luvoyo are always so excited by our presence. They all want to be held and loved. And what better than a group of young UD women to give them exactly what they need.

After our sites we had a two-hour break before we left for Lesedi, the Place for Light. Lesedi can best be described as an inside look at some of the beautiful African tribes, their culture and their people. We began our evening at Lesedi in the African Theatre where we learned about the ancient tribal legends. Then, lead by our tour guide, dressed in tribal attire, we made our way to five African villages. We experienced the way of life of the Zulu, Pedi, Xhosa, Basotho, and Ndebele people. After a tour of the villages we headed into a small arena where we watched the cultural dances of each of the tribes. With the strong beat of an African drum leading the dances, it was impossible for any of us to stay still! By the end of the performance we were all dancing amongst the tribal people. It was an amazing time. After dancing came a traditional African meal where we had the option to try meats such as crocodile and ostrich. Some of us sat with two of the dancers. They described the community of Lesedi as a “rainbow,” a place where people of all colors dance and are happy together.

After dinner we of course ended up at the shop where there were tables of beautiful beaded jewelry. Some of us, caught in the moment of tribal culture, purchased beaded outfits. As we were all trying on our new jewelry and outfits I could see everyone dancing around and smiling. We all saw the light of Lesedi today.

-  Jess