On my way!

I am sitting on my flight from Washington, D.C. to Johannesburg, South Africa and it finally feels like my summer working abroad has officially begun. Well, first my family is going to Kenya for vacation for a few days and then I will head to Kruger National Park in South Africa to begin work on the education project. For those of you who don't know, I have been fundraising and planning a environmental science and research skills camp for high school students that live in the villages surrounding Kruger National Park. I have been working with The Nsasani Trust and Skukuza Science Leadership Initiative to plan and implement this project. On July 6, ten high school students will join me in Kruger National Park to do an intensive science and research camp to help them learn skills necessary to pursue a career or further education in the scientific field. The students will all come from Acorns to oaks, a school dedicated to closing the academic gap and which is located in the Bohlabela District, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

My emotions on the way to South Africa are a mixture of excitement, nervousness, bewilderment, and anxiousness. Planning projects from abroad is hard. Fundraising is even harder. I probably should have learned from the last two times I traveled to South Africa that often things get figured out at the last minute. Communication from afar is tough and timeliness sometimes doesn't exist. Of course, being used to our capitalist time-is-money way of life in the United States makes this more chilled laid back attitude about deadlines and planning seem frustrating. But it has also taught me to be more relaxed and to trust that you have the ability to figure everything out and that everything will fall into place eventually. I know that what I am doing is important and I will make it happen no matter what.


The other week I heard from one of my former students form a pilot project I did in South Africa two years ago. She wrote to me about herself and the two other students who I worked with the most. They had all passed their final examinations and were preparing and hoping to further school soon. She finished by saying "we were just wondering when are you coming back to South Africa we miss you..."
These students, who live so close to such amazing wildlife, have never gotten to see it.

Her words came at a perfect time of self-doubt while planning for this trip. I suddenly realized my hesitations and anxiety about not being ready, not having enough money, not knowing how to communicate effectively, etc. etc. were ultimately selfish. It isn't about ME being ready. I have the ability to GET ready if it means that ten lives are impacted in a positive and life-changing way. I realize the injustice that this will be my third time flying across the world to South Africa. I have entered the gates to Kruger National Park countless times. 

So I have been working on a day-by-day itinerary, gathering materials for different projects, and finalizing the budget hoping that I have enough to give the students the best experience I can. I am on my way to a country that I now consider a second home and I can't wait to have the opportunity to give back to it.

A special thank you to everyone who donated to my project! I could not have done this project without you. If anyone wants to check out the fundraising page, here is the link. If you have the means to donate, anything will still help!
https://www.gofundme.com/qwmqs72k