It's hard to convey completely just how powerful my experience with WWISA actually was now that I have returned home. Though only a month long, I feel like I was able to accomplish so much of what I had set out to do; more than this, I was blessed to be in a supportive environment with an amazing community to volunteer in and remarkable volunteers to share this time with!

My original goal was to do HIV/AIDS prevention with school-aged children. Having been to Nigeria ten years prior, I had worked with many children in a hospital setting who were dying of malnutrition and undernutrition. It was later discovered, when testing became more readily available, that these children had died of AIDS. Since that time, I have been haunted by the increasing rate of AIDS, specifically in Southern Africa. I finally decided it was time to take a month off from work to be more proactive about the issue. I am fortunate to have a wonderful support system that all contributed money to allow for this to happen.

WWISA not only assisted in placing me in a local village school, but also provided me with the daily transport and contacts to make my work feasible. I was able to assist a social worker at the Crags Primary School in Kurland Village, and to cover her life skills classes for her so that I could do HIV/AIDS prevention education with six to twelve year olds. This experience was profound and proved to be invaluable; the children asked so many important questions, talked about their fears and we were able to dispell the myths they had about HIV and AIDS.

I was also able, with the help of one of the school's teachers, to facilitate an HIV/AIDS prevention talent show that involved sixty-five children from the school who used various talents (song, dance, acting, artwork) to challenge myths about HIV/AIDS and encourage a healthy lifestyle. These acts were created by the children, themselves, and were incredible to witness. As I told my friends and family, few moments in my life that have been as moving as watching those children perform such powerful messages!

WWISA also helped me to facilitate getting a donation of breakfast food for the children of the Crags School for one year, as most only eat one meal daily. Though this was not anything I had planned to do upon my arrival, Rocky, Nicky and the other WWISA volunteers encouraged and enabled this additional donation to happen successfully. I was deeply impressed that despite the multiple projects each of the volunteers had (that ranged from sustainable agriculture to fundraising), each became actively involved in all of the other projects to support one another. Rarely have I had the privilege to be part of such a supportive community!

I wouldn't trade my time at WWISA for anything and am so grateful to Rocky, Nicky and the other wonderful volunteers there for making my time there so positive! Thank you all!

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