Andres Gil -- South Africa (ZASD)

I used to think I could change the world. I used to believe that by donating my time and doing volunteer work, I could help solve world problems such as poverty, illiteracy, and deadly diseases as HIV and AIDS. I have always wanted to make a difference in the world, and to me volunteering was the way in which I could help to solve so many problems in the world. It was this belief what drove me to want to travel to South Africa during this summer and participate in different community service projects. I felt that by participating in the HIV awareness project I could help to end the spread of HIV in South Africa and in the world. I felt that during this trip I would teach others so many things and give them the knowledge that I hoped would change their lives. Little did I know that this program and the people I would meet along the way were the ones that would teach me so many new things, give me new knowledge that would change my view of the world, and help me realize so many new facts about the world and those around me, especially about myself.

When I first started the program and then arrived to South Africa, I got the opportunity to get to know an amazing group of intelligent and talented students from all over the US; a group that will enhanced and make my experience the best I could ever could have ask for. Soon after we met, we all started sharing our dreams and hopes of making a difference in the world. All of us had different goals in life. Some desired to become surgeons, or foreign affairs representatives, many had dreams of working for the UN or joining Doctors without Borders, but at the end, all of our goals lead to the same dream of making a difference in the world. We all had great expectations for this trip, we all wanted to learn and teach. We wanted to be part of the community services projects and help others. From the first day in Cape Town we could experience the enormous economical gaps between social classes, which encourage us more to try and help out as much as we could.

It was during one of our community service projects where I felt I learned the most important lesson of my entire life. During our homestay in Makana we visited the Grahamstown Amasango School. This is a school for kids that have suffered great traumatic experiences during their short lives. Most of them have lost both their parents to HIV and AIDS. Many of them are involved in drugs, crime, and live by themselves with no source of income to survive. Despite all these obstacles, these kids find the strength and the desire to wake up every morning and go to school, not because they see it as an obligation, but just because they have the dream to improve their lives and leave all their horrible experiences in the past. It was here, at the Amasango School, where I met the most wonderful and selfless human being I have met in my entire life, Mama Jane. This woman has devoted her entire life to the school and to help thousands of children that have gone to her school looking for a safe place in which to get away from the drugs, crime and hell that surround their lives.

It was Mama Jane who told me the one thing that I will never forget: "If you think you’re going to solve the problems in the world, you’re wrong and you’re setting yourself up for failure and for deception. What you can do is influence and change one individual’s life at a time." It was then and there where I understood that the problems in the world were too big for one person to try to solve. I realized that I can touch and change one life at a time, and I realized that the first life I want to change is mine. I’ve realized that I want to be more like Mama Jane’s students, I want to have the strength to overcome life’s obstacles and I want to have that passion and desire to pursue a better life and the best education I can get. Then and only then, I will be able and strong enough to help others and have a positive influence in their lives. That’s how I want to help make the world a better place.

The Experiment to South Africa was the best experience I ever could have wished for. It didn’t only allow me to meet and learn from a wonderful group of people from all over US, but it also opened my eyes to a world beyond the one I knew. I experienced poverty, HIV and AIDS first hand during my work at the HIV clinics and the home visits, and realized many of the problems that affect other developing nations like South Africa. I also saw beauty, thriving arts and theater organizations and the wide open opportunities of the country. South Africa was an eye opening experience that helped me realize that I have the desire to do something with my life that will allow me to help others in the future. I met wonderful kids, that even though they lack many material things, they are so strong and passionate to achieve the things they desire to improve their lives, that their stories can inspire anyone to work hard and achieve their own goals. It was people like Mama Jane and her students that made my experience in South Africa so rewarding by teaching me so many realities about life and about myself. I signed up for a program to South Africa that would allow me to participate in some community service projects, and what I got was a life changing experience that allowed me to learn so many new things and meet wonderful people that have changed the way I see the world and I’m sure have changed my future.