Current Local Cape Town Time

Thursday, January 31, 2008

My Placement!!!

Excited doesn't even begin to describe how I feel right now! I received my Volunteer Placement email today! I found out where I'll be working! I'll be working with Home From Home, a wonderful organization that provides foster care to orphaned, abandoned, and vulnerable children. Rather than these sweet children being institutionalized, they believe that the best place for these kids to thrive and grow is in family settings in their own communities.

Please check out their website: http://www.homefromhome.org.za/

I just cannot wait to get there and start working!! I'm so anxious to meet all of the children!!

I will be arriving in Cape Town in 9 days!

And a special little note to the lights of my life- Thank you so much for your support and understanding and your willingness to share your Mom with these wonderful kids for a few weeks. I love you both, tons.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Getting Prepared

Okay...so my trip to South Africa is coming up very quickly....I'm excited, nervous and filled with much anticipation! I leave in about 9 weeks. I keep running through my "things to do" list, and I actually think I'm almost ready. Setting up this blog site was one of the few things I had left to do. I've gotten all of my immunizations, my meds, my passport and my airline ticket.

My goal is to raise awareness as much as it is to travel abroad and actually help those affected by HIV/AIDS. Maybe....just maybe, sharing my experience will inspire just one person to volunteer. Perhaps it will serve as an educational tool, giving people a better understanding of the effect this horrendous disease has on people that are infected as well as those that aren't infected but are directly affected by losing loved ones. Maybe it will help squash the bigotry and discrimination that seems all too common. Maybe people will start to see that HIV/AIDS doesn't discriminate. It doesn't matter your race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Just maybe...I can make a difference.

So, here I am...my blog has been created and this is where I will journal every day from Cape Town. I fly out of Orlando on February 8th. Please bookmark this site and visit often. Tell your friends about it, send them the link.