Why Africa? There are so many opportunities for someone to help and give aid in Africa. I want to travel over there and do mission work; I want to make a difference in someone’s life. Yes, I know I can do that in America. However, we have so many things here that they don’t have there. I want to show them that people are kind and that they are willing to help. I want to help bring some of the love we have here, over to them, over there.
This dream of mine first started in 2007, when I was twelve. My dad had recently gotten a job for a organization named CARE and within three months of working there, he was already taking an international trip to help bring relief to the poverty-stricken country of Mali. He told me that Mali was one of the safest African countries. (I am not sure if he really meant that, or if he was just saying that to ease my worries!) Yes, I had been aware of all of the unrest that existed in Africa, which made me extremely worried, especially since he left on my birthday! He was gone for two weeks, and when he came back he was full of stories. Two things he came back realizing and appreciating were:
1) Getting to experience the incredible history of mankind. He was in West Africa, and there was so much history in the land and in the people.
2) Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world, with some of the worst living conditions imaginable. Even with all of this, the people were some of the happiest and joyous people he had ever met and been around.
He brought back beautiful gifts for me and my sister that are irreplaceable. They were hand-made, and they were one of a kind. No one else had the exact same one. He brought back a leather wallet with little engravings on it for me, which I still have today.
There are many things that can be done to help the people in Africa. Some things I would like to get the chance to do are to help build schools and to help make villages more welcoming. I am so fortunate with my school and my house/town and I would like to help improve theirs. My church does mission trips to Swaziland and they have helped to build a school there for the children. Seeing this makes me want to go even more and help! The hard part is going to be getting my mom to let me go!
I would like to make a difference. I KNOW I can make a difference. I hope for the chance to be able to make that difference. I want to help people everywhere, but especially in Africa. It is the most devastated continent. There are so many people there that need our help, and I want to give my help to them.
Mali today: Mali has had some unrest in the past, but lately the country has been pretty stable. However, in Northern Mali (where there are no real cities; inside the Sahara) on the border of Algeria, has had some problems recently. The terrorist organization, Al-Qaida has set up terrorist training camps and the people of Mali are now struggling to get them out of their land.
Special thanks to my dad, for contributing to the information in this blog.
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