Pictures and Videos
Proving Volunteering is for everyone on the beautiful island of Mozambique!
Mary Pat and her husband Fred volunteered at Mozambique Community Project in March 2012. Mary Pat works at a Pre-School for children with learning disabilities and Fred is a Television/ Film Producer. These are Mary Pats’ reflections of the experience since returning to their life in Toronto, Canada.
I had this thought a while ago, what is it in people’s lives that spur them to work so far from home? Why volunteer somewhere so remote? What are they “running” away from? Why do they think the western/first world ways are so much better? What do they really think they will accomplish? My list was long; my head was full of questions and assumptions.
After three weeks volunteering in Vilanculous, Mozambique with African Impact, some of my questions were answered, more have opened up, assumptions corrected or dropped and a new passion is now burning in my heart. Firstly, all these wonderful souls that devote their lives to jobs in distant countries, so far from the comforts of home – are not running away from anything. They are running to life, following their passion, where they can really make a difference at the end of the day, where they can see the fruits of their labours change lives daily, hourly….
These are the people who are actually walking their talk. They operate from their hearts, which is so very hard to do in today’s crazy left brained technologically connected world. They generally earn next to no money, work 24/7, and flop into bed every night physically drained probably trying to figure out how they will get it all done the next day. Humm, I just reread that, and think I just described any busy young mother.
Before we left Mozambique, I was asked by African Impact, “Was this a life changing experience for you?” Let me say, I am a grown woman, who has raised four children, travelled the world, have had some pretty difficult, life shattering times, basically seen a lot of a lot in my life. So my initial reaction to the question was, Nope, it wasn’t a life changing experience for me.
Well time has passed and that question is still on my mind. I think I would like to change my answer to “Yes, it was a life changing experience”. It’s been pretty hard for me to return to the life I have here in Canada. I want to continue to make that kind of a difference on a daily, hourly basis forever. I do volunteer here at home but when I was in Vilanculous I didn’t have to worry about driving, paying bills, running the house, etc., so I had more time to give of myself.
And let me add, it wasn’t just me “helping” them; they were helping me. Helping me become a better person, finding new strengths (which is a wonderful thing at age 55), learning new skills, shaping me in a way I am proud to be who I am, happy to jump out of bed every morning ready to tackle whatever the day brings, feeling connected to people half way around the world, who I can not even speak with (Mozambique is a Portuguese country, I don’t speak Portuguese). I was operating totally from the heart and it felt GOOD!! I was experiencing joy every day. (those cute kids were meaning enough for me to jump out of bed and feel joy, happiness and love).
In closing, these are changing times we are in now – 2012. The end of the Mayan calendar; the financial crisis, global warming, solar flares, earth changes, wars, the list goes on…. Universal love is the message of this new earth. If we all open our hearts, universal love will sweep away all the boundaries and limitations and make anything possible, if we are willing to open to it. And being in Vilanculous – well, it was just easy for me to open my heart, to give unconditionally, love unconditionally and accept it back (because these beautiful people give love so easily).
There are five easy steps to living your life, to opening to universal love, (these are not my words but someone we all know in our hearts). They are Prayer, Forgiveness, Service, Giving thanks every day, and Surrendering your will to God. Doing the service portion in Vilanculous was easy, enjoyable and yes, life changing. Now to plan my next visit….!
If reading this blog entry has made you curious and you would like to join us at our Pre-School Orphan Teaching & Community Project in Tropical Mozambique, follow the link and take a look at the project and the other projects we offer on our internet set.
Social Media & Marketing Internship with African Impact!
If you are a budding social media enthusiasts or want to gain more hands on experience in the world of Marketing then our Marketing and Social Media Internship could be just what you are looking for. Our current intern Luisa Berssenbrügge shares her experience of what it is like to be part of the African Impact team:
My name is Luisa and I have just recently finished my Master in Strategic Marketing in the Netherlands. Before starting my “serious” working life I wanted to go traveling to see a little more of the world…
In May 2010 I went to Kenya with African Impact for the Orphan and Teaching Project which ended up being the inspiration for my Master Thesis “Marketing Strategies for Charities”; I had a great time, met great people and was definitely inspired by everything I saw. When I saw the marketing internship on the African Impact newsletter I knew that it was excatly what I wanted to do..
After several chats with African Impact’s booking section and an interview with the Marketing Manager the internship was fixed and I started looking forward to my two months in Cape Town.
I have now been in the city for about two weeks and my time here has been amazing. On my first days the previous intern led me through what my job would be like during the next two months and what my daily duties would be. I had a warm welcome from all of the people working in the office. There is a really open and relaxed atmosphere which makes you feel free to ask questions whenever needed. During the week I spend my time at the office working on updating our information on the company’s social media communication channels, preparing presentations, planning on who to contact for sponsorships etc. This is a really good opportunity for anyone who would like to work in the direction of marketing to get a glimpse into the huge marketing world. Although I have done several internships before and have finished my studies I will most definitely learn a lot here and will be able to take these experiences to my first job.
As the weather is still great I can sit outside during my lunch break or go the the shopping centre that is right across the street. In the evenings I go back to the volunteer house where I am staying, have dinner with the volunteers and join them on their evening activities which include going to the Pub Quiz, watching movies or going out to one of the local restaurants and bars. We have also started to go on regular jogs with several of the volunteers and the view you get once you have reached the top of the incline en route is stunning. On the weekends there is more free time in which you can explore the city. I have always wanted to see penguins outside of a zoo so Boulders Beach was great, and the view from Cape Point is just stunning…
The Easter weekend still left me and the other volunteers with enough time to go to the city centre of Cape Town for a city bus tour with some shopping afterwards in the V&A Waterfront which, although quite touristy, is a great place to spend your day with lots of cafes, restaurants and shops. We also went on a wine tour to Stellenbosch and Paarl with several different wines to taste at the numerous wineries. Stellenbosch is so beautiful that we all agreed to come back one weekend to spend more time looking at the actual city and maybe to see some more vineyards. The next weekend is already fully booked with all the sites that are left to see like Robben Island, Table Mountain and the beaches in the surrounding area.
If you would like to join African Impact on the Marketing and Social Media Internship in Cape Town visit our website or give us a call on +27-21-785-4319.
Keeping it Wild!
Bashar Alaeddin recently joined the Wildlife Photography and Conservation Education project on Thanda Private game reserve. He shares his stunning pictures as well as the excitment of his final day!
- I think he is winking at me?!
“The whole month was amazing, but the last day was something else. We woke up earlier than usual to go on our last safari game-drive with our ranger guide Marianna. We had hoped that during the month we’d get to see a kill and by that last day, we had come to accept the conclusion that maybe it wasn’t meant for our group to see one. We drove around and within the first 15min. we heard a call on the radio that the African Wild Dogs were close-by and were hunting.. We felt like 5yr olds, on the edge of our seat! Two minutes later, we saw the wild dogs in the distance and they had captured a warthog. Now I know this is a pretty grotesque scene to witness, but it was awesome. I, personally, decided to film the whole ordeal while my group took photo’s. We left the scene excited that on our last day we got see a kill.
Later that night, driving back around 11pm from a dinner in the bush, we stumbled upon another kill! This time it was two male lions feasting on another warthog (bad day for warthogs). We parked extremely close to them and watched them eat for about 45min. We got back to Thanda that night feeling so lucky… after waiting patiently for a month, we got two in one day … it was pure awesome … “
Bashar Alaeddin
To read more about the Wildlife and Photgraphy project click HERE
To see more of Bashars beautiful photographs check out his website: Bashar Alaeddin
Need a little inspiration?
EXAM FAILURE??? MAYBE THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR YOU
If you have failed exams and feel stuck… This could be the best thing that ever happened to you.
Sometimes life doesn’t goes as you had always hoped, but there is a whole world waiting out there to be discovered…
Who knows you might just find what you were looking for in the most unexpected place!!
