The group is at Yale

We've received word from the leaders that the group has arrived in New Haven, CT. All of the Global Action Public Health groups have settled into the dorms at Yale University; students are resting up in preparation for a busy day of work on their presentations tomorrow.

Hello from Swaziland!

Surprise! While we were not expecting to have internet access here at our home for the next few days, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, we are happy to share our latest endeavors with you.

Sunday, we awoke early to help out at Amangwe Village's fundraising event, a Beauty Pageant/Muscle Man Competition. So cute! That afternoon, we presented a few of our projects to Amangwe and a local soccer team.

On Monday, we finished all of our individual and group projects, relaxed, cleaned, and spent our last precious moments with our friends, both young and old, at Amangwe. After dinner, we enjoyed s'mores, drumming, and dancing around a campfire.

Tuesday, we said our teary goodbyes and hit the road. After crossing the border into Swaziland and driving for many hours, we arrived here at Mlilwane. We've already seen lots of animals, visited a few markets, and spent time working on our final presentation for Yale. We're looking forward to a safari tomorrow and our last few days in southern Africa. We'll be in touch when we arrive at Yale.

And don't worry, all of the birthday celebrations (Abbie, Michele, and Addy) were/will be awesome!

Cheers!
Dan, Anna and the whole crew

Life in Amangwe Village

*This blog update was written by students.

Sanibonani from Amangwe!

So much has been going on in and out of the Amangwe Village. From homestays at Lindiwe’s family home to pulling together our independent projects, we are always busy. The weather has been wonderful, which has helped our progress even more. On Friday July 10th, most of the kids worked together to spackle and paint several interior rooms in the crèche. When some were accidentally held prisoner in an office with a faulty door, others attempted to spring them loose from the freshly-painted room while simultaneously painting multiple walls in the next room. Still others worked on a banner for the beauty pageant.

On Saturday morning, we all took a trip to the St. Lucia beaches. Besides our SANDwiches (literally), we had a great time playing in the water. Dan was able to show off his bright neon pink tank top, one of the many that he collects. From the beach, we split up into two groups. Half of us went to Richards Bay and the other half went to Lindiwe’s family home. The group that went to Richards Bay went to a mall, got to send a few emails, ate more food at Wimpy’s, and had a magnificent view from a cliff that looked over the bay. They even got to see monkeys! Then they came back to Amangwe and had a movie night.

The other group had an amazing experience at Lindiwe’s. When they got there they went straight to church where they sat in on a traditional service. After that, they got to play games with the kids for several hours, while others helped prepare dinner. They also walked down to the river where they got water for the village. They found it incredible that the women in Lindiwe’s family carried pounds of water on top of their heads up the hill for so long.

On Sunday, the group that went to Lindiwe’s took a majestic hike through the vertical mountains and eventually passed out on top with a marvelous view. Afterwards several people from her home danced for us with music ranging from Halo by Beyonce to their customary house music. If you want to learn some traditional South African moves, we’ll make sure to hook you guys up at Yale.

The other group spent most of the day doing finishing touches in the crèche for it's re-opening the next day. On Monday morning, we split up again: some of us working in the garden and others working in the crèche. For the rest of the day, everyone started to get their projects together. We talked to people around Amangwe, did some research, and pulled together more ideas. We ended the day with playing volleyball and later on a few other indoor games.

On Tuesday, four people began Home-Based Care (HBC) visits. They traveled around in a van with Amose (a medical social worker) and Linda (a Peace Corps volunteer) visiting HIV-infected patients. They said it was very interesting and sometimes difficult to see the patients’ circumstances and what they have to go through in order to manage on a day-to-day basis. One patient who was very sick and could barely move last year is now full of energy and even scared us by hopping in front of our van to greet us! Unfortunately, they did see many ill patients as well, some with manageable conditions and some that were critically ill. The group also visited a traditional healer, heard about how he cures ailments and discovered that he could tell the future as well! Some students were very scared by what he said, but others were quite pleased.

On Wednesday, people continued their HBC visits and independent projects, while two Putney social emissaries visited the Sokhulu high school. Their objective was to empower the students their while bringing up topics such as future aspirations. Then the boys left and the girls discussed issues including HIV, safe sex, confidentiality, relationships, rape, and much more. Students throughout the rest of the week will continue HBC visits, while others will carry on independent projects and work on daily chores throughout Amangwe. Students have been gardening, cooking, and playing with kids at the crèche and the toy library.

We are looking forward to our last few days in Amangwe and continuing our travels in Swaziland next week.


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Leaders' Update: We’ve finished the second round of homestays, and many students have finished their independent projects. We have projects ranging from a children’s book about the importance of education, to get-well cards from children in the Amangwe crèche to patients at the Ethembeni Care Center to some new HIV and health-awareness brochures and initiatives to increase community involvement and HIV-awareness through soccer. You’ll certainly find out more about these projects when we post project summaries at the end of the trip.

We’re looking forward to helping out at the creche’s Beauty Pagaent/Muscle Man Competition fundraiser tomorrow, putting the final touches on our individual and group projects, celebrating a few birthdays and saying our goodbyes to our new friends at Amangwe.

Thinking of you all!
Anna and Dan

Yale Information

Hello family and friends,

Yale is only two weeks away! This will be the final communication from us before the end of the program, and we hope that it will provide you with plenty of information as you prepare for your time at Yale University.

Presentations and Picnic

The final presentations will be held on Tuesday, July 28th at Sudler Recital Hall at William Harkness Hall, 100 Wall St, New Haven. Global Action students will attend all of the presentations. Please plan to arrive a few minutes early so that we can keep to our tight schedule; your child will meet you there. The presentations are each approximately one hour long and will take place the following times:

10:30 AM: Welcome
11 AM: South Africa
2 PM: Rwanda
4 PM: Malawi

Presentations will be followed by a picnic for families and the entire Global Action community at Timothy Dwight College. We hope you will join us!

How to RSVP

If you plan to attend the presentations and picnic at Yale, please RSVP by email to putney.gaia2009@gmail.com by Friday, July 17. Please note your name, your son/daughter’s group name, and how many there will be in your party (do not include your son/daughter in that number).

Communication with Putney

All communication with Putney from July 26 to July 29 should be directed to our Yale office:
Office Line: (203) 436-1577
Cell Phone: (561) 504-6325
Email: putney.gaia2009@gmail.com


Travel to/from Yale

Each Global Action group has chartered private buses from the airport to Yale University on July 26. While at Yale, students and leaders will be housed at Timothy Dwight College, 345 Temple St. (at Grove St.), Yale University, New Haven, CT.

We hope that families can arrive to Yale in the morning of July 28 and stay in New Haven that night. There will be group presentations and a final picnic on July 28, though the programs do not end until the morning of July 29. Students should be picked up from Timothy Dwight College on July 29 between 9 a.m. and 12 noon. (Putney will provide transportation to the local airport and train station for students that are returning home on their own.)

In the information we have sent to your digital locker, you will find directions to Timothy Dwight College, a list of area hotels, and a customized map including parking information that you should bring to Yale with you. Yale has also provided us with a user-friendly online map at http://business.yale.edu/map.

We look forward to meeting you on the 28th!

How Time Flies.....

We can hardly believe that we've been in South Africa for over a week. We have, of course, kept plenty busy, but it seems impossible that the little time we have here is passing by so quickly! We're happy to report that except for a few scrapes, we're all healthy and the weather has been wonderful.

After our last update, we spent a few more days in Cape Town. On Saturday alone, we ferried out to Robben Island just after sunrise, shopped in Greenmarket Square for crafts, ate Malay food, visited the District Six Museum and learned about South Africa's painful history of land reallocation and dispossession, attended the Vodacom Funny Festival, a collection of stand up and performance comedians, had a lovely dinner out in Camps Bay and then played with sparklers and enjoyed fireworks and cake on the beach to celebrate the 4th of July. Yes, that was all one day. Whew!

Sunday, we slept in. We were overjoyed to get some good rest after a hectic first few days. Late in the morning, we took the cable car to the top of Table Mountain to enjoy a 360-degree view of Cape Town, the Cape Peninsula, the Atlantic Ocean and False Bay. All enjoyed some time to take in the beautiful vista. Next, we were on to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens to enjoy lunch and a brief meeting about why we're here, how we define and understand 'awareness,' and what backgrounds in social justice and community service we bring to the trip. That evening, we had a very entertaining lesson in isiZulu from the lovely Sibongile, a Zulu mama who enjoys our feeble attempts to speak Zulu-- she has more patience than all of us put together! We can only imagine what must be going through her mind when she hears us trying to pronounce the various clicks and vowel sounds that are common in the language.

On our last full day in Cape Town, Monday, we headed out to the Emavundleni Vaccine Center in Crossroads, a township in the Cape Flats. We had heard about the HIV-related services they provide there-- such as an adolescent support and advocacy group, a portable testing station, and a great deal of vaccine research-- and were excited to tour the facility. There were many clients at the center as it was the first day of injections for the newest vaccine, the only one yet designed to combat the exact strain of HIV that is found in South Africa. What a day to be there!

After that, we drove down to Simonstown for lunch and a visit with some penguins at Boulders Beach. We zipped down (passing a troupe of baboons along the way!) to the Cape of Good Hope next. We spent about an hour taking in the view of the surrounding mountains and oceans from the lighthouse. Next, we hurried back to the University of Cape Town for an hour-long drumming lesson, in which all of us had at least one rhythmic solo. Let us tell you, we've got some skills on African drums!

Before dawn on Tuesday, we packed up to head to the airport. When our valiant driver, Evan, showed up, we piled all of our luggage and ourselves into the van. Evan turned the key; nothing. Again; nothing. "Hmmmmm..." we all thought. With 6 of us pushing from behind, the van eventually kicked into gear, the engine turned over and we were on our way.

We spent the morning in Durban, first in the downtown market and then on North Beach. Students soaked up the warm sun, more-humid weather and bustling vibe of this Indian-Ocean city. We got to meet Anna's Gogo (Grannie) from her study abroad program, and enjoyed some relaxation time in the sand. After a drive up the coast, we arrived at Amangwe Village, our home for the next two weeks! The staff of the organization and many of the children from the area showed up to greet us with dancing, singing, food and introductions. A few of us were 'forced' to dance publicly (which we're sure was quite entertaining for those who weren't dancing!), and then we played games with the kids before settling into our houses.

On Wednesday, we headed out to Nsaleni to meet with a group of high school students there. All of the students were orphans and we had a great time playing games together, chatting about life in America and life here, and just getting to know each other. Vusi, a social worker from Amangwe, helped us to loosen up and feel really comfortable with each other.

In the afternoon, we got tours of Ethembeni Care Center, the hospital on-site at Amangwe, and the various buildings that Amangwe uses to house its services: creche (preschool), administration, volunteers, home-based care, social work, gardening, a soon-to-exist radio station, etc. After a day of getting to know Amangwe, we took some time to relax, play soccer, play with local children and enjoy a slower pace of life.

Today, our work started to take shape. Some students began work with Lindiwe, the lead creche teacher, to prepare for a Beauty Pageant that will take place on July 19th. Others worked with Bongani in the organic garden, helping to weed and transport soil. A few others started to design a mural that we're hoping to paint at the creche. Some helped feed lunch to patients at Ethembeni, and a few helped to prepare both our lunch and dinner! Our Zulu is improving slowly, and we find that it's a great icebreaker to stumble through a greeting and quick sentence whenever possible.

We're looking forward to creating and delving into our independent projects over the next few days, spending some time at the beach, traveling to Lindiwe's family home nearby for a brief stay, and continuing to work on the projects that we've started already. Much of our free time is spent hanging out with Amangwe staff and local kids, so we're never bored and always ready for a good night's sleep.

We'll be in touch again soon and love hearing from you! Sharp sharp!

Anna, Dan, and The Group (PST GAIA SA 2009)

Sanibonani from South Africa!

After arriving in Johannesburg and enjoying an excellent night's rest, we headed out to the Apartheid Museum. Even though we were tired, the museum proved to be helpful in providing a context within which we can frame the social issues that we will be confronting. The experience of going through the museum with an assigned "race card" helped give students a personal understanding of how pervasive Apartheid was in people's lives, and its legacies.

After discovering that our lunch spot (surprise!) wasn't open, we decided to head downtown to grab some lunch and go to the "Top of Africa." From the top floor of one of Johannesburg's tallest buildings we surveyed the city, from the SABC broadcast tower, to world cup stadiums, smoke stacks of Soweto, to the sprawl that holds the city's millions of people. Then we headed back to the airport for a quick flight to Cape Town and shuttle to our new home at the University of Cape Town.

We awoke this morning to beautiful sunshine and an incredible view of the eastern face of Table Mountain. After getting to know each other with some silly but hilarious games, as well as a group orientation, we headed to Groote Schuur Hospital for a conversation with Dr. Paul Roux and Dr. Diane Grey, physicians at KidzPositive (www.kidzpositive.org). After a quick lunch we visited their beadwork center in Mowbray, and learned about their income-generating projects for families affected by HIV/ AIDS. Since then we changed money, sent a few emails, and we are now getting ready for a braii (a South African BBQ) with the director of the Catholic Welfare and Development organization here in Cape Town.

We are all super excited to go to Robben Island tomorrow (despite the early morning wake-up that awaits us!) and to visit the cell that Nelson Mandela called home for over 20 years. We will keep you posted on our upcoming adventures.

Bye for now,

Dan and Anna

The group has arrived

We've received word from the leaders that the group has arrived in Johannesburg.