User:Theamericancliche

New Frontiers: Relief for Orphans in Mozambique

It is summer; I have one year of high school remaining. The first week of June, I leave for a 54-hour journey to the tiny city of Pemba, Mozambique. In Pemba, there is an orphanage for kids who have become orphans—by forces out of their control, such as AIDS or family rejections. I arrived and began my work there- which entailed much more that I could have ever expected. The first day was a designated orientation period in which I began to adjust to the highly different way of life of the Mozambicans. After that, I began to work. I had no clue what I was beginning, but I soon found out that any contribution I could make would be enough. From a young age, my parents have instilled rigorous organizational skills into my life. Coincidentally, organization was something that the Arco Iris orphanage lacked. I began by organizing the donations. There were far too many items—camping gear, food, clothes, first aid—just about anything one could imagine. I even found myself organizing gummy bear vitamins at one point. This process continues for about two weeks. During the time that I was not organizing, I was able to interact with some of the parentless children—an experience that can be replaced by nothing else. Spoken in Portuguese, one of the girls I met called me irmã: sister. I know that the compound valued my organization skills most, but I found the human bonds I created to be invaluable.

Having community service hours as a required tenet for the International Baccalaureate program at first was a burden—100 hours?? I was tempted at first to approach the assignment just like that—another assignment. But as I began to plan my 100-hour project, I became enthusiastic about my idea. I could actually help better the world that is ours. I chose my specific project, organizing a Mozambican orphanage, because I wanted to provide the necessary human contact to those less fortunate that myself. I wanted not only to use my skills for community improvement, but also forge the human connection between people of different social and cultural groups. When the opportunity arose for me to travel to Pemba, I began to plot the course of my project to fit my travel schedule. As if by fate, the opportunity and the concept I had in mind aligned, allowing me to complete the plan I had designed.

Without support, I could not have completed my project as planned. There seem too many too list—every individual along the way enabled me to continue as I had planned. I guess I should begin with those from whom I sought help—my family and the organizations in Pemba. My family did not lead me along, allowing me to plan my own path and actions, but they did not leave me stranded alone. Rather, they were a support from behind the scenes, encouraging (and partially funding) my journey