Since announcing my Africa plans I've had a lot of people ask me why I would want to do this. I think today, Thanksgiving Day, is a perfect day to answer that exact question.
Thanksgiving is a perfect time to remember all the things for which we have to be thankful. Some things I'm thankful for include my family and friends whom I love, having an education, and all the opportunities I've been given. As I look at all the things in my life that I have to be thankful for the need for me to give back gets bigger and bigger.
I feel compelled to serve in Africa because I have been blessed with such an amazing life and it is my duty to give back and pay it forward. I am a pretty lucky kid and I've had a pretty easy life compared to the majority of the people in the world. I've always known where all my meals were coming from and that I was going to eat, I've always had a bed to sleep in, I know my family is safe, and I am blessed to live in a great country like the United States of America. You might ask, "How could you go to Africa? It's so different from America." Believe me, I like running water and air conditioning as much as the next gal. I was worried the first time I went to a developing country, Honduras in 2006, but once I got there I was completely at ease. I knew that the amenities I had (outdoor showers and bathrooms, back of a pick-up truck for transportation, etc.) were the norm for everyone else in that region so I shouldn't expect anything different. I know that in Africa it's going to be hard to live without the internet, running water, and AC but I can do it if everyone else can do it. If most of the people in the world live like this for their entire lives then I can definitely live like them for at least two weeks.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Malawi fact of the day: Lilongwe is Malawi's capital.
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