Sorry for the delay in posts this week. Apparently an underwater cable burst this past weekend, so much of the Wentworth area has been without internet for the week.
While most Americans enjoyed a day off in celebration of the fourth, we began our second week of work at the NGOs.
After work we made our way over to the Victim Friendly Center for the first in our series of Monday speakers. The aim of these weekly sessions is to a wide range of people from the community and country, whether it be NGO leaders or those who can provide a window into pursuits here in Durban.
Gina, who lives with Rhona (the director of the Blue Roof HIV/AIDS Clinic), has been in Durban as a volunteer for 4 months. Her’s isn’t the normal story of a sabbatical or mission; rather, it is a fantastic and inspirational example of one person giving all they have to make a difference. Gina was a well educated and well to do business owner in Mexico, thriving in the high stress rat-race. She described her life as “perfect, until it wasn’t,” at which point she became disenchanted and disillusioned with the pursuit of money. Her life turned around as she adopted the perspective of “being excited about tomorrow.” This inspired her to finally fulfill what she described as a “life long calling” to Africa. After enquiring through numbers channels about work with orphans, the post she found was here at the Blue Roof. From that point she sold all her possessions in 15 days and moved her life (in 4 suitcases) to Durban.
Having no medical background, Gina talked of how she began in the kitchen and just talking to patients. Eventually she did get to work with orphans, now running Sheppard’s Keep (a spectacular orphanage that some of our group has had the chance to visit). Speaking of her time in the kitchen she did recount feeling somewhat ineffective or insignificant in the day-to-day operation, a sentiment that I think is pretty common for Duke Engage students. In order to be fulfilled most of us have the need, to leave something tangible behind. That said, we are here only for two short months and while we may doggedly commit to our work, achieving something sustainable in the long term is quite difficult. Gina spoke profoundly of how she adjusted her perspective to value interactions and less quantifiable things. For this reason, I felt Gina’s talk was wonderful to have at the beginning of our experience here; serving to frame the reason for us being here and encouraging us to adapt a more encompassing perspective as we set our aspirations for the summer.
Gina says she finds inspiration into the Shakespearian quote, “the more we give the more we have.” She will continue to live this way, as she will be leaving Blue Roof in two months and yet to have any plans. Gina remarked “I have proven a lot to myself while I have been here, so I can do about anything when I return.” Hopefully this summer will empower us students with a similar confidence and belief.
Gina hard at work in her office at The Blue Roof. 