Sitting in the dorm the night before our flight, our team was discussing what Namibia could be like. The typical things our parents used to say to us persisted in our minds. “Eat all your food in your plate; children are starving Africa”. Would we witness these things? Would we be surrounded by poverty? How bad is it really? If so, how do they live each day being hungry? All we could imagine is what we had seen on the media or in the movies, but nothing could prepare us for the reality that we would see.

     Arriving in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, eleven hours after our departure from London left us in shock. Departing the plane, there was nothing to see in every direction. No buildings, nothing. Usually when arriving in a country one can see at least something at a distance, but here in Africa there was nothing. After ripping open all our secure plastic wrapped bags we got aboard Junior, our bus and new home for the next month. Junior was a bus with cooking utensils, cookers, a fridge and just enough seats to fit our team. Each seat was different from the other, it was obvious each seat was bought individually and left us with the first taste of Africa.  Our first adventure was Fish River Canyon.

     Fish River Canyon was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen, and here our team really got to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The terrain was rough and filled with treacherous rocks to be walked in the burning heat. There was a fast and a slow group but that was a not a smart strategy with only one emergency strategy between the entire group. Collectively, we decided to place the slower individuals in the front and to go at their pace so we could reach our goal as a team, and there would be no chance of losing anyone. This was the first step in thinking as a team as opposed to individuals, which is what we were used to being. Each day was hard but the morale was high as we kept each other going, whether we handed each other food or sang, everyone enjoyed their trek and got past the physical pain.

     As Fish River came to a close, it was time to get serious. After nine hours of sleeping, singing, and eating, we were filled with anticipation and awaited our first visit to the ‘real Africa’. An hour later and we were all itching to be the first off the bus, finding a specific spot where we would be able to use our cameras to record it all. Three miles away we were greeted by barefoot children in tattered clothes running on rocks and glass alongside Junior. The children did not give up, they sang, some held a huge poster “welcome our friends from ACS” in front of the bus and were jumping up and down to catch our hands. The first words we heard the children scream were “WILL YOU BE MY BEST FRIEND?” and this put most of us in tears. Looking at children run alongside our bus at the same speed asking for our friendship without any knowledge of who we were, our past, our mistakes, or even our names was something no one would be able to find in western society. As we walked towards our campsite, children hoarded around us, holding every inch of our bodies, the language barrier not stopping any feelings.

     At the town of Kutenhous we watched an ox killing and danced with the children as the music played, celebrating the one good meal they were to have after a long while. After the celebrations, we gave the HIV/AIDS talk where we showed posters to give a visual attribution to the speech. The HIV/AIDS group included: Desiree Santos, Cecilia Betsill, Matthew Hawksby, Nicole Bosky and Charlie Dolan. The children were knowledgeable as HIV/AIDS week had just passed and education on the topic was felt to be of the utmost importance. After we had done what we came to do, it was time for our project school.

     We arrived in Shituwa High School where we stayed in the ACS hall, which previous Namibia groups had created. Here letters were showered upon us. Each child had a story, some horrific and others happy. Things were written such as, “Both my parents are dead, I have no one, will you be my best friend?” How can someone answer a question like that? In the western world “best friend” is the term used to describe someone you spend all your time with, and if you make a promise you are scared you will break his or her heart.

     Our project school was Endola Primary School and was a walking distance from Shituwa. Each morning we walked the fifteen-meter trek to Endola to work. After taking a look around the dark, dilapidated classrooms, we came to the conclusion that we couldn’t do everything. We needed three goals, and to concentrate on only those before we thought of doing anything else. We decided that our three goals were to fix all chairs and desks, paint classroom number five and build a playground and if we had time, to paint the mural outside. The desks and chairs group consisted of: Charlie Dolan, Michael Connell, Vincent Blom, Mathew Hawksby, Tiffany Lamb and Emily Keyloun. The Playground group consisted of Kevin Mullan, Nadzia Mrozak, Alex Wright, Ben Rude, and Kevin Becht. The classroom number five group consisted of: Nicole Bosky, Mike Fredin, Sean Fitzpatrick, Cecilia Betsill, Hannah Bertoni and Laura Hilgren. It took each of us five days each to perfect our jobs. The playground group had the most issues as they had to share the power tools with the chairs and desk group and the electrical power was limited in Namibia. Each group had to consider the safety of the children when doing the task at hand. The chair and desk group had to ensure the chairs and desks they fixed were stable and would not break, and the playground group had to make sure no accidents were going to happen on the playground.

     After the three main tasks at hand were completed we could focus on the murals. Max Downman, Michael Connell and Audrey Loeys completed the indoor mural. At first they had no paint brushes small enough so they used q-tips and created an extremely detailed map of the world. Nicole Bosky, Hannah Bertoni, Cecilia Betsill and Laura Hilgren completed the mural outside. It was a huge world map that took hours of work in the beating sun. After the fifth day, everything was completed and there was a huge relief: it was all over, we came here to do what we did and we did so successfully. We gave our HIV/AIDS talk to both Shituwa and Endola and left with a smile on our face to Zambia. In Zambia we saw Victoria Falls and then were on our way home. With an 11-hour layover in Johannesburg left, every one of us reflected the happenings on our trip.

     Each one of us felt guilty for our selfish attitude towards life previously. We were selfish when we complained about school food, or called our parents horrible things because we did not get what we wanted. The fact is that we never took notice that we have a roof over our heads, three meals every day, a bed to sleep on and a shower to use. A question we were left with was why is it in the western world, where we have everything are we so unhappy? How can children who have nothing continue singing, dancing, smiling, laughing and being so content? The answer is, we constantly want, and are constantly unsatisfied which makes us constantly unhappy. The trick is, like our role models in Africa, to be who we want to be, aspire to be content with all that we have, whether it is love, friendship, family or education. It is important to be satisfied; therefore, eventually reaching a mind state of happiness. Like Mr. Brandse always says: remember who you are, where you come from, and never let yourself down.