Umsobomvu Youth Fund (South Africa): I was very surprised by the success of the organization and the number of people that they have loaned money to. Since our group is focusing on microfinance, I found it surprising that Umsobomvu makes just about all of its profits on the loans. Which therefore makes me feel even better about being a non-profit organization because if we were trying to get money we probably wouldn’t be doing that well.

The mindset seemed great to me in the organization. It seems like most organizations sit back and wait for people to come to them asking for help. But Umsobomvu’s methodology for microfinance is “the institution goes out and finds the client, not the other way around.”

Umsobomvu really opened my eyes to what microfinance really is and what an up and running organization does. They put it in simple terms for me. The meaning of microfinance is to create sustainable development for people. Visiting Umsobomvu really helped me get ready for the rest of the trip.

Safari: In total we went on five safaris: three morning safari and two late afternoon/night safari. I have concluded that the three days spent in the South African wild were quite probably some of my favorite days spent on this earth.

I have always had a passion for the wild and the animals that rule it, but my passion for the wild and the animals that rule it, but my passion was taken to another level when spending a few nights in the bush. The discovery channel and animal planet are enough to intrigue a mind, but the wild itself can capture it. I was a victim to the forest, plains, and tundra of Africa and find that a career may lie there for me in the future.

Between the sky-scraping giraffe, the elephant retreat, the baboon families, the lion families, the lion napping and all of the other amazing species that we saw (including flora as well as fauna), I would classify the experience as one of my best and know that my toes will point me in that direction again.

Village: Visiting the village Mduku was part of the three day “retreat” so to speak. The three days were life changing in many different ways. The safari sparked my wildlife side while the village struck me in a different way. Seeing the happy joyous people and their lifestyles and the way they reacted to outsiders was amazing. They’re all so happy for such a large percentage of their lives. It’s really something to strive to be like.

Having all of the kids run to the gates to greet us and sing for us and all of the people wave and smile at us as we pass by is humbling. The appreciation for the gifts we gave them was beyond any I have previously seen. It was inspiring seeing their extremely positive attitudes knowing all of the conflicts and hardships that they have to push through and fight with everyday.

As much as I thought that people in remote villages like Mduku wore traditional clothing, only a small percentage of the people wore tribal robes and hats and such. Many people were very well dressed and all of the children wore school uniforms. Everybody wore nice suits and dresses on Sunday for church services. Which brings me to what bewildered me most, religion. I didn’t realize people were so religious here, especially in small villages so far from any big cities. I would understand the passion for religion if it was that of their ancestors but they so passionately followed Christianity. After experiencing their passion for Christ and the bible, I can’t recollect what I really expected of the village religiously, but I know that is not what I expected.

The village experience was very humbling and I feel that my appreciation for life and everything in it will be greater from here on out.

Grayson