Margo Warren

Safe and Sound

Thu, 24 Jul 08 01:11:08 +0200

Hey everyone! First off I apologize for the extreme lack of recent bloging. I am at home now back in Canada and safe and sound. I luckily found a great job 3 days after I came home which was a big relief! I have been working a lot though as a councilor at a kids sports camp at McGill. So far its quite a change from working at Agape. Some big differences I have noticed between the kids at the camp and those at Agape is that the Agape children are so much more self sufficient at young ages. While the 6 year olds at camp cry every time they get so much as a bug bite the Agape 4 year olds could trip and fall and summersault down a hill landing on top of another child and both would get right back up and continue playing as if nothing happened. As well the Agape children really know how to look after themselves in a way that Canadian kids their age would never be capable of doing. They can bath by themselves at 4, clean up after themselves at lunch, and help around the kitchen. I think that the nature of their lives has just forced them to mature faster which is a sad truth. The older kids at Agape behave in a much more relaxed mature manner than any of the kids at Camp and they know how to look after each other and rarely fight. The motto of Agape, “ We Are Together” can defiantly be seen in how the children behave and how kind they are to each other. I think us Canadians have a lot to learn from other cultures and although we may seem like a developed country with so many benefits there are many aspects of South African culture that we can learn from. Most importantly perhaps is the sense of community and care of one another that can be seen at Agape and that is present in many of the poorest areas of the country. The end of Sabine and I’s travels went very well and although we ran into some bad weather we still got to see some whales( a first for Sabine) and experience the Capetown bartering market in the pouring rain among other things. It was quite the experience and Sabine and I actually got pretty good at getting a cheep price buy the end of the day. We also met two musicians on the bus that sang and preformed in the streets during the apartheid defiance campaign where there was an uprising and rebellion among the black South African population against the white authorities. One of the man’s CD cover featured a photograph of him standing playing guitar as a young man with police standing around him. He explained that they had told him to stop playing or they would arrest him but he continued to play defying their orders and standing up for his human rights. It was really cool to speak with Joe and Lungile and learn a bit more about the Apartheid from people who struggled through it. The bus driver was very excited to have the “celebrities” on the bus so played all of their CDs for the entire trip which were amazing. Later Joe got out his makeshift musical instrument and started to play. Unfortunately by that time, some 8 hours later, Sabine and I had reached our stop. They definitely made the long ride fly by though. On the other hand the long flight home was pretty brutal and my six hour layover in London seemed to last forever. I knew that I would miss South Africa a lot but after spending so long in a country half way across the world I was ready to head back to Canada. When I sat down and prepared for yet another flight, across the Atlantic this time, the stewardess handed me a copy of the Canadian National Post and when I opened it up to find a full page storey about how the ban on yellow margarine in Quebec had been officially lifted I had to laugh. I guess the saying is true that no news is good news and after seeing headline after headline across all of the South African papers about violence and murder and crime all it took was a little storey about margarine to remind me of what a peaceful country Canada really is and how important that is to appriciate. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my blog! Thanks again to you all for keeping up with it and for all of the messages! Xoxo Margo

The Garden Route

Sun, 06 Jul 08 20:48:05 +0200

Hi everyone!
Soory it’s been a while but the past few days have been a blur. After touring around Capetown some more and visting the townships, climbing ( well riding the cable car) up table mountain, driving up to cape point and taking a sunset cruise in Table Bay( after a failed attempt at Robben Island) we had to said goodbye to Louise as she was off for London England to start her summer job. The next morning Sabine and I hopped on the “baz bus” a student travel bus that takes you all along the coast and you can hop off in whatever town you like. Together we have travelled down the Garden Route which is a lovely view of the mountians on one side and the beach on the other for miles and miles and miles. We have had some hilarious moments together and it has been amazing so far. Today I somehow convienced Sabine that it would be a great idea to bungy jump off the highest jump in the world…it was an unreal experience and so much fun and hilarious to watch Sabine go first... In the afternoon we hopped right back on the Baz Bus and headed to Plattensburg to go to an elephant sanctuary which was really cool too. We not only got to see a bunch on elephants up close but we got to feed them and walk with them trunk in hand as well. I took about 500 photos of them so later on I will post a few.

Sabine and I definitely miss the all the kids though. We continuously think back to funny moments with them and start laughing not to mention watching their preformance with Mandela on 'you tube' on repeat like proud parents haha. Ninke and Karin make sure to give them hugs for us!

Thats all for now
Thanks for reading!

Xoxo
Margo

p.s Ninke I wear the scarf you gave me everyday hahah it has come in VERY handy

Capetown

Sun, 29 Jun 08 08:57:22 +0200

Hello again!
Yesterday was our last day in Waterfall and now we have finished our work at Agape and are in Capetown for a couple weeks. It was really sad to leave all of the kids and the other volunteers who didn't come to Capetown with Louise and Sabine and I. My stay in Waterfall was an amazing experience to say the least and I can only hope that one day I'll be back and see all the kids again.On our last night all of the volunteers went out for a goodbye dinner which was really fun but the best part of the evening was when we came back to the volunteer house just in time to turn on the tv and see the older Agape children's choir preforming at the 46664 concert for Nelson Mandella's birthday. They were amazing and getting to see them preform was such a proud moment. They sang "We Are Together" with Annie Lennox and then stood next to Mandella when he gave his speach so look for them if you watch it again! I really wish I could see them when they get back and hear all about their trip. I tried to add a few photos but sadly as always my internet time is limited. The hostel we're staying at has a few computers though so I will continue to let you all know what were up to. Today were renting a car and driving down to Cape point where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It is supposed to be one of the nicest drives in the world but I'm just a bit worried about how driving on the other side of the road will be...but Louise has assured me that she will be the one doing the driving and that it will be fine... haha I hope so!

take care!
xoxo

p.s Ninke you will love it here and book our hostel cause it's a great one ----Capetown Backpackers
Miss you girls already though!

KCA and the Dream Center

Thu, 26 Jun 08 10:57:33 +0200

Hi everyone!
I hope everyone is doing well! Don’t worry mum the cheetah farm was perfectly safe there was a trained professional right there with us, just not the right trained professional.....haha but seriously I’m fine and continuing to be safe. Right now I’m staying at a woman named Rona’s house who is the South African representative of Keep A Child Alive , the organization that Louise and I work with at McGill. She basically is the only liaison in South Africa for KCA so she has a huge job coordinating all of the projects that KCA funds, the main one being a clinic called the Blue Roof that provides Anti-retroviral drugs for people with AIDS. Rona had Louise and I over for dinner and since she runs a bed and breakfast on the beach she was sweet enough to have us stay the night. Rona has lived in South Africa her whole life so it was really great to sit down and talk about the history of South Africa and the future of it as well. After speaking to Rona and other South African natives I’ve learned so much more about South Africa than from any book I’ve read or history class I’ve taken. South Africa is first and foremost a really beautiful country that has amazing people but one that also has a really negative reputation. Although the statistics about crime and poverty and AIDS are not to be ignored it’s a country that shouldn’t be known for it’s problems but for one that is making huge efforts to overcome them. South Africa has come a long way in the 14 years since the end of the Apartheid and although some of the effects of the apartheid have been lasting such as the harsh income inequality and extreme poverty the country is trying to fix them. Even though the government struggles with corruption and Mbeki the president, still denies that HIV causes AIDS there are so many South Africans who care so deeply about the outcome of their country and they are the ones who are working on making South Africa a better place.
Yesterday we visited the Dream Center ,a hospital for AIDS patients. We were able to visit with some of the patients which was really nice. Some of them were very very ill and couldn’t get out of bed but they still looked so happy to see us and smiled and said hello despite how sick they were. Other patients who were not as ill were able to go to the garden and to some physiotherapy. We had tea with one patient in the Garden and played Jinga with her which she loved. Even though she was very sick and visibly in a lot of pain she insisted on staying outside and chatting with us. Up in the wards Sabine and I played cards with one man who was so happy to have company and told us several time how much he liked having volunteers around. I taught him to shuffle the cards the way my grandma taught me to and gave him a spare deck I had in my bag( we had borrowed his neighbours card deck) Sabine and I and Scibo played “4 of a kind”( which made up on the spot because I couldn’t remember how to play any real ones with 3 people besides go fish) Scibo loved “4 of a kind” though and soon the man in the room beside him came over to see what has happening and joined in too. They were really funny guys and they were laughing and smiling the whole time so when it was time for us to go we left them playing the game which conveniently can be played with people also haha so hopefully it kept them busy for a while longer.
Today Rona is taking us to the Blue Roof Clinic and then Tonight I’m spending the night at Agape so that will definitely be an experience on its own haha
Take care everyone!
Xoxo
-Margo

4 birthdays and a safari

Tue, 24 Jun 08 13:32:45 +0200

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is doing well! Last week on Thursday the other volunteers and I organized a huge Brai(BBQ) and joint birthday party for the kids at Agape. We ordered a ton of meat from the local butcher and bought 4 cakes and presents for the birthday kids. It was a great night with lots of good home cooked African food and a ton of laughs. One of the older girls braided my hair into snoop dog (that’s a rapper mum) cornrows which looked pretty ridiculous but I ended up keeping them in for a few days because they were pretty convenient... The birthday kids loved their presents and the other kids pied them all in the faces after they were done eating which only added to the laughter of the night. Some of the older kids left for England the next morning because the Agape Children's Choir was invited to sing at Nelson Mandela’s Birthday party. They were all very excited and asked us all how long the flight to London would be( the longer the better they said) The party was sort of a farewell dinner for them as well since we won't get another chance to see them. Some of the kids gave really sweet speeches thanking us for helping them and telling us how much we mean to them. That was defiantly the best part of the night for me. Everything else has been going well here and we are all just trying to finish up the projects we started, for example fixing the pathway so that the van that takes the kids to school can park inside the orphanage (pictures to come) and buying new materials for the homework class (because pencils are scarce).

On the weekend we went to a game reserve and went on a Safari and a boat cruise down the river to see hippos and crocs. Obviously they let us drive the boat, because there are zero safety regulations here but in an attempt to miss the hippos, Sabine (another volunteer) just about drove the boat into the side of the river bank. It was very amusing to say the least. That same day we also visited a cheetah rehabilitation center which helps them recover when they are found injured and then re-releases them back into the wild. Obviously they let us go into the cage and stand a meter away from the cheetah while the reptile expert (the cat expert was away that day) fed the cheetah raw chicken out of the bucket he was holding.... Louise didn't feel comfortable going into the cage so I took one for the team and got some nice close up pictures...The Safari was great too and we saw a ton of animals although our 4:30 am wake up call was not a pleasant experience however seeing all the animals in the wild with our crazy lion OBBSESSED safari guide was worth it.

Tomorrow we are spending the day at the dream center, a hospital specifically for patients who are in the final stages of AIDS. We met some other volunteers from the dream center on the weekend and they said in general the experience has been a difficult one but also one that can be very rewarding as well. I am really looking forward to getting a chance to see the center and spend some quality time with some of the patients and perhaps hear some of their stories as well.

That's all for now
Take care everyone and thanks for reading!

Xoxo
-Margo

more photos

Tue, 17 Jun 08 14:23:18 +0200

Hi everyone I don't have much time to write a long message but I thought I would post some more pictures. I hope you enjoy! Everything is still going great here (except for when I got peed on by one of the kids today haha) and everyone is healthy and happy xoxo
Margo

p.s the first picture is of the volunteers minus Jeremy in the valley of a thousand hills national park( I think thats the right name)There is a waterfall there and that's where the town that we live in gets it's name from(even though the waterfall is actually in the next town over)

The second is at the beach in Bluff where we spent the weekend

And the third is of the other volunteer Jeremy and one of the older girls who we took out to lunch at "wimpy's burgers" today....no one else seems to find the popular fast food joint's name a little odd except for Louise and I.....haha

and the last photo is of me and a couple of the younger kids just hanging out inside on a rainy day. They were eating oranges and politely kept handing me their demolished orange peels that they had kept in their mouths for prolonged periods of time as if they were some sort of nice present for me hahaha it was actually really cute though

Durban

Sun, 15 Jun 08 19:13:07 +0200

Hey everyone!!
Thanks for all the messages guys there really sweet and make being here a lot easy when I feel homesick. Also Happy Fathers day Dad!
Right now were staying in a little surf town called Bluff just outside of Durban. It’s beautiful and really nice and relaxing. It’s a long weekend here so we’ve had a nice little break. Yesterday we went into the city to watch the Agape children perform in a concert. They practiced for weeks and were all really excited about it and thought they were performing 6 songs a 3 dances and then they were only able to perform one song and some of the kids had to be left behind at Agape because they didn’t have enough tickets. They were really disappointed since they had worked so hard for it. The whole night really showcased how disorganized a lot of things are here. No one at the center knew anything about the performance and didn’t even tell the kids they couldn’t perform all their songs they just cut them off after the first one. The center its self was huge, even bigger than the ACC in Toronto (I thought it was called the ACC for a good week before I learned the center in Durban is actually the ICC and I thought it was quite the coincidence haha). It was a really frustrating experience. However, in comparison Canada seems like the most neurotic country ever haha. Also we’ve quickly discovered that time is not really relevant here. Pam the manager of Agape told us that
“ just now” in Africa means in 2 days or maybe a week. It seems like a nice idea sometimes cause I’m chronically late for class in Canada, but it’s also really annoying when nothing ever starts on time and it’s hard to get anything done immediately.

Also Durban the city is very “sketchy” to say the least. We went into the city at night for dinner and afterwards had to drive home through the city. It became a ghost town with no one on the main streets because its so unsafe to walk around after dark.(which is at 5 here since its winter) Also all the “ladies of the night” which is quite the euphemism if you ask me for prostitutes and street kids doing drugs could be seen. I’m really glad we chose a hostel (by pure luck) that was just outside the city because I would not want to sleep downtown at night, (let alone even be there at night)

Today we went surfing at the beach in Durban which is fine and safe during the day and we were with locals who knew where to go and where not too. It was really fun and although I have some pretty “narly” as they would say here battle wounds from my board I wasn’t actually that bad at it. I was a but scared of the sharks though because everyday the lifeguard comes on the intercom at the beach and says and I quote “ this is just a friendly reminder to please refrain from swimming because due to the fact that we have recently removed the sharks nets there are currently LOTS OF SHARKS! And he yells the last part too. Louise and I died laughing the first time we heard him. Normally know one really cares about the warning and the local surfers say its just so no one can be held responsible if someone gets bitten. They say that you only have to really worry when the minnows come because then the water becomes a “mass feeding frenzy”…..the minnows are set to arrive tomorrow. So I don’t think I’ll be surfing through any “feeding frenzy”. I was also rather concerned today though when I cut my knee and it started to bleed… and I was terrified the sharks would come running ( well swimming haha) On the drive in to Durban today with our new surf friends we saw really young kids around 7 or 8 begging for money which was defiantly something you would never see in Canada. It was weird also because we all developed this instinct after working at Agape that whenever you see a child you just want to run and pick them up and play with them so seeing kids the same age as some of the Agape kids on the street was hard. Be-more does have a project aimed at helping street children though so I felt better knowing that there are people trying to help them.

I’m off to eat dinner though but I promise to be safe in the water and not surf if the minnows make it here.

Thanks for reading!
Take care
Xoxox
Margo

A typical day at Agape

Thu, 12 Jun 08 14:32:52 +0200

Hi Everyone!
So Some of you having been asking me(mainly mum)what exactly we are doing on a day to day basis at Agape. So I thought I'd fill you all in. On a normal day we wake up around 7 eat breakfast in our backyard and watch the sunrise over the mountains(the perfect way to start any day if you ask me). Then we either walk to Agape from our volunteer house, which is about an hour or if we are lucky get a ride from "slow" who works for Agape and drives all the kids to school.Today we rode with the kids to school and crammed all 38 of us into the van, unsafe yes but anything goes here haha. Every morning we pick up fruit from the market for the children so they can have a snack when they get home from school. Since all of the food at Agape is donated from the local grocery stores and is food that is past the selling date they otherwise wouldn't get to have fresh fruit. When we get to Agape the little preschool kids are all anxiously awaiting our arrival and love the attention they all get. A big part of what we do as volunteers is spending time with the children watching over the 20 odd kids that are always running around. There are a few house
" Aunties" who do most of the cooking but they are usually too busy to look after all the children so that's where we come in. Living in an orphanage the children need all the love and attention they can get. At noon we feed them all lunch(much of which ends up on the floor or on us)but its still a hilarious time of the day. After lunch we help them brush their teeth in a communal tooth-brushing circle ( see picture below) which is also so funny to watch because they end up getting water all over each other when they spit out their water every which way. Next is nap time and then there are usually some dishes to do or laundry to help with before we have our lunch. The older kids come home from school around 3 and then they have their snack and we have " homework class" where we help them with their school work. This is one of the most rewarding times of the day because I think in Canada many of us as children, took forgranted having parents to help us with our homework every night. The kids all work really hard and are very ambitious some want to be doctors and others social workers and many singers( I think in part due to their amazing choir). However, many of them are behind in school and need extra help catching up. Also English is their second language( after Zulu) so they really need our help with their English homework and reading. It's also really interesting to see the work they do in school on AIDs prevention and abuse awareness. It even starts as early as grade 1 where one girl I was working with had to circle the pictures of what activities are safe to do and what are not(in relation to the spred of AIDS). Twice a week we have a few of the older kids over for dinner where we cook with them and try to help them learn about social situations because some of them when they came to Agape didn't even know how to use a knife and fork. I love this time with the older kids but it can also be upsetting when you see how hungery they still are. For example one girl came over for dinner and ate so much spagetti that she got sick in the bathroom but then came back and continued to eat desert. There are some really sad moments like that one but for the most part the kids at Agape are really happy and lucky and they realize that and don't take anything forgranted.

Yesterday we visted some of the other be-more projects. One of them called "bobbi bear" is a project that is centered around helping sexually abused children explain what happened to them but showing it on a teddy bear. We had a presentation from the founder of bobbi bear, a women named Jacki. She told us many stories of cases she had with sexually abused children. These stories were not easy to hear but I'm glad that she shared them with us as it helped us all gain a better perspective of what a huge problem sexually abuse is in South Africa for many women and children. Jackie's work with bobbi bear also helps some of the children recieve the neccissary post exposure profolactics to prevent them from getting infected with HIV. PEP's are a form of medication that prevent the spread of AIDS in the patient if they are taken within 72 hours of the contact with the bodily fluids.

Another project we were able to see yesterday was one where volunteers from bobbi bear and mother of peace (another care center for children) set up a weekly meeting under a large tree where women can come and learn all about HIV/AIDS for free. They also offer emergency care and give out fdonations of food and clothing. Even though 80% of the women who attend the meetings are HIV postive and very sick they get dressed up and look there best to shwo that even though many are dying they still will live thier lives as best they can for as long as they can. All and all yesterday was a very saddening day but a very uplifting one as well.

thats all for now though my internet time is quickly running out!

take care everyone!
xoxo
Margo

p.s the women in the first picture is "kgokgo" the founder of Agape.

weekend adventure

Sun, 08 Jun 08 14:12:20 +0200

Hi everyone!
so I'm currently sitting at an internet cafe in the biggest mall I've ever been to in my life...out of all the things I've seen so far on this trip I'd have to say this was the worst. It's possibly greatest example of insane income inequality you could ever imagine(considering for the past 3 hours we drive through slums and shanty towns) However the rest of this weekend has been unreal. We drove up on Friday through the mountains and watched the sunset which was so beautiful. At night we arrived at our giant log cabin where most of the other be-more volunteers from different projects where also staying for the weekend ( all of whom where also Dutch haha) We had a lovely night sitting by the fire and hanging out Lousie and I were doing our best to understand what everyone was talking about as they spoke Dutch for most of the night haha) But it was a good night none the less. In the morning we awoke(at 6:45)to a beautiful sunrise over yet another lovely mountain range. After breakfast we headed for Lesotho. Lesotho is an independent country that was founded by a group of people who opposed the native Zulu's and wanted to form their own seperate colony with the permission of the British settlers, and eventually leading to it's independence in 1978. The ride up to Lesotho and to the top of the mountain was terrifying to say the least because while driving along the tiny winding paths one wrong turn would send us all plumitting down the mountian. It was quite the "near death experience" as many of us would describe it. Also along the way we picked up one very thirsty hitchhiking backpacker who to mine and Louise’s enjoyment was American and spoke English haha. He was our age and originally also came to South Africa to volunteer but unfortunately his organization was not as well organized as Be-More and he arrived only to find that his project had been cancelled. Although the journey to the top was uneasy the spectacular view at the top where we had a beer and eat lunch was well worth the numerous communal group freakouts (also a definite bonding experience).
Enrique the backpacker traveled on through the mountains of Lesotho in much the same manner as Chris from the book and Into The Wild( I adviced him not to attempt to hunt any overly large wild animals on his own) All in all the trip was an amazing experience and I filled up my memory card with photos to share with you all. This week we get to visit all of the other Be-More projects, an AIDS care center, a place for sexually abused women and children, and an trauma care center for children before they are sent to foster care,to name a few. We are all really looking forward to seeing what some of the other volunteers do and how the other projects are run. That’s all for now though its nearly time for grocery shopping! Thanks for reading! Talk to you all soon!
Xoxo
Margo

p.s Mum your blue jacket came in very handy at the top of the mountain cause it was freezing!

South Africa!!

Thu, 05 Jun 08 14:06:44 +0200

Hello everyone!
I am here in South Africa at last! After a very long flight to England with the man beside me blasting techno music while holding his crying baby the whole way I finally made it to London. Then after a day well spent in London I hopped on another plane to Johannesburg
(Joburg as everyone here calls it)and that flight was much better than the first. There was a really sweet South African girl a few years older than myself who was sitting beside me so we chatted for hours which helped pass the time. It is Thursday here and we have spent the past few days getting organized and learning how the orphanage is run. The kids are all amazing and even though many of them have lost both their parents to AIDS they still are so kind and loving and are always laughing and singing. They all take care of each other and the moto of Agape is "We Are Together". Yesterday was a rather hard day because the manager of Agape, Pam, sat us down and told us the story of how Agape came to be and how some of the orphans arrived there. The stories were heartbreaking but being able to see how much Agape has helped them all was really nice. Almost all of the other volunteers here are Dutch so I'm picking it up really quickly although the Zulu on the other hand is much harder to learn. Zulu is the native language of the area and it involves a series of clicks which all mean very different things but sound exactly the same to me haha. Some of the children's names have clicks in them too which makes them very difficult to pronounce but we are all trying any way.My internet time is quickly running out so I must go now. Sorry for the lack of updates but it has been hard to find the time to go on the internet lately because we have all been so busy! Thanks for reading though and I promise I'll do the best I can with updating more often!

I hope you are all well!
xoxo
Margo

p.s Take a look at some of the other volunteers weblogs because they already uploaded some photos

Leaving tomorrow!

Fri, 30 May 08 20:04:38 +0200

Hi Everyone! I can’t believe that May is almost over already and that I am flying out tomorrow! I’ve spent the past couple weeks getting ready and I think I’m pretty well all set now and ready for the over 40 hours of travel time….(I’m bringing a lot of books to read). Contrary to the popular belief I did fit everything I need into one backpack and I can actually get it on without any help! haha Now I know some of you have expressed some concern about the current political situation in South Africa and the recent violence that was been occurring throughout the country. For those of you who are not aware of the present situation in my understanding, there is currently a lot of animosity between some of the native South Africans and the immigrant population from neighboring African countries that are now living and working in South Africa. Some people feel that the immigrants have unfairly taken jobs that should belong to South Africans themselves. The violence has been mostly restricted to the slums surrounding Johannesburg however there have been some attacks around Durban and Capetown as well. The violent attacks have been orchestrated by very poor South Africans and directed at other African immigrants. With that said I just want to let you all know that the orphanage I am staying at is not in a place of high risk and it is very safe and secure. I don’t want the recent violence to taint my attitude going to South Africa or yours when you hear about my trip. Although I will be sure to be extra careful the whole time I am there I am still so happy to be going and I cannot wait to get there. I hope that through this blog and my photos I will be able to show another positive side of South Africa that has been left out of the recent news. Now on a brighter note I have collected some clothes and books and toys for the kids at Agape so hopefully they will all be put to good use. So thanks to everyone who donated! I also am bringing (hopefully if customs allows me) some maple syrup and those maple leaf sugar cookies that everyone loves, as a gift for the Mothers of the orphanage who help run Apage and keep it in order. Since most of the other volunteers are from the UK or the Netherlands I though that we should bring a little bit of Canada to South Africa and what’s more Canadian than maple syrup themed treats? Seeing as I have two red eye flights in a row and 12 hours to kill in London England I think I will probably be pretty exhausted when I finally get to Durban but I promise to send out some I-arrived-and-didn’t-miss-any-flights curtsey emails for those that are worried (Mum haha) as soon as I can. Thanks for reading! xoxo Margo

Agape

Mon, 19 May 08 02:42:27 +0200

Hello everyone! First and foremost thank you so much for checking out my blog! I leave for South Africa on May 31st to volunteer at an orphanage outside of Durban called Agape. Agape is an orphanage for children, most of who have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS. Earlier this year I was able to watch a documentary on Agape and some of the stories of the children that live there. Although I don’t believe that the movie has been released in Canada yet make sure to look for it when it comes to HBO. It’s called “We Are Together” and it is an amazing movie. I feel so fortunate to be able to meet some of the children from the documentary and visit Agape in person and I am very excited to meet the other volunteers I will be working with. I hope all of you continue to read this blog so that I can share my experience at Agape with you all. I will be going with my friend Louise and we will be volunteering and traveling together afterwards so I’m sure there will be some stories about our travels afterwards as well (because Louise doesn’t know it yet but she’s coming bungee jumping with me at the highest bungee jump in the world haha). So I will try to write in my blog as much as possible when I’m there however, there are no computers and there is not Internet where we are staying so I will have to depend on Internet café’s for updates. Thanks again for visiting this site and I promise to keep you posted on everything! xoxo -Margo