Sharing Your Experience/ Meeting Minutes

SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE

9/24/2015

UNESCO Minutes

9/24/2015

  Student Ambassador: By Allie Leveillee

Cape Town Study Abroad Experience:

            I had the privilege to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa in the spring of 2014 and learn about two very different sides of the same city. Downtown Cape Town and the surrounding beaches and mountains are beautiful, fun and a luxurious vacation destination, but this is not where I learned about the history, culture and social ills of South Africa. I worked in a clinic in an impoverished township called Tafelsig, and I worked with many burn victims, mostly children from boiling water and open fire pits. Burns are extremely common because in the townships they do not have stoves or sanitary water to drink. This made me realize that the amenities we often do not give a second thought to help tremendously in safety, and in the wake of Apartheid people who were banished to the outskirts of the city are still struggling to afford the most basic things and do not have access to even toilets.

This being my first true travel experience shifted my perspective drastically and inspired me to work in human rights and try to conceive of solutions to problems such as these that are pushed off to the next political agenda, but are never solved even when they are causing millions of people suffering. Above all what I learned from my experience in Cape Town is that a person needs very little be happy and live a fulfilling life. I met some of the most fantastic people in the world who have nearly nothing but live every day in a kind and generous way. Living in the United States, this is something I have never experienced, and it shifted my entire perspective on what it means to live my life in a worthwhile way.