Week 7

I believe that the project has been a success.  The Bulembu project as a whole started in 2006 and is continuing on until it reaches its completion, which is speculated to be 2020.  I think that our group has done an effective job at completing its objectives.  We have successfully finished two work projects, made lasting relationships with those within the Bulembu administration and with the individuals throughout the town.  I believe that this experience has challenged my thoughts and views on the world as a whole, and even in a way that I see that the world is not just one but many cultures and are each right and wrong in their own ways.  It has been hard to leave here, as the people in the town tell us that we are part of Bulembu now.  They tell us how the time we spent there has made us family, and I would agree that the toddlers and aunties I worked with feel as though they are now extensions of my own family.  The workers have touched my heart with their stories and dedication they feel towards the town and Swaziland as a whole.  It will be difficult to be home again after this trip, our lives and feelings towards each other in the United States are so competitive and rash compared to the people here.  We strive for riches while these people strive for family and to survive.  I can truly say that this trip has changed me in a positive and illuminating way that I would have never gotten by any other means.  I feel as though I have made a lasting impact here, although I can only hope that it was a positive long lasting impact.

Week 6

I feel as though the trip has been a success.  Our team has accomplished the goals that have been set for us, with both the first work project and the second.  I feel that we have been helpful in the care of the orphans. Our team has been here for six weeks and has been extremely flexible.  There have been times where the team has gone above and beyond in order to help.  I have built relationships that I feel will be lasting with workers, like Ivan and Charles, Aunties at the toddler homes, the children and with other teams.  The administrators, Aunties, workmen, teachers, and students have thanked us for our hard work, and for our willingness to do things we had originally not signed up to do.  The school thanked the girls for working in the preprimary school for a week because several teachers were at a conference. I feel as though we have accomplished our goal here, to serve however they needed, but I will admit that the project is ongoing.  Bulembu is working to become self-sustainable by 2020 and it has not been accomplished yet. The project goes beyond Bulembu it is for the whole of Swaziland. Although we could only help for six weeks, I believe we have left a lasting impact on the people and project here.

Week 1

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this trip. I have been hearing about Bulembu, Swaziland for a while and now I finally get to go. I am looking forward to getting to work with the children and help them in any way that I can. Whether that is with school, being someone for them to talk to, or even someone for them to play with, I will be there for them. I am also looking forward to getting to work in the primary school in Bulembu. I’m hoping to learn about their school system and how they work with the children in an educational setting. These children have all gone through so many hard things in their lives and are different than many of the children that I have worked with in the past. I’m hoping to learn how to help them and teach them in school and be able to give them one on one time to help them with whatever they are struggling with. This experience will teach me so much about teaching and everything that I learn from the children, teachers, and other staff I can take back with me to help my future students in The United States. What I learn here are things that I would not be able to learn in a classroom back home.  I am so excited for this experience and I can’t wait for it to begin! 

S.o.S 7

This summer of service has been very enjoyable, I have learned a lot about a field I had zero experience in and met a ton of great people. The main organization I paired with was the East Volusia Mosquito Control, while there I was exposed to intergraded pest management and its relationship to public health. I participated in a wide variety of projects working within various functions of the department. My main role I took ownership over was a landing rate route in which I conducted adult surveillance and interacted with the public. I also worked on projects that related to catch basin treatment, helicopter marsh surveillance and monitoring of the department’s chickens for mosquito born diseases. Some things I learned this summer include time management, team work skills, and being able to quickly adopt , all these skills will help me get the most out of my senior year with Bonner.

SOS Week 7

Volunteering is partaking in an activity without compensation and, therefore, is often accomplished to the bare minimum. Serving, on the other hand, is a gift one performs out of love for another living being and is undertaken with dedication and enthusiasm. Serving at the Indian River Medical Center absolutely changed my definition of serving. At first, I was not sure if I would be burnt out by the end of the summer from putting in so many hours in such a short amount of time at the same place. Yet, serving my time in such a dense manner actually made it a more worthwhile, rewarding investment. I met at least 100 new people - volunteers, staff, patients and families - and became close with many of them. We faced challenges together, the main one being the struggle for consistent communication between staff, patients and their family members. The reason for the lack of communication was simply because of the hectic schedule the doctors have to juggle. During surgeries and such, unexpected situations come into play and can cause a delay and/or extension of the time patients and their families have to be at the hospital. The volunteers and I tried to lessen this tension by communicating with the doctors, giving updated statuses to the waiting family members, offering them directions to the cafeteria, café, or gift shop, and engaging in conversation with them. Many people appreciated the assistance and acknowledgement. In return, I learned a valuable skill of being comfortable in professionally and effectively communicating with “coworkers” and “customers.”
The best part about my summer of service was getting to know so many new, wonderful people and knowing that I contributed a large amount of my time and energy to making life easier for others. I strongly believe that living a stress-free life is the healthiest lifestyle, and I feel I reduced the stress of staff, patients, and families at IRMC by being positive and helpful in every way I possibly could. The “worst” part of my service was not actually a negative component, but was simply the fact that I wish I could have worked more in-depth helping people. Nonetheless, I have that to look forward to in my career in the medical field. 
The person who comes to mind when I think about their attitude towards my summer of service project is Maureen Luther,
the director of volunteer services at IRMC. She was never short of cheerful and kind, with both her words and her actions. She always praised me for my service and made me feel as though the work I was doing there, although simple, was important to many individuals. She inspired me to keep up my hard work by bragging about my “Audrey standard” and by telling me the positive things said by other staff members and volunteers at the hospital. I felt that my work was paying off and making the difference that I had hoped it would for others.
In the same way, a wonderful woman named Judy who worked in the cardiac catherization department would generously thank me for my service and for doing such an excellent job in the position of communicating with the families of patients who may be in raw emotional states due to unfortunate results about their loved ones. She always (and I mean always) had a cheerful, warm aura about her that could make anyone feel comfortable and safe. This, of course, is vital for a person who works next to unwell patients who need support and compassion. Also, Judy was very careful to make sure she always fairly tended to everyone under her care and was very precise about her communication of information. Judy is a true inspiration, and reminded me of who I consistently aim to be, showing me that it is absolutely possible.
Dedicating my summer to service rather than “selfishness,” as the statement phrases it, was somewhat scary. Two hundred and eighty hours of my summer would cut it straight in half. It actually consumed more than half of my summer vacation because I spread out my hours more liberally. I did come in contact with several people who were impatient or difficult to deal with, which made me somewhat uncomfortable, but I realized that it was an important, character-building experience. I also understood the reasons behind people’s emotions and I kept the patients and families in my prayers. I sometimes fear that I may be in their shoes one day, facing the reality that I have, or a loved one has, a serious medical issue. Yet, that only makes me more understanding of the patients and makes me want to work towards advancing preventative care and cures. Looking forward to a career in health is where my hope lies and is what gives me courage to work towards it through my education and experiences.
In my service, I occasionally get exhausted of the type of work I do because I am anxious to be in a higher position, such as the doctors. However, reflection helps me to connect the dots of my smaller tasks to the "larger picture” and the tremendous good that is done in other’s lives. I also realize that my service does not quite yet reach a global level, but my goal is that one day I will be able to serve others with medical care that will globally improve individuals' health. Working on a global scale, I can only imagine, will be extremely different than working in an American hospital. Even so, serving at IRMC, I was exposed to more elderly, sickly people with which I usually come in contact. I was given a glimpse into the lives they live each day - the pain, discomfort, stress, taking of medications, and probably countless other things I do not know about. My heart goes out to them and my compassion for people, in general, has grown substantially. As a result, I feel a greater calling to become a medical professional and to not waste any time in trying to help others. This explains my “community need, work challenge, or public issue” that I have "given the most deliberate, critical, analytical thought to this summer” and “one issue or challenge [I] would like to be a more respected authority on.”
Overall, serving at Indian River Medical Center was an easily enjoyable experience because of the wonderful people I was able to work alongside every day and because I was learning about my passion for health and helping people. By the time my last day of service came around and I got my hours signed off, it officiated an incredible accomplishment and stamp in my future in health care.
:)

Project Evaluation

The goals I set for this summer have been accomplished and I’m excited for it! Now let’s go through the checklist.

To make Border Collie Rescue’s database digital.

Check. We cleared out the living room where our friendly parrot Andrew is and turned it into an office. EJ also fixed up the computer and had all the essentials installed. We also found records from a few years back for other dogs that we can place in the digital records.

Learn the names and habits of every dog at the rescue.

Check. We have had so many dogs come in and learning their names was easy it was their habits that were tricky. You never know who's the fence jumper until they try it, so that’s why we keep them on a literal leash for a few days.

Adopt out dogs to gain more room at the rescue.

Check. We had about ten dogs who have found good homes. This summer was a success!

Organize and clean up around the rescue.

Check. We cleared out the front room to make an office. I also tried to organize the cabin out back that has been used for storage. With the help of Logan and Audri we managed to make a very large dent in the mess. Now you can walk around the cabin with no fear of being buried and find what you are looking for in minutes.

This summer was a success.   

Personal Reflection

My time at the Border Collie Rescue has given me experiences that I would need for the future. This summer of service opportunity gave me the chance to learn how to be independent and responsible.

My supervisors trained me to take care of the rescue and actually left me in charge while they had to other responsibilities elsewhere. To my surprise it became my job to train the high schoolers who came to earn their volunteer hours.

This experience also gave me the chance to get to know my supervisors and hang out with them during the summer. Besides working with dogs, Ej and Lisa, made my days at the rescue. They gave me so many opportunities to prove myself to be an effective volunteer and I’m thankful for that. They trust me more with projects and work around the house and call me when they need help. It makes me feel very good to be depended upon.