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.