first e-mail

Dear Friends & Loved Ones,

As the story goes, there once was a little girl born in Ukraine who ended up working in Namibia by way of New York. Who would've thunk!

I am now in my second week of service in Namibia. The past week has been the longest week in my life. Of course I will never be able to effectively communicate all of the experiences and emotions but it gave me an interesting lens as compared to when I first came to America. In the borough of Brooklyn, wealth was misleading and inequality tucked away into dark corners that were not so apparent to the ten year old eye. Instead of being fixated with the bright lights and beautiful houses (which are in the white part of town), this time I was able to see a well rounded picture where a majority of the population was living in the poverty of tin structures just on the other side.

As some of you may already know, I will be in Namibia for ten months as a business and community development Fellow. The International Fellows Program (IFP) is one of two main volunteer programs at the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH). To date, I will be working with the IFESH Namibia office on expanding its' funding and programs. I will also be working with the newly developed and rapidly growing Lazarus Shinyemba Ipangelwa (LSI) Foundation on sustained expansion. Lastly, I will liaise, network with, and help other NGOs, the Ministry of Education, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and public schools. Basically, I will make myself available for any help and training I can offer. You will hear more about the specific types of projects I will be working on later.

All in all, I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity no matter how lonely it gets being away from you all. This year will be a big lesson in learning how to take one day at a time. I am conscious of taking every day for granted but hopefully this experience will push me in the right direction.

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