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Reflections on Cape Town

By hfirlein

My semester in Cape Town has been truly transformative. I will take so many lessons from it, about myself, my goals, and the world around me. My time volunteering with the people of South Africa has shown me that poverty is one of, if not the most, important issue facing South Africa in particular and the Global South in general. Impoverished environments breed a lack of education, unemployment, and ill health. These, in turn, perpetuate poverty, and the cycle continues. It’s a big problem, one that no one person can tackle, and as I spent time volunteering in Cape Town, it was all too clear to me that the influence of one person is fairly small, and that even though one person can make a difference, it is often not as big an impact as that person would like. At times this realization was disheartening; I felt that because my contributions were small, they somehow weren’t all that worthwhile. But as I reflect on my time in Cape Town, I realize that the small contributions I made mattered to the people we helped; the men, women and children we provided with a meal, a listening ear, and a smile. These offerings are indeed small, but they are nothing to be scoffed at. The smallest acts of kindness are still kind, and they can provide hope to those who need it most. They can also profoundly change the actor. Showing compassion and finding the value in volunteer work, no matter how seemingly insignificant, can influence the way one views oneself and the world.

I feel that I have come to appreciate the privileges afforded me by my nationality and socioeconomic status. Coming face-to-face with harrowing examples of extreme poverty has made me realize how truly lucky I am to have the opportunity to go to college, and the security of knowing I will always have a roof over my head and food in my pantry. I’ve also come to realize just how much idealism it takes to remain positive and hopeful when faced with indigent circumstances. And most importantly, I’ve realized that my biggest goal in life, no matter how Miss America-esque it sounds, is to help people – to alleviate poverty and human suffering wherever I can, and to leave the world a better place than I found it.