Hi Summer here!

For those of you wondering why I chose this blog name, well the summer months in South Africa are from October to March, plus it played perfectly on my name and me literally being in South Africa, there you go!

Thanks Nicy! While I literally took weeks to come up with a blog name it took you all of two seconds haha you’re the best!

Now for the other stuff 😊

The Program

I’ll be doing HIV/AIDS awareness through a volunteer site called African Impact. My site will be Zululand, South Africa. If you’d like to know the official name of my project is Rural Healthcare and HIV/AIDS Awareness Project and my duties include the following:

  •  To help raise awareness on preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and how people can live positively with HIV in the local community.
  •  To enrich the lives of those in need through health promoting activities such as education and sustainable farming projects.
  •  To track progress and assist in administering a nutrition program to malnourished individuals – many with tuberculosis and HIV
  •  To contribute in the community by putting together and delivering food parcels to those who need them most – the poor, the infirm, those on ARVs, and those who can otherwise not provide for themselves or their families
  • To assist local caregivers to provide much needed home based care for patients.
  • To gain observational healthcare/ medical experience as you learn about local healthcare services, including two rural clinics.
  • To join African Impact’s family empowerment program, by visiting and helping needy families.
  • To immerse myself in the local Zulu culture while helping mothers, children, and HIV/AIDS affected members of the community achieve a better standard of living through African Impact’s  Structured Support Groups

Quick Facts on South Africa

I’ll go through this quickly and try to hit the most important, so you won’t have to google for yourself facts about South Africa.

  • Population size- 804,456
  • Language- isiZulu (a Bantu language)
  • Religion- most declare to be Christian and/or believe in a creator God (uNkulunkulu)
  •  Food- mostly vegetarian, although Zulus love meat. Maize, tubers, and pumpkin are eaten in many different forms. Tomatoes, cabbage, and onions are also popular when they are available.
  • Clothing- there are many different forms, it all depends on the area and specific followed traditions, but the women wear skirts and the goal of all clothing is to not be revealing.
  • Currency- Rand, also referred to as the South African Zar. 1 Zar equals approximately  0.073 USD.