Photo linked from the Thembalitsha web site
Several years ago, a friend of mine made the extraordinary decision to leave the comforts of her US life behind for a year and volunteer at the Village of Hope, which is an old farm in Grabouw, South Africa, about 60km east of Cape Town. They provide a safe and loving home for children infected or affected by HIV, AIDS and TB. That area of the world has an HIV infection rate of 35%, and it has one of the highest TB infection and fatality rates in the world, even though it is a curable disease.
I received an email from my friend last night letting me know how much she has enjoyed reading about my 40 by 40 journey. She said that she had struggled with turning 40 and was inspired by my quest to do these good deeds. Meanwhile, I'm blown away at what she's doing. She's been there for several years now and is making a difference every day. I was so humbled that someone who has given her whole self to making a difference was moved by what I'm doing.
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| Photo linked from the Thembalitsha web site |
I made the decision to make the donation to Village of Hope over my lunch break today. I'd had a quick bite and then went and grabbed some precious mid-day snuggles from Charlotte since her amazing daycare is a block from work. While I was in the process of donating to Village of Hope, I saw a tab for Graceland. This is a preschool for vulnerable children who otherwise are left at home or have nowhere else to go. After spending time with Charlotte and the amazing women who care for her every day, my intent to do one good deed turned into two.
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