This week, I didn’t really know what to write about. Nothing
big had happened at my internship, and we hadn’t had any particularly
noteworthy adventures in a while. As is often the case, this lack of
inspiration led to procrastination, and I still hadn’t written a thing four
days after my post was due. However, it’s a good thing I neglected to write
anything, because on Friday I finally encountered something worth writing
about.
I spent the day working on the library project in Nyanga
with Patrick, Anna, Liz and Kelsey. We started to put paint on the walls, and
decided that they’re going to be alternating peach and turquoise. Already, you
can tell that it’s going to create a warm, welcoming environment. Plus, the
carpenter we hired was nearly finished rebuilding and varnishing the shelves.
Overall, it’s finally starting to look like a library, and I could not be more
thrilled.
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| Allie & Patrick painting the library for their Books for Nyanga activist project. |
We returned home that afternoon to find a Facebook message
from an Ari Mason, an intern at NBC Connecticut. She is a friend of Erica’s,
and she heard about Books for Nyanga when Erica’s boyfriend Dan brought us a suitcase
full of books from the US last week. She wanted to interview us about Books for
Nyanga, and we obviously responded immediately. The segment was scheduled to
air on the Friday night news, so Patrick, Anna and I did a skype interview with
her about fifteen minute later. (Keep in mind, we had just spent the day
working in the library- Patrick and Anna were still covered in paint, and my
hair was literally dripping wet from the shower). But even though we were taken
somewhat off guard, the interview went smoothly. We talked all about how we
first visited Nyanga and decided to help out with the library, and how we’ve
been using social media to gather support back home. We got home later that
night to find an article about us on the NBC News website, and we were even
able to hear some of the segment as it aired (the live feed wouldn’t work, but
Anna’s mother called so we could listen to it over the phone). It was all so
surreal; we are 8,000 miles from home, and yet there are people talking about
us on the local Connecticut news. Still, doing that interview was an amazing
opportunity. We’re trying to spread the word about what we’re doing in Nyanga,
so getting on the news was a big deal; we received 1,200 lbs. of books on just
the day after the story aired! I only hope that all the people that heard about
us will tell their friends, and this interview can start a ripple effect to
bring in more donations for the library.
As I’m writing this post, I can’t stop thinking about how
all of these events have occurred so perfectly. It just so happened that Erica
knew someone working at NBC, and she heard about how Dan was bringing us books
and wanted to put us on the news. Then there’s the way in which we started this
project; if we hadn’t visited Marita’s flat one day, we would have never met
Joseph, gone to Sithembele Matiso High School, or even known about the library
that we are not devoting so much time and energy into rebuilding. And if you
look even further than that, it gets even more convoluted; the only reason we
went to Marita’s flat that day is because we wanted to tell her about our
adventure in the Manenburg, which only happened because we were running late
and caught a taxi with an incredibly kind driver. I know that there are words
for this sort of phenomenon- kismet, serendipity- but I’m starting to wonder if
it’s fate. It just seems too improbable that all these things could be nothing
more than a series of coincidences. I really don’t know what to make of all of
it, but I do know I’m grateful that everything has worked out so far, and I
hope our luck continues for the remainder of our time in South Africa.
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Read more about the project at: http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/UConn-Students-Donate-Books-to-African-High-School-198503371.html
To donate to the project go to http://www.gofundme.com/booksfornyanga
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