Over the weekend of October 16-18, I attended training for my minimission trip to Malawi in Eustis, Florida with Rafiki. It was very informative, and exciting to see the amazing work this foundation does. Rafiki is Swahili for "friend," and the foundation was established in 1985 to befriend orphans and widows in their distress. Rafiki operates villages in ten countries in Africa which house up to 100 orphans each. In addition, there are programs in place for teacher training, widows, and advanced learning.
My favorite statement from this weekend was that the foundation encourages graduates from their schools to attend college within their home countries so that they might become effective leaders within their countries, rather than moving to Europe or the United States. In preparation for my upcoming service with Rafiki and the Peace Corps I have been reading Richard Dowden's "Africa: altered states, ordinary miracles." In his post-colonial political history of each country in Africa, Dowden points to the challenge of changing countries for the better from within when the most intelligent and gifted citizens are offered education and employment on other continents. That Rafiki is encouraging its graduates to make a difference in the communities from which they come is incredible.
There is so much more I could share about this organization, but there is no way I could be as thorough as the website: rafikifoundation.org. Please visit the website and learn more about what they do and how you can get involved. I will depart in forty days for Malawi, and will likely have so much more to share (including pictures) after my minimission.
If you would like to contribute to my upcoming trip you can do so through the website listed above. Simply select "ways to give," "support my mini missionary," and find my name in the drop box "Wood, Shauna-Trip 1 - M2653-1."
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