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Mission trip to Africa aids orphans
July 10, 2008
While on a cruise in Mexico several years ago, Sara Stover ’08 and her mom opted to forgo the “touristy” attractions of Mazatlan, choosing instead to visit three of the region’s orphanages.
The group on the excursion was fairly large, making it difficult to get any one-on-one time talking with the orphans. The situation frustrated Stover, who wished for more interaction with the children.
That wish came true this past June when she accompanied a MannaRelief mission trip to South Africa. The marketing major wanted to travel and do service work after her May graduation, and the mission trip fit the bill.
“Myself and most Americans, we do a lot of consuming as a whole,” Stover said. “I felt I should give back.”
On the two-week trip, a small group of volunteers traveled to South Africa to hand-deliver nutritional supplements to nearly 20 orphanages. The group traveled by bus from Johannesburg to Cape Town, and visited one to three faith-based orphanages a day.
The conditions at the orphanages varied. Some were in a single container-like building with thin sleeping mats, while others occupied five or six buildings and had real beds. Most of the children had lost their parents to the AIDS pandemic ravaging southern Africa, and many are infected with HIV themselves.
During the two-hour visits, the volunteers interacted with the children, singing songs, performing a puppet show and making balloon animals. They also handed out gifts, such as coloring books and crayons.
“The most shocking thing was how happy the children were, because in America, it takes so much to make us happy,” Stover said. “It obviously made me appreciate what I have.”
A transfer student, Stover wasn’t able to study away during her time at PLU. However, the university’s mission to prepare students for lives of service and its global focus touched her, and she thinks, better prepared her for the mission trip.
“I want to keep doing this,” she said. “It was fulfilling for me.”
Stover had only a few weeks to raise nearly $4,500 to participate in trip. While scrambling to finish finals and prepare for graduation, she turned to family, friends, and her professors in the School of Business for help. She ended up raising about 75 percent of the money.
Now that she’s back in Western Washington, Stover’s begun the job hunt. She said she might look into nonprofit organizations. At the very least, she plans to participate in another MannaRelief missions trip next year.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.
That wish came true this past June when she accompanied a MannaRelief mission trip to South Africa. The marketing major wanted to travel and do service work after her May graduation, and the mission trip fit the bill.
“Myself and most Americans, we do a lot of consuming as a whole,” Stover said. “I felt I should give back.”
On the two-week trip, a small group of volunteers traveled to South Africa to hand-deliver nutritional supplements to nearly 20 orphanages. The group traveled by bus from Johannesburg to Cape Town, and visited one to three faith-based orphanages a day.
The conditions at the orphanages varied. Some were in a single container-like building with thin sleeping mats, while others occupied five or six buildings and had real beds. Most of the children had lost their parents to the AIDS pandemic ravaging southern Africa, and many are infected with HIV themselves.
During the two-hour visits, the volunteers interacted with the children, singing songs, performing a puppet show and making balloon animals. They also handed out gifts, such as coloring books and crayons.
“The most shocking thing was how happy the children were, because in America, it takes so much to make us happy,” Stover said. “It obviously made me appreciate what I have.”
A transfer student, Stover wasn’t able to study away during her time at PLU. However, the university’s mission to prepare students for lives of service and its global focus touched her, and she thinks, better prepared her for the mission trip.
“I want to keep doing this,” she said. “It was fulfilling for me.”
Stover had only a few weeks to raise nearly $4,500 to participate in trip. While scrambling to finish finals and prepare for graduation, she turned to family, friends, and her professors in the School of Business for help. She ended up raising about 75 percent of the money.
Now that she’s back in Western Washington, Stover’s begun the job hunt. She said she might look into nonprofit organizations. At the very least, she plans to participate in another MannaRelief missions trip next year.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.