Alyssa Ciesla

Last days in South Africa

Mon, 15 Jun 09 14:21:25 +0200

Hi guys!
Sad to say I only have 3 more days here and it makes me sick to think about it. I am leaving South Africa a different person than I came, a better one. I don't think anyone can expect a group of children to change your life, but these kids have changed mine. Their joy for life is so admirable knowing what they all have gone through. We had a girl over the other night who had been raped so badly at 6 she was put in the hospital for 2 years and she is now at Agape at age 10. She is the smartest girl I've known and she wrote me the cutest note saying hwo she will never forget me and I will be her friend forever. I love these as if they were my own.
Well we have had a very productive couple of days. We finished painting the wall...pictures to come....except for our hands. It looks great. This weekend we went back to UShaka and saw Twist and Shout 2 times. This coming week We have a lot planned; a picnic with the street children from Pamela's other project, Vincent our bus drive, and former Agape orphan, and Philani, a 21 year orphan at Agape, are coming over tomorrow night to learn how t cook. I will not be teaching that, (Megan I'm sure you know why) but Iwill be there to enjoy their company. Wednesday night we are haivng a talent show with all the kids and we (the volunteers) are saying a goodbye message to the kids in Zulu. It will be very embarassing to butcher their language but I think they will appreciate it.
I am leaving here Thurs afternoon. I can't say I'm at all happy to leave. I found a home here and it will be heartbreaking to leave knowing what I'm leaving behind. But, I have promised my self and these kids that I will be back. Especially for the children still out on the street who don't have a place like Agape, I MUST come back for them.
I'll send out one more blog before I leave.

Busy Busy Weekend

Tue, 09 Jun 09 13:10:42 +0200

So,
I haven't left a message in awhile becasue I've been out on Safari!
Let me start with last Thurs....Pamela took us to her other project with street children. We sat in on a group discussion where they were talking about people stealing and selling their babies after they give birth. Apparently this is a huge prolem among steet kids. Young girls have babies and the social worker says they will take care of the baby while the mother recovers and when the mother recovers she finds her baby has been sold overseas and there's nothing she can do about it. Heartbreaking. You can't help ut get emotional when young boys, maybe 10 years old, are sitting in on this meeting and when it's over they go back out on the street. You can not blame these kids at all for what they do. No 10 year child chooses to live on the streets with no family, food, home or protection. Something happened to everyone one of these kids and they were forced to be on the streets. After the meeting we went to a soup kitchen wehre they get a hot meal before leaving for the streets again. We sat among them and ate what they were eating. They piled their plates high not knowing when they'd eat again. I got upset when I saw a young boy 9-10 years old sitting alone shoveling food into his mouth. No one I know could ever in their lifetime know how these kids feel or understand what they have gone through. Sleeping on the street is the least of their problems. Rape, AIDS, drugs and murder are among the very few things they worry about, nevermind the constant physical abuse they receive from police. It's so heartbreaking and I've never been more driven in my life to do soemthing about. Their is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I will be back here to help these and any other child who suffers from some sort of injustice. It's incredible how much we take for granted everyday when there's 15 year girls worrying about their babies being stolen from them at birth.
Well on a lighter note, Friday we left for safari. We got to our lodge Fri afternoon where we left right away for a hike through the African bush. It was beautiful and our guide was fantastic!!! Sat we woke up at 4:45am!!!!! to go on a game drive where we saw the Big 5(rhino, lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo). It is very rare to see all 5 in one day so we got very lucky. After a nice BBQ lunch on safari (so cool) we got back to our lodge. We napped for an hour and we were off to the Cheetah farm where I went in a cage while a cheetah ate!!!! i was 10 ft away from a real cheetah that could eat me alive!!! We got home from that and were off again on a night drive to see the nocturnal animals. We drove around but didn't see much. Our guide let me hold the spotlight and it was awessome. We got home and went to bed right away. We got up the next day to rain. Our kayaking trip was postponed to 1 so we went to a craft market wheere I bought more stuff!! of course. I chickened out of the kayaking becasue of the rain and becasue my mom made me promise not to do it, so I didn't. It was ok thoguh because it poured while they were on the river. We left and got home ,exhausted but readyto see the kiddies!!!! I only have a 9 days left here and I am dreading having to say goodbye. but there is still so much to llok forward to while I"m here. I will keep you all posted.

"Live the Life You Love."

p.s....if you read this, post a reaction..i like to hear from everyone

Sleepy Big Boy

Tue, 02 Jun 09 13:39:33 +0200

So I'm at the computer again and I guess it's only fair to you guys if I tell you what's happened since last night. haha. Last night we celebrated a birthday again at our house. Pasta and chocolate cake is very popular among the Agape children. When they left Britt, Lisa LAura and I watched a movie and went to bed. This morning we had a meeting with Pamela, Agape director, about how things were going and a thorough introduction to Agape. This woman is a true inspiration. Not only has she worked so hard for years to change the lives of the children at Agape but she recently started a program for street children which is becoming very succesful. SHe is taking us on Thursday to this new project, which I am thrilled about. Also, I set up a time to interview her for my capstone project. She will have tons of gret of information since most of the kids don't wantto talk about AIDS or the other reasons they are at Agape. After the meeting we played and BigBoy, yes that is his real name, fell asleep in my lap. The pictures will make you fall in love right away. SO that's really all for now. Everyone should know I am having a fantastic time and I get sad to think about leaving the kids but there's still soem time for that. I know this is what I'm supposed to do for the rest of my life and that makes me very happy.

"Live the Life You Love."

Pictures are here!!!!!

Mon, 01 Jun 09 14:18:01 +0200

I figured it out!! here abunch of pictures!

Fun Weekend and the Beginning of Great Week!

Mon, 01 Jun 09 13:30:58 +0200

Hi
So I have a lot of great stories to tell you!!!! This weekend we went to uShaka, it's a marine center on the beach. Saturday we planned on going shark diving but got there too late because we were shopping at the craft market all day. Stuff is so cheap and I bought a lot. Hopefully not everyone is expectinng souvenirs but I will try to get a bunch of little things to give to ppl. Remember..I'm not made of money! : ) So we ended up getting a fancy drink on the beach and going to dinner at a restaurant there called the Upper Deck. They had a show that night called Twist and Shout "A Celebration of the 60's". SOOOO my thing! It was soooo good and we had so much fun. So we decided that we wanted to coem back the next night and see it. On Sunday we got to uShaka and went out on a boat dolphin/whale watching....it was gorgeous..but we saw nothing! It was still really nice to just drive around the Indian Ocean on the back of a really beat up old boat with,what I believe to be, a real pirate captain. We got back to shore and went right over to the snorkling and shark diving. We went snorkling and as we are getting in the water the guy tells us their are real sharks just swimming around in it!!!! It was too late to turn back now, so we all went in and it was incredible. We saw all kids of fish and sharks and weird sea creatures. Sometimes I have to take a step back and realize where I am and what I'm doing. It's so easy to take it for granted but I relaize how lucky I am and most people won't do half the stuff I've done here in a week in a lifetime.
So, the snorkling was breathtaking...literally. It's really hard to breathe through a snorkle. After and houir of that they took us to the shark diving place. We had to signa a waiver saying that if soemthing happens to us it wasn't their fault! I was so game to go in I didn't mind that I was signing away my life. We went into this little cage thing and the sharks are everywhere...and HUGEEEE!!!! Like real live man-eating sharks! We stayed in for about 15 mins each and my foot slipped out the bottom and touched a sharks back and it went nuts.AHHH soooo cool! It like darted everywhere but it wasn't scary at all cuz you are in this cage that's totally safe. After that we got dressed for dinner and ate in a restaraunt with a shark tank. So Nice
We had a great weekend and I've made great friends with the other volunteers already. On SUnday night though, we all were already missing the kids and couldn't wait to get back to them today.
When we arrived they were thrilled to see us because it had been a few days. It's such a great feeling when you see how happy you make these kids just by showing up everyday. I'm in love with all of them. We brought face paint today and it s tarted off really nice. We showed them their warrior faces in the mirror and they all ran around playing and laughing with their painted faces. Eventually thoguh, it turned messy. They got into the paint and started painting themselves, and of course I ahve to let them paint me so I am currently covered in paint that won't come off without a long hot shower. The kids loved painting eachother and that lasted all morning. Later today I think we are going to play with bubbles.

Last, we have come up with the volunteer project. We are going to paint a blank wall on the side of the community center and make flowers out of the kids handprints and foot steps in the grass with the older kids feet. And, then, the volunteers will make butterflies with out hands. Each hand print will have the kids names on the as well as our handprints. On the to; will be a rainbow, and the voluneers love my tattoos so much that we are putting the quote, "Live the Life You Love" in the rainbow. It will be such a nice project and their will be part of us there forever. I can't wait ot get started.

Pictures to come soon.

Fun Weekend and the Beginning of Great Week!

Mon, 01 Jun 09 13:30:29 +0200

Fun Weekend and the Beginning of Great Week!

Mon, 01 Jun 09 13:27:42 +0200

Birthdays and Cuddling!

Thu, 28 May 09 12:52:41 +0200

So I've been at Agape a couple days now and I've already taken about 200 pictures. I can only imagine how many pictures I will come home with. We celebrated a birthday last night at our house. Nabu turned 10 and she brought over her brother, Boy, and two friends from Agape Nahseesee and Mbalani. We took them to the grocery store to pick out what they wanted for dinner. They were so excited to be out in public it was hysterical! It was so fun seeing them outside of Agape and how differently they acted. They settled on pasta for dinner and a big chocolate cake for dessert. We got them back to our house and they wanted to go swimming right away and it was sooooo cold. They jumped right in anyways. They swam for awhile and then went into the bath to warm up. I have great pictures of this that I will try and post. We ate dinner and they ate A LOT! Boy was so funny all night. After dinner we cleaned while they watched Mr. Bean on t.v. We finally got the cake which they had been asking for for awhile. It was a very good night and they all went home at 8 happy and full. This morning at Agape was nice. The kids are used to us and all they want to do is cuddle and play. We are having a great time so far. This weekend we are going whale and dolphin watching and I'm going shark diving with another girl!!! YIkes I'll definitely upload those pictures next week. That's all for now....talk to everyone soon!

I'm Here!!!

Tue, 26 May 09 13:33:54 +0200

So, for my first message from Agape, it will be short. I got here yesterday at about noon South African time. We got picked up from the airport after 19 hours of flying adn went straight to our volunteer house. The house is NOTHING like what I pictured, it's HUGE. 3 bedrooms. a kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and 2 spare rooms. We got settled in and unpacked and we were picked up to get a quick introduction to Agape. We met the kids who were instantly thrilled to meet us. We palyed and I knew I'd love it right away. They are so friendly and happy you jsut can't help but love them right off the bat. I met a girl named Lucia, 13 years old. She LOVED that I was from America and that I had seen Alicia Keys in concert and hteat I've been to New York City. She speaks perfect English, one of the few who do. We talked almost the whole time I was there. She started to let me into her life and reasons for having to come to Agape, but we had to leave before she could say. We stayed for about an hour and a half and went over to the shopping center. There's a grocery store and ATM, Internet Cafe( that's where I am now), post office, etc.   We got groceries for dinner and went back to the house. We ate dinner, showered and relaxed, playing cards until bed. I slept liek a baby I was so exhausted. We got around 7:30 and got ready to leave for Agape at 9. We got there this morning and all the older kids were already gone to school. SO we helped with the small kids coloring followed by snack and playtime on the playground. After playtime it was time for lunch. They all sit nicely adn wait to be served the food the aunties made. They had a bowl of stew with a slice of bread. They then brush their teeth in a little circle nad get ready for nap. It's incredible how different a day care center is here then at home. For our standards we would say it is very dirty and not enough space for all these children, with very little structure or supervision. But if you think about where these kids would be if it weren't for Agape you get a different perspective of it. They are happy, healthy, fed, clothed and for the most part clean.
             I can't say enough about the Aunties either. They do evreything from cleaning clothes to making meals to cleaning diapers. These women work so hard to give these kids a semi- normal life. I am very proud to be a part of this project for the time that I will be here.
          That's all for now, I have to get back, the little kids will be waking up from nap soon. I will post pictures as soon as I can!!!!

4 Days!

Wed, 20 May 09 16:24:16 +0200

So,
I am leaving for South Africa in 4 days! It feels like yesterday when I had the countdown at 175 days! I can NOT wait to finally meet the kids and all the other volunteers that I've been talking with for weeks now. I started getting my clothes together and all the extra stuff I need to bring. You don't realize how much stuff you use on a daily basis until you start packing it all up! I've tried to simplify everything so I don't overdo it but I feel like I need to bring everything just in case. We will be able to do laundry in the house I'm staying at so that's a huge relief. I finally talked to the woman who is picking me up at the airport. It was a huge reliefe becasue my biggest fear was that they would forget I was coming and no one would be at the airport to get me, but now that fear is gone. I'm really not nervous about anything now except for switching planes in London. I'll be in London by myself but when I land in Johannesburg another volunteer and I will be taking the same flight to Durban together, thank god!!!! This will be my last message I write from home, the next one you will all receive will be one from South Africa...finally!!! I can't wait to start the journey and share al lthe stories and pictures with everybody!!!
Wish me Luck!
See everyone in a month!!!!!!

The countdown has begun!

Sun, 03 May 09 16:57:25 +0200

So, I am leaving in exactly 3 weeks from today for Agape. I am SO excited I can't even begin to explain it! I think I have everything I need to go but suggestions on some helpful things to bring along would be greatly appreciated. I've been looking at previous volunteers Weeblogs and their pictures from Agape and it makes me so anxious to get there. I'm not nervous at all, which I thought I would be, the only part I'm hesitant about it flying alone. Luckily though I'll be meeting up with a fellow volunteer on the last leg of my flight so that makes me more relaxed. I just can't wait to actually experience it, I feel like I've been talking about it so much to people that it's about time I actually do it. I guess that's all for now, agian any suggestions on some helpful items to bring along just let me know!!!!

Alyssa

Yay!

Tue, 10 Mar 09 13:53:43 +0100

Hi everyone!
Thanks to all the great ideas on fundraising, I will have raised enough money after my next fundraising event. Which, if you were wondering, is a St. Patty's Day Stitch-A-Thon!!! Their is only 74 days until I leave for my trip and it sounds like a lot but it will fly by and before I know it I will be at Agape. I can NOT wait and thanks to everyone for the fundrasiing ideas!!!! Keep up the great work!

Alyssa

Fundraisin?

Tue, 04 Nov 08 19:01:01 +0100

Hey
So I get more and more excited about this trip everyday. I just need a little help. I need soem good fundraising ideas. I've had a yard sale and I am currently selling candy boxes. Also, in the spring my school is hosting a talent show and all the money rasied will go towards my trip. If anyone has any good ideas that will really get people interested in my tip let me know.

alyssa.ciesla@wilkes.edu

thanks soooo much

alyssa

Fundraising Begins!

Tue, 07 Oct 08 01:48:42 +0200

Hey everyone!
So, my trip was confirmed and I am THRILLED! I started fundraising this weekend ang things are going slow but steady. Persistence is key!!! I will be sending out sponsorship letters and ifo cards this weekend to local businesses. If anyone has any ideas for fundraising ideas, I'm all ears!!!!