The end of our South Africa trip

Team South Africa arrived at Boston Logan Airport last night. Brian actually flew out just after I had arrived, so he drove up to his terminal and I greeted him there. We said hello/goodbye, he handed me the car keys and that was it...I'll see him next weekend.

I know I did a horrible job maintaining the blog and there are too many stories to put here. Therefore, I'll share a few pics with you:
http://www.dotphoto.com/Flashtool/MemViewShow.asp?SID=99186

- The first photo shows one of the communities we were working with. It's the kids living in these neighborhoods who we tried to empower so they can break the poverty cycle. We taught them business fundamentals and helped them write business plans with the ultimate goals of getting them to start their own businesses and/or enable them to score well enough on college entrance exams to be admitted to college.

In the end, several applied for business loans (through the program) and our Stellenbosch counterparts helped to set these kids up with ongoing mentoring. Also, several have decided to apply to college.

It's amazing to see their daily struggles. For example, to apply for the college entrance exams, a valid I.D. or birth certificate was required. Many kids had neither. Several don't even have a phone number. Also, most surpassed their parent's level of education years ago.

I found these kids fascinating because they truly understand that knowledge is power and appreciate anything you're willing to teach them (unlike American kids). As a matter of fact, this program took place during their winter and summer holidays and they made it a priority to attend (even if it meant walking miles everyday).

- The pretty white buildings towards the beginning of the slideshow belong to the University of Stellenbosch, which is where we taught. This university is considered the "Harvard of Africa."

- There are over 350 wine farms in the region and we managed to visit our share. Those pics are sprinkled throughout the slideshow.

Stellenbosch is surrounded by some of the most poverty stricken townships in South Africa. However, the center of Stellenbosch is very nice since it is the town in the middle of wine country. As you can imagine, we saw extremes of both poverty and elitism.

- We also spent a few days on safari at Kruger National Park. We drove some and hiked some, so the animal pics are from those adventures.

- Finally, some pictures are from our time in Cape Town and the Strand. Minette, a local friend, acted as our tour guide around Cape Town and welcomed us into her home in the Strand.