The Switch

I never gave much thought to Africa. Let other people worry about Africa--I would be a missionary to Europe. Or India. Or Russia. Somewhere not hot and dusty and poor.

You may laugh at my childish understanding of world affairs.

I can’t pinpoint the exact beginning of my change of heart. Perhaps it was the African boy my family sponsored through Compassion. Perhaps it was the Geography Bee at age 12 that required me to learn the names of African countries. Perhaps it was the many places my dad took us, slowly opening my eyes to the wonder of travel and people and cultures. Perhaps it was the few mentions of Africa in my International Relations class, or my Comparative politics class--or that other upper-lever night class, where we sat in a circle and talked with Dr. Baskerville about places far and wide. And wrote papers. The longest papers I had ever written to that point.

I can list the exact point where my interest in Africa--specifically East Africa, even more specifically Uganda and Rwanda--started. In 2008, I spent a summer with the Food for the Hungry internship program (which, ironically, no longer exists). While there, I learned about FH’s Go ED. program (which, even more ironically, also no longer exists). Basically, Go ED. was a study abroad program run by FH that sent students to a couple different countries in East Africa over the course of a semester.

And of course, being surrounded by former and prospective Go ED. students, I heard the stories, saw the pictures, and was inspired. I wanted to do Go ED. Even if that meant going to Africa.

The summer of 2008 was life-changing for me.

Partly because that summer, I changed my mind about Africa.