I'm going to South Africa for what we Baha'is call a Youth Year of Service. I am a Baha'i (it's a religion) and all the youth in the Baha'i Community are encouraged to dedicate atleast one year of their lives to service to humanity. This can be in any form whether it be helping in one of the Baha'i Institutions like the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel, at one of the Baha'i Temples or in any one of the Baha'i Schools around the world or it can be community based service which is what I'm doing. In my case I join a community and help them build the capacity of that community. This can be done by establishing local community classes for children, junior youth and adults which aim to develop moral and spiritual consciousness through prayer and virtues.
So here's the plan, I arrive in Johanessburg on the 29th of May and hopefully someone will be there to pick me up from the airport and take me to the National Baha'i Office where I will be staying for the first few weeks. Whilst there I will most probably be helping out in whatever way I can and attending the two Socceroos friendly matches on the 1st and 5th of June.
On the 14th of June my big sister arrives in J'burg from Haifa where she has been serving for the past 2 years and she will stay for 2 weeks and we will attend the world cup together. Then, through consultation with the Baha'is in J'Burg, I will move to another community that I can help out and that is most likely where I will live for the remaining 10-11 months.
So at this point in time I don't know exactly where I will be living but it will all be revealed in this here blog once I find out.
FAQ- for those who don't know it means Frequently Asked Questions :)
Q. Are you getting paid?
A. No, it is completely voluntary
Q. How will you afford to live if you aren't getting paid?
A. Accommodation will be supplied, I will most likely be staying with a family and so food and shelter will come with the package but I have also been saving for this trip for some time.
Q. Why South Africa?
A. I've always wanted to go to Africa for service, I first inquired about going there in 2008 during Uni holidays but I was told that because I only had 2 months free that it would be better used serving in one of the islands around Aus and so I went to the Rowhani Baha'i School in Vanuatu instead. Now that I have more time I am fulfilling my first wish which was Africa and South Africa kindly accepted to have me.
Q. Are you scared with all the violence and the high crime rates?
A. Yes and no. I think that anywhere you go in the world you have to be cautious and careful otherwise you could get hurt. People are murdered, bashed, mugged, stabbed...etc in Australia too. Sometimes the media can over emphasize the violence in a certain place and this can lead us to form inaccurate judgments of a region (the same can be said for Campbelltown). I'm not ignorant to the fact that it could be dangerous but at the same time the Baha'i Community will be looking out for me and as long as I try to stay safe then hopefully I won't have anything to worry about.
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