Thank you Friends of Angel’s donors who helped make an AMAZING difference in 2011 to the children, youth, and young woman scholars of Isandlwana village. Last year we were able to raise $2,325.00. Together we provide food for nearly one hundred children in the village on countless days after school when they would otherwise return home [...]

For the first time, while at a traditional Zulu ceremony, I was invited into the hut reserved only for the male elders of the family. I bent down to enter inside and kept a low position to show respect. I then stood to the left side of the entry way to wait to be acknowledged; they would speak first. "Wow!" they exclaimed when seeing my white skin. It was dark and smokey inside and I could only make out their white teeth shaped with large smiles. I was invited in, but did not sit. They each wanted to shake my hand and thanked me over and over for visiting 'their people'. An Uncle asked me questions about my work. The eldest had a black pot full of traditional beer and the other two were cutting off nice pieces of cooked meat from our recent cow offering. It was too dark inside to take photos, but I left feeling like I held something very unique. The ceremony was for a young brother who died the previous year, part of my Zulu families Mom's side. I spent the weekend with the family making food preparations and drinking a lot of tea. After a few nights staying the night with 20 other family members, it was difficult to leave and a dramatic scene. I took many pictures with various groups, each ending with handshakes and hugs that went on and on. One teenager asked me to sign his arm. There was one young man in his late 20s able to speak English. As MaNdaba and I left, he yelled "Angel! Today we made history!"

I can not thank all of you enough for the donations given to Friends of Angel’s! The best way to express my gratefulness may be to offer updates of how your support is working.  Please also check the updated list of supporters on the Who are Friends of Angel’s page to see all who are [...]

48 Children. Forty-eight lovely, wonderful, and unique Kings and Queens of tomorrow. They came with washed bodies (special for the occasion), clothes too small, some with no shoes, shining faces rubbed with Vaseline, and dirty-long fingernails (that kids seem to forget when caring for themselves). The right to dignity. Human-dignity begins with child-dignity. We love [...]

Khonaqphi “Marco” Sigubudu is now attending University of Zululand. She is one of the first female’s to attend college in the village and is now studying Agribusiness. We are still working on finding schoalorships to cover full cost of tuition that is due end-of-year, equaling about $2,000.00 USD. Most urgent, is her need for room [...]

Click to Play Link to this Smilebox: http://smilebox.com/playEmail/4d6a51354e5441794e7a64384d7a63354d6a6b774e44413d0d0a&sb=1 www.smilebox.com | 15809 Bear Creek Pkwy, Redmond WA 98052 | Privacy

The camp went amazingly well, better than I could have hoped. The girls swam, hiked, danced around fires, watched a big-screen picture show and did other things for the first time in their lives. They had a talent show and wrote poetry. They are incredible women – so strong, confident and expressive. I love them, [...]

March 22, 2011 It’s almost 2 a.m. and I’m awoken by cries. I think it’s my 32 year-old Zulu sister Nomusa and she is crying. So many figures dressed in black walk by. I hear “Ahow, ahow, ahow” over and over again along with other cries. (Zanele calls and two hours later I return) “Nomusa [...]

Dear Angela, We are so proud that you have reached your half-way mark of service in the Peace Corps! We can hardly wait to come congratulate you in person this month! To honor your accomplishment, we are posting your past slide shows from 2010. Love, Mom & Dad Training & graduation Feb. March, then assigned [...]

Somethings to celebrate: Marco was accepted into the University of Kwa ZuluNatal on a full scholarship for Psychology!! The night before classes started, she called me from campus. The joy in her voice and excitement I felt for her… this alone would be enough reason for my service here. I have yet to meet another [...]

I’m sitting next to a pile of magazines and articles for future college and RPCV travel opportunities as a “Return.Peace.Corps.Volunteer”. Yes it is already time to start planning ahead for my life after Peace Corps service…I can’t believe it’s been a year. I can’t fathom another year. I trust it will be even better than [...]

The holiday season looks very different here as one would expect; an African Christmas. Instead of snow-capped mountains; I’m looking out on rolling desert hills dotted with green cactus and clusters of mud huts. Rather than winter sweaters, I donned my flip-flops yesterday. No blustering snow here, just summer storms of warm heavy rains, rolling [...]

I know this is how we are meant to live and we are so far from it at home. Most of my senses have strengthened. I can see clearer at night, hear something approaching from further away, smell the least little bit of something otherwise hidden, and feel a weather change before it happens. I [...]

Service isn’t about the amount of sacrifices made. It’s not about how many changes I can make in those I’m serving. Who am I to say these changes need to be made? It’s not about developing the area I serve in. Why say that I would know best for a culture I just arrived at? [...]

Work is getting done… Jun 13, 2010 by Carol’s Pics View Album Play slideshow Contribute photos to this album

Yesterday I carried a live chicken to work. For 45 minutes, hiking down the mountain on a dirt path, I gripped its big white wings with one hand, while its legs flopped against my thigh. Then we ate it for lunch after our meeting (Zulus enjoy the bones too by chewing, then spitting them out). [...]

I am enjoying my work here. As my friends or family members, you may know that I can be pretty intense about whatever I put my heart into. The good thing about this, on the receiving end, is that my work is 110% passion and dedication. Africa has a way of daily reminding me – [...]

I’m on vacation in Pretoria now. Feels like Mars. I came up last week for a training with the Peace Corps on Permagardening. It was amazing! We were taught methods on how to create a garden in areas with dry soil, little access to water, and small spaces. The training was provided by PEPFAR and [...]

I have yet to see a computer in a Zulu home in Isandlwana. There are two stores in the village called “Tuck Shops”. They sell snacks, sodas and a few household necessities on maybe 5 to 10 shelves. They do not have computers either, though the main one does sell live chickens for 35 rand [...]

When I first got here, I lived in poverty and my needs were simply water, food and heat. When those needs were not being met, I couldn’t think about community or companionship. Only mere survival. I think this is how poverty spreads and continues. When we are struggling to survive, we forget to love. Love [...]

Isibindi is Zulu for “to be brave”. The park was originally built for orphans and vulnerable children to play before and after school. Now other community members are curious about the park, because it’s one of the three public gathering places in Isandlwana; the other two being the church and shop. The park needs basic [...]

“Can you drive to America?” is a common question I’m asked. In my house, I have a world map hanging on the wall. The other day I was explaining to some visitors that a person must take an airplane from Africa to North America. I pointed to the separate continents on the map. They still [...]

I woke up this morning laying in bed with my eyes closed for almost an hour. I imagined I was at my beach studio on Alki, watching the morning sun poke through the laurel bush leaves in the backyard. I remember having coffee at my kitchen table and looking out on the Sound. I laugh [...]

7/8/10 …and I’m a year older. Have I really been here five months already? Thank you so much to each of you who sent cards and packages overseas for my birthday. I had so much fun opening all of them by candlelight on the floor of my home. When I was finished, I sat in [...]

(From the Editor: received this letter a while back from Angie and forgot to share it with you as she requested me to…) March 30, 2010 Dear Family, It’s been a very full three days since talking to you on the phone. My first week settling into Isandlwana… Sunday was Palm Sunday, so we walked [...]

Editor-in-training’s (her mom) note:: I am learning how to enter Angie’s blogs correctly – I just noticed in the last two that the right side was partially cut off. I think it’s when I include a picture. I will try again without any and see how it goes…thanks for your patience! April 23, 2010 My [...]

Editor’s note: I meant to share that the drawing in the previous blog titled “South Africa” was Angie’s first drawing since arriving there. (view from her hut) April 27, 2010 So I read a book on bio-intensive gardening. It’s about how to grow more vegetables on smaller plots of land designed for families who are [...]

April 23, 2010 My favorite times here are early in the morning and at night. I’m woken up around seven. Roosters are crowing, cows and goats are let out of their pens, and kids are running away from their moms trying to get them ready for school. There’s a lot of yelling and noise going [...]

Hello! Angie doesn’t have easy access to the internet (very sketchy and extremely slow at the Nqutu library, a 5-hour ordeal of walking and bus rides away), so she asked me to post her blogs for her that she will soon send me via the postal service. Angie spoke with us on the phone this [...]

  I have finally begun my official Peace Corps service and am now living in the most beautiful place in all of South Africa… the village of Isandlwana; my home for the next two years. I feel so blessed to have this life and honored to be welcomed by the Zulu peoples- my new community. I [...]

Sawubona from South Africa! I am currently staying in a small mountain village 3 hours outside Pretoria with the 36 other Peace Core trainees from US. It has been one month without acess to a phone or computer, so this feels very foreign already! We are half way through Peace Core Training and in one month we [...]

I put in my 30 day notice for my little beach-studio, received departure information from Peace Corps today, and day-after-tomorrow is my last day at work. January 27th I will leave for Washington DC for the PC Staging; one night to gather with the other PC volunteers before flying out to South Africa.  After an introduction/information event, the next day we bus to a hospital [...]

I went to the dentist today and they gave me this popcan size dental-floss holder with 2 yrs worth of floss in it to take with me. Sweet. Floss is good for a lot of things other than teeth. Like stitching up holes in mosquito nets. Can’t you buy floss over there? Yes. Though there is no trash service [...]

After meeting a friend for coffee today on Capitol Hill, I went to see a sculpture I’d heard about at Seattle U. I walked on campus, entered the chapel, and sat down in a pew next to this great piece of rock called ‘Mother’s Milk’. I was just in time for Mass. When the priest stood up [...]

What does this mean… World AIDS day?  Exactly this I guess. Someone new like me blogging about AIDS, creating awareness. One of things that moves me the most in life to fight is discrimination- in all shapes and forms- and when beginning my work with HIV I found this to be the same. I wasn’t so much [...]

Follow your bliss. The heroic life is living the individual adventure. There is no security in following the call to adventure. Nothing is exciting if you know what the outcome is going to be. To refuse the call means stagnation. What you don’t experience positively you will experience negatively. You enter the forest at the darkest point, where [...]

Dhaka, Bangladesh: Czoton, aged seven, works at a balloon factory. Around 20 children are employed at the factory, with most working 12 hours a day Photograph: Andrew Biraj/Reuters guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

Today after watching the documentary ‘Mandela’ (amazing.) I read up on todays president of South Africa, JZ, and was surprised to find he is an open polygamist. Miriam Makeba is South Africa’s Billie Holiday. The clicking noise when you hear her sing is not an acoustic but a clicking of the tongue; part of the Xhosta [...]

I keep buying stuff. Last time I was at Trader Joes, I came home with twice as much groceries as usual. Now I am about to leave for Target and Fred Myer. Last weekend it was REI; and I don’t even like to shop. Usually. I’m calling it “the Mars syndrome”. Where I was just [...]

First I feel frustrated with the color of my skin and the work I’m about to do. I like to connect with everyone, and often wish I could change its color as to take away barriers and representations of things that I’m not. I will meet S. Africans, they will see me, while also they have seen things like this: Or have read [...]

Bought the first piece of gear for my trip today- $5 crank flash light from Target- continuing my research on S. Africa, less on PC itself. Having a focus now is exciting and the momentum is picking up… reminding myself to live fully in the present moment while still here at home. “Our true home is [...]

An interview with Aaron S. Williams, director of U.S. Peace Corps, during his visit to South Africa      by Andre van Wyk 11 November 2009   allAfrica.com Is this your first visit to Africa since your appointment, and what role does the Peace Corps currently play on the continent? Yes, this is my first visit since I was appointed two months ago [...]

Durban, South Africa: The first picture I found Googling ‘Durban, South Africa’. There were several more beautiful pictures to follow. I took a guess that this net search was marketing to me: person able to use computer+internet= money= tourism= profit. So then I Googled “Durban slum” and the second picture pulled up. There were several more shocking pictures that followed. Actually, [...]