Warm Greetings from Richard Van Eek and Lisa Ring, two newest additions to the volunteer staff at Ethembeni. It’s hard to believe it has already been two weeks since we have recently arrived in the scenic Midlands region of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. This is our first time in Africa and we are thrilled to be here and look forward to helping to make a difference in any way that we can by bringing a smile and helping to bring faith and hope to those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region.

To give you a brief introduction of us, Richard Van Eek is originally from the Netherlands where he studied Finance at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He has worked in the financial sector for several years and has worked across the globe in Amst
erdam, Frankfurt, Sydney and Hong Kong. Lisa originally hails from the United States where she studied Political Science at Northeastern University. After working several years primarily in the field of Human Resources, Lisa most recently worked in Hong Kong where she was responsible for Asia Pacific recruitment for an International Business School. Both of us are very much looking forward to spending the next couple of months with Ethembeni and we especially look forward to highlighting our experiences via this blog.

Volunteering in Africa has long been an aspiration for both of us. In particular we were specifically interested in working with those affected by the HIV/ AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Through contact with Mr. Denzil Tryon we were fortunate to come in contact with Mr. Rouen Bruni, Chairman for Ethembeni. With continued outreach efforts over the phone and email over several months and the decision to leave established jobs in the private sector, we were ready to embark on our journey to South Africa.

We’ve just recently arrived last Monday, March 2nd and were greeted by Grant Edkins, Director at Ethembeni, along with Rouen Bruni. The wealth of knowledge and experience brought by both Grant and Rouen to the organization was a major factor in our decision to choose Ethembeni. We have spent the past two weeks observing and training and have primarily spent focused time at the Residential Care Unit as well as at the Mpophomeni Family Centre. We were also given the opportunity to cross train at neighboring NGO organizations such as CCP (Community Care Partners) in Pietermaritzburg as well as the Umvoti Aids Centre in Greytown. Both experiences were invaluable.

During our first few days at Ethembeni, we spent time visiting the facilities and meeting the amazing children, members and staff. On Thursday morning we joined the community volunteers and a staff member and took part in the weekly home care visits where food parcels were dropped for the family in need and counseling and prayers were provided as well. It was quite a moving experience and we were especially moved by how welcoming many community members were to having us in their home and how open many were to share their personal hardships. Although most of the conversations were conducted in Zulu, many wanted to ensure that as native English speakers, the closing prayer would be conducted in English for us all to understand which was quite touching.

There is more to come as we get up and running and it is our sincere hope that no matter how small or large, that we are able to make a positive impact on the community members we are servicing. Through continued education efforts, faith and hope we know this will continue to have a positive impact surrounding the stigma of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that this region continues to face.

A sincere thanks to Grant and Rouen for your passion, enthusiasm and vision for Ethembeni Ministry of Hope and we look forward to meeting and working with everyone over the next few months! --Lisa and Richard