Met a family from Newfound land on a trip to the Dominican Republic with Fathom Cruise Lines, where we did all manner of volunteer work. Stayed friends with them and they found Edge of Africa and invited a few people to join them on their adventure. We ended up meeting people for Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Hong Kong.
Alumni Spotlight: Dave Ferguson
Photos
Just a guy from Idaho in the United States who loves to travel and experience new and exciting things. When traveling, I find that I meet people that I form life long friendships with, as well as broaden my mind in so many ways.
Why did you choose this program?
What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
Everything except travel. We planned our own way to get to George. The largest city with an airport nearest to Knysna. Edge of Africa picked us up from there. I flew into Johannesburg, then to George. If I were to do it again, I would fly to Cape Town then to George. I found Cape Town more enjoyable and I felt safe.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Keep an open mind and an open heart. You will see wonderful things and sad living conditions for some. But that is why we went there: to help and support locals in whatever capacity they need at that time.
Edge of Africa asked what activities we wanted to do over the weekend, and they made it happen! We even went shark tank diving in Mosel Bay.
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
Wake up around 7, have breakfast, go out in the community to help where you can until lunch. Return to the Edge of Africa home for lunch then spend the afternoon finishing up what you left off earlier or start a new project. Various projects are handed out so you have an idea of what you will be doing at least the day before you do it. Everything we did was helpful to someone or a group of local folks.
Every Wednesday afternoon we played sports with local kids. It was a blast!
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
My biggest fear was that I hadn't been to Africa before. I didn't know what to expect. What I found was friendly loving people that care about their homeland and the world as a whole.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed South Africa! From beautiful safari landscapes to wonderful oceans to see.
What didn't you expect from this trip?
The one thing I didn't expect is bunk beds. Ha, but, everything was clean, and so was the house. Even though I am used to a nice bed, I would go back to Edge of Africa in a heartbeat! The area of Knysna is Gorgeous!