Life is full of a lot of plot twists, and I'm thankful for them. Three weeks into our travels, I canceled my flight to Tanzania to stay in South Africa. Upon chance, I learned about a nonprofit called the Little Rose Centre, which is located in one of the poorest townships in South Africa. A friend we met at our hostel toured us around the organization and we learned that they needed help with sustainable funding and public outreach, so Emmeline and I packed up our stuff and moved in at the end of the week.

 

Our stay here was timeless. I have had friends and family concerned about my safety and well being during my travels, but I honestly have not felt more safe and welcomed than I did at the Little Rose Centre. We spend our days having meals with the staff, hanging out with the kids in our free time, and sitting in their library working on projects for their back-end work. The center has ten programs to help educate and feed the community, ranging from a soup kitchen to an emerging computer lab to a shelter for young children.

 

Though I’m slightly obsessed with the world of nonprofits and social impact, there are only a few that I’ll commit so passionately to and share actively. The video below (coming soon) is a window into the day-to-day life here, and I hope that from seeing this it becomes transparent why I have loved staying here so much and want to stay involved. To help the center complete projects for their school children and after-care programs, Em and I are planning to set up a GoFundMe page where we would love for you to donate (even a dollar) or just learn more about the Little Rose Centre and where it aspires to grow. On the GoFundMe’s wish list, you can see exactly what projects your money is helping fund, or you can contact me to learn more!

 

Really, what makes this place special is the people. You can check out my blog for stories about some of the great humans that I’ve met here and the cool perspectives that they have on this crazy, crazy world.