Visual Stimuli

Below are pictures of just a few of the children who have been on my heart since this summer. (I spent almost four weeks at the "Cottages at Injesuthi," an orphan village run by the Agathos Foundation in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.) Since I am a visual person, I felt that showing pictures of the kids who I held in my arms (and know will not live much longer) would make my Africa experience more real for you.


This is Kwanele, the HIV-positive toddler I mentioned in my admissions essay, hugging my legs in this picture. This is my desktop background... it helps remind me why I should work so hard to become a non-profit accountant.

The last time I spoke with the Cottages director (Aaron Ruud) he said, "We were told it is unusual for a HIV+ baby to live past one year. He is often sick, somewhat listless at times, and not as active as you would expect a boy of his age to be. But all in all Kwanele is still doing well."


This is Kwanele (right) and his toddler buddy Mfundo (left). They're together all day long while the older kids are at school.
















This is me with Asanda (girl in blue), Kwanele (in red), and Mkhule (boy in the back, HIV+) in the nurse's station. Both Asanda (preschool) and Mkhule (age 7) are orphans and have been through some very rough times. In fact, a few years ago Asanda was taken away by the South African social services for a bit of time. It was difficult for her to be away from her "family," but she has been back for a while now and they were/are very glad to have her.




This is Sinethemba (age 10, HIV+), the little boy I mentioned in my admissions essay whom I had to leave behind. It's difficult to tell from this picture, but he really was a sad sight. This was my last look at him before we left for the States. He loves martial arts (upon realizing my ethnicity, he dubbed me "Jet Li" and continuously asked me to demonstrate my knowledge Kung Fu, which is not very much) and (almost) always wears a big grin.

I will upload more another night - stay tuned!

-Jessica Nguyen, Accounting/Finance, Foster School of Business, University of Washington Class of 2010