Personal Statement

Essa faz parte da application(processo para adimissão) para as faculdades dos EUA.Esse é meu ensaio que fala do papel do trabalho no voluntário nessa experiência.

2-Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.

I had the opportunity to belong to the HIV/AIDS community service at school. The service was based
on visiting Swazi public schools to discuss the subject - not solely HIV/AIDS but also sex, taboos,
sexuality and relationships, with the focus on prevention of HIV. The experience was remarkable for
me; it was one of the best things I have done during my UWC experience in Swaziland.
The experience was rich in different ways: just to see how many schools are in a deplorable condition
was one of those moments when you relate something you see in textbooks with reality. As simple as it
sounds I could see Swaziland was not going anywhere if the government couldn't look after something
as basic as education for its people.
Our supervisor used to say, we were not there to bring any kind of absolute truth. Our role was to give
teenagers an opportunity to talk- something that the majority could not do with their teachers and
parents due to their rather conservative society. I couldn't understand why HIV was barely talked about,
seeing as it is such a problematic concern.
The discussions revealed the breadth of Swazi culture, including an aspect that I found very sad: I feel
Swaziland is a very sexist society where the woman is always a "second class" citizen. Teenage girls
talk much less than the boys because they feel uncomfortable expressing themselves freely. One girl
told me that she had been sexually abused. This affected me greatly and I did not have an answer. What
makes it worse is that the girls blame themselves for provoking the men to behave like that. I could not
believe the girls felt this way. This is something that really makes us responsible for the world - another
human being should not be completely happy while things like that still happen.
The discussions also proved that the HIV rate in Swaziland is catastrophic. Many teenagers were HIV
positive or knew someone close who was. HIV is an international concern but I realized that even with
a small community service group like ours, we still could make a difference. In the same way that we
are part of the problem, we also can be part of the solution. It was very satisfactory to hear feedback
from the students: things like "my father did the test", or "from now on I am using a condom". It is a
fulfilling feeling and you feel you can matter to the world. It's as if you decide in your life that you
have a role in the world, I really felt I could matter. And it doesn't matter how small our role is, what
does matter is that the goals in your life are now not only for you, they are also for a community, a
society. I felt I was part of a change, something done by my work and by my peers was a valid help in
the long fight against HIV/AIDS in Swaziland.
I remember when I was small I used to think that you have to first build your life and only afterwards
would you be able to change the world. But this community service helped to prove that it's not
necessary to wait in order to really make changes. For sure the experience changes you in many ways.
It makes you think about what kind of world you want for you and for other people. The HIV/AIDS
also made me more caring, more sensitive in the way I think, always I want to think of how my actions
will affect other people. I don´t think I am going to ever forget what I felt when the girl told me she was
raped. It's something that gets stuck in your heart, makes you wake up to life, it takes you to a change
whether you like it or not. I knew that something inside me was different. It's a feeling that you will
carry with you througout your life and it tells you why you don't want to get through your life as a
spectator, you don´t want to just watch anymore, you want to take action, you will look for that feeling
that you did something to make a change . For sure it won't always be succeseful but at night when I
rest I will open a smile because you are not passive to things around you anymore, now you are active,
you realized that you are also responsible for things around,you want to be part of the change.