A big thanks to Mollee Francisco for this great article! Make sure to pick up the Chaska Herald this summer to check out my travel journals (which will be different than my blog) and the other great stories they publish.
By Mollee Francisco
Created 05/29/2008 - 10:28am
Last year Annie Mae Krapek was crowned Chaska High School’s prom queen. That was certainly an adventure, but this year Krapek is ready to embarking on a much bigger endeavor.
In a matter of weeks, Krapek, who has never been out of the country, will jet off to Africa, to spend the summer immersed in the pain and suffering of Sierra Leone. The 19-year-old Chanhassen resident who is studying child psychology at the University of Minnesota was selected as one of only six Americans to travel to Africa to do social justice work through Global Justice Volunteers. For Krapek, it was an ideal situation to whet her feet on African soil.
“It’s always been my dream to teach in Africa,” she said. “I feel called to do that.”
This summer, she’ll spend her time working at a drug addition center and doing HIV/AIDS projects in Sierra Leone. The country, located on Africa’s west coast between Guinea and Liberia, is ranked last on the United Nation’s human development index. It has a 7 percent rate of HIV/AIDS infection, rampant unemployment and is still recovering from a brutal civil war that ended in 2001.
Krapek is a self-described “bleeding heart” who has already devoted much of her time to working with the developmentally disabled and volunteering at homeless shelters.
“It’s a blessing that the things I have been doing have prepared me for this,” she said.
Krapek has no idea what to expect of Sierra Leone, but is working to get rid of her preconceptions before she leaves.
“I just found out hippos are deadly,” she admitted. “If hippos are dangerous, what else is there?”
Krapek is willing to brave the dangers of Africa, though, as she is determined to make the world a better place.
“We have our work cut out for us,” she wrote in an e-mail. “But we’re all ready to go out and change the world. I believe we will.”
As part of her work with Global Justice Volunteers, Krapek will be writing a series of articles on her experience in Sierra Leone. Those columns will be printed in upcoming editions of the Chaska Herald.
“It’s really important to me to let everyone know that though there are absolutely terrible things happening in the world, that there is hope,” she wrote. “That healing is possible, even in the worst of conditions. And that love wins, always.”
In the meantime, Krapek is busy getting plenty of shots, practicing her French, collecting advice from those who have been there and raising money for her travels (volunteers must contribute $2,200 toward their expenses). Thus far, she has been amazed by the generosity of her family, friends and church members.
“When I told my church, people started handing me checks right away,” she recalled.
She hopes that by educating others on her volunteer efforts that they, too, will get involved.
“It is incredibly heartbreaking,” she wrote in her blog. “But if we ever hope for change, we must first be aware of the situation.”
-Mollee Francisco, staff writer
Annie Mae Krapek
* 19 years old
* Sophomore studying child psychology at the U of M
* Headed to Sierra Leone to work on drug addiction and HIV/AIDS projects
* Follow Krapek’s journey at www.be-change.blogspot.com
* To donate, send checks to 8051 Cheyenne Avenue, Chanhassen
* Look for Krapek’s travel column this summer in the Chaska Herald
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