Salkehatchie

This past week I returned to Salkehatchie after taking the past two summers "off." This year was very unique from years past, mostly because of my new adult status! This camp holds a special place in my heart so I am glad I was able to return. Salkehatchie is a summer service camp that takes place in 43 different sites across South Carolina where high school and college age youth and adult community leaders help persons of different cultures by upgrading their housing. The camp provides all participants with opportunities for personal growth, new freindships, and service.  

Year after year Salkehatchie reminds me how blessed I am.  My house does not leak, I have floors that are level, the rooms in my house are square.  I have way more than I need.  These people have next to nothing but are some of the happiest people I know.  They have the greatest faith in the world.  How can that be?  In a world where we are satisfied by material possessions, the home owners remain enthused and hopeful about life.  I wish I could live like that all the time!   

I worked on the home of Jessie McDaniel.  She was a loving lady who worked full time with stroke patients.   She took her one week off work to help us improve her house.  She picked up shingles, swept sawdust, held boards, and even cooked us a delicious afternoon snack.  Ms. McDaniel was truly appreciative of the work we did.  In previous years disabilities or age have prevented me from forming a relationship with my home owner.  This year I got to witness Ms. McDaniels heart of gold!   I can only hope she touched the youth as much as she touched me.

This year was different, really different. I could not help but think about my upcoming journey to Africa! Salkehatchie is a big part of why I am choosing to leave the comfort of America behind. It is so important to me to go overseas and work at the grassroots level. Hopefully, I will gain a new perspective on life, learn about another culture, and become fluent in a second language. I want to come back and share stories of the Lesotho lifestyle because I bet the Salkehatchie homes are the million dollars mansions overseas and that does not seem fair. We all need to be a little more aware. Too often we live out of our comfort zone and it takes an economic crisis to put us in our place. I wish it did not have to be like that.  

Programs like Salkehatchie make poverty seem real. Unfortunately most of the year I turn away from things that make me hurt and forget about people who struggle daily to keep their loved ones warm/cool, dry, and safe, but I am challenging myself to think daily about these people and give back more. Besides bringing the Lesotho culture home, I want to take the American culture with me.  I am going to tell stories of the people attending Salkehatchie! Why I think Americans and typically selfish, there are a portion of people who choose to give back and I want them to be represented.