October 28, 2011

South African Roads, Take Me Home

By twible

May Thomas   Sunglass Hut, Honolulu, Hawaii

On this beautiful and sunny, humid day in South Africa our team departs . We came together as strangers  from distant lands but we depart as members of a closely knit family called OneSight.  How blessed we are to have met each other, to have worked together. We shared so much laughter and tears one would think we have all known each other forever.

I can’t describe to you what this experience meant to us. You had to be there.  This has been one of the easiest teams to organize just because every single one of us had that same energized commitment to serve the people of South Africa to the best of our abilities. Never mind the weather. We experienced it all. The wind came about the first days and blew a blanket of dust and sand on every surface imaginable. Then the hot sun beat down on us causing beads of sweat to run down, creating moist spots on our turquoise team shirts. The last days of clinic brought thick, gray clouds, rain and lots and lots of mud. Shuttling patients back and forth proved to be a challenge to some.

I have to admit that when I heard we were going to be on three clinic sites, I was skeptical on my abilities to help mobilize the moves. What a relief it was see it was simpler than I anticipated. With the  direction of Leona and the rest of the leadership team, it was a piece of cake. Every move was effortless because we did it as a team. It was like an organized hurricane had blown through and suddenly the work was done.  There was never a challenging situation we could not overcome together. Truly amazing.

To all my new family members (South Africa Onesight  teammates) and our clinic partners, THANK YOU for making these two  weeks such an awesome experience for me.

To the members of our Peace Corps volunteers and Rachel (who spent part of her vacation working with us)…THANK YOU.

A special thank you to Leona who had the utmost trust in this leadership team and filled our days with encouragement and love.  

OK guys. It’s “See you later!” We will cross paths somewhere soon.

Much ALOHA!!!!

8 Comments

  1. Thomas says:

    One of the first things you will notice when you get home is that you don’t have a team of 40 or so people you can depend on at your finger tips. The next is that the world you return to is the same, but you’re not.
    Thank you for a delightful blog,
    Thomas

    Posted on Sat Oct 29, 2011 10:10 am EST

  2. Jackson says:

    Such an inspiring experience. Thanks for sharing!

    Posted on Mon Oct 31, 2011 1:23 am EST

  3. Odette says:

    So true May, so true…. I found myself a little lost on the weekend even though I had a full house :)
    I am really greatful to have been on my second clinic with you again! Thanks to the whole team, you guys ARE AMAZING!!!
    Big Hugs
    Odie
    xxx

    Posted on Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:17 am EST

  4. Danielle Albertson says:

    You go, mighty May Thomas and team…a job well done…congrats!

    Posted on Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:00 pm EST

  5. estelle pires says:

    You were a great journalist Mr Thomas, and thank you for involving the whole team to write our history in this incredible and unforgettable clinic.
    I miss you all very much and yes the return to France is difficult because you end up without OneSight his new family, but you are all in my heart.
    I hope to revive this expérience with this great team that was ours in Mtubatuba, full of amazing memories .....

    Posted on Wed Nov 2, 2011 6:46 am EST

  6. Ann Rice says:

    Several days have past and we are all home safe and with our families, many like myself had missed flights returning home or had delayed luggage, but it seemed insignificant to the plight of the people in Mtubatuba-many without running water, gainful employment,children without shoes or families without a solid roof over their head. Yet, everyone we helped had a smile on their face and was full of love for their family and their culture. The people of Mtubatuba are proud of who they are and where they have come from. My heart was blessed by so many of these young children and I was humbled by what we take for granted everyday.  I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to experience this culture with such an amazing group on people on my Onesight team; each of us from diverse backgrounds, coming together from 9 different countries to give the gift of sight. I will never forget my time in SA or the team that I now refer to as family. I miss you guys every day…..

    Posted on Thu Nov 3, 2011 10:05 pm EST

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