MG2010 East: Active Compassion Transforms, Inc.

A South African mentee’s reflection on the interACT program and the NYC trip:

It has been a journey of having to mail your Mentor every second week on a prompt and that alone was an amazing part of the beginning process. Coming to NY and meeting them in person was more then one can ever ask for. Then in the end just bearing the fruit of all those prompts that we did and that was NY how wonderful and flying international for the very first time very exciting indeed. Every place seen and every day spent was beautiful and precious. This place is truly breathtaking and very much different from where I come from which is South Africa and the people here are just welcoming and warm. I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams that i could end up here in America NY!! Here I am blessed and humbled by this experience! This journey has brought change in so many ways in my life like just becoming confident and allowing myself to find bit by bit of who Lee-anne is and that's been awesome!! It has made me want to go and make a difference back home in my community if not yet my country. When go back I want to help out with the program twice a week at my old school. I'm planning on doing Childcare work voluntarily in South Africa when I return. -Much love and Respect, Lee Ann Jumat

A New York mentor’s reflection on the interACT program and the NYC trip:

After being matched with my mentee, six months followed of Jamba Juice fundraisers, benefit concerts, video making, and most importantly, a continued dialogue with my mentee, Safwat. Through the conversational prompts on I-Mentor, I had learned not just about this diligent student from half-way around the world, but myself as well. While the experience of conversing with peers, offering advice, and sharing opinions can be commonplace, to be able to do this with a student from the diverse background of Cape Town was truly a unique experience. Searching for answers and providing advice to situations I had not previously been confronted with required searching myself, and at times, even asking peers for advice as well. When the holidays finally came I couldn’t believe that Safwat was actually coming to America! Acting as a tour guide while watching Safwat’s interest in my favorite neighborhood, museums, broadway show, and pizza place made me think of these familiar sights in a new light. Something so commonplace and simple, when viewed from this outside context, was pretty amazing.

Through the mentoring program I learned about Safwat’s family, town, sports team, and school. Me and Safwat discussed the differences between American and South African schools, the importance of internships as a way to gain knowledge, and being true to oneself. I left Safwat with a white dress shirt for interviews and gave a promise to help with his resume. Safwat has become a representative for ACT in Cape Town and is to sit for his graduating exams.
It is these unique experiences and shared dialogue that make the ACT mentoring program so powerful. To be able to connect to someone from halfway around the world who is searching himself is truly an Inspiration. - Eli Fuschberg