The incredible summer that ended all too soon could not have been possible without the hard work of some truly amazing people, so again, I want to say thank you on behalf of the SAWIP class of 2009. SAWIP would not be the organization and indeed the family that it is today without the hard work and passion of the board of directors, both in South Africa and in Washington. I would like to say a special word of thanks to Misha Charles, Bryan Sims, Holly Hassett, Frank Cantrell, Kevin Sullivan and Carol Wheeler. Because of your vision, passion and ever constant efforts, SAWIP has grown has from 1 intern to 12 interns in just a few short years.

On behalf of the SAWIP team of 2009, I would also like to thank Congressman Donald Payne for his invaluable contribution to our organization over the past 3 years. Without him and the hard work of his staffers, our annual Congressional Forums would never take place. A special thanks must go Congressman Payne’s Chief of Staff, Kerry McKinney. I would also like to extend a word of thanks to everyone at the South African Embassy here in DC and in the office of the South African Consulate in New York. Our team was privileged enough to have been given the chance to sit down with Ambassador Welile Nhlapo and learn from him and his wealth of experience in the foreign service whilst also gaining some insights on DC from someone who has seen it all. I would also like to thank Cecile Heppes and Hennie du Toit for working to make that happen.

When I am older, wiser and hopefully a little taller, I will remember this moment in time along with very many others that spring to mind. One of those will be the first time I met Megan Farrell. With little Riley on her hip, Megan walked over to Samantha Ball and I and welcomed us to DC with a warm smile and sincere hug. That’s how I am always going to remember Megan: with Riley on her hip. Without Megan’s support and encouragement, and the occasional “serious talk”, our summer would not have been the same. I would also like to say thank you to Mike McGonagle and Melissa for all of his hard work and her ever cheerful spirit.

Another memory of mine, and I am sure this goes for everyone else, will be the time I spent at “the office”. I was fortunate enough to have been given my first choice of work placement and I recognize now how much time and energy went into making that happen. Every year WIP and SAWIP students are given work placements in some of the most sought-after and prestigious internship positions in DC: some of us work for longer hours than others, some of us have longer commutes than others, but all of us are equally as grateful for being given the chance to push ourselves to the limit and exceed even our own expectations. For this I would like to say thank you and thank you again to Declan Heery and Cathy Wolf.

I couldn’t possibly deliver a thank you speech without saying thank you to our Irish brothers and sisters. You have all taught us so much about ourselves, the world and the island of Ireland. I wish for all of you love, happiness, success, joy and better luck next year for your national rugby team.

There are 2 very special individuals who also deserve a mention. The dynamic duo that is Jean Scrimgeour and Thamsanqha Ledwaba have been nothing short of phenomenal this summer. Both Jean and Thami have been there with us, every step of the way with a shoulder to lean on and our stipend envelopes. Thank you so much for making this experience what it was and sacrificing your sleep and sanity for us. I don’t think either of you will ever fully know just how much of an impact you have had on each of us.

And now, I would like to take the time to thank a special group of people known as the “Friends of SAWIP”. This includes Emira Woods from the Institute of Policy Studies, Lenneal Henderson, Barbara Haig from the National Endowment for Democracy, Gerald LeMelle from Africa Action, Tom Woods from the Heritage Foundation, and Alicia Kellman and Art Kaufman from IDASA.

Arguably, SAWIP’s best friends are its host families. A thousand thank yous must go to Terry Eason for all of the time, energy and effort that she put into finding us all homes. On behalf of the SAWIP class of 2009, I want to sincerely and warmly thank every single host mother, father, brother and sister for letting us be part of your lives for the past 6 weeks. I hope you all enjoyed having us in your homes as much as we appreciated having a home away from home and people who cared about our wellbeing. None of us would be here in DC if it wasn’t for your kindness, generosity and in some cases, sense of adventure. I hope that we have all given you a sense of our country’s past, present and future, and offered to host you in our own homes at least once. In essence, I would like to say thank you to this year’s host families for opening your hearts and your homes to South Africa and her seeds.

Finally, I would like to leave everyone with a little food for thought and something that to me, summarises the contributions made by everyone to our SAWIP 2009 experience, “ndigumntu ngabuntu”: simply put “I am because you are”.