Washington was an incredible experience. Working at the Corporate Council on Africa gave me an understanding of the potential that Africa has. During my time at CCA, I had the opportunity to meet incredible people from all walks of life. One of the main highlights of my internship was attending a FICCI ( The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) conference at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. I had the opportunity to meet highly successful entrepreneurs, business executives and government officials. The advice I took from some of the people I met that day has been invaluable. One of the other amazing experiences about being in DC was spending 5 weeks living with a completely new family. Initially, it felt really strange having to adjust to being part of a new family, but within a few days i honestly began to feel as if my host parents, we really my new parents. Although we did not spend as much as we had hoped together, we managed to create some really good memories together. One other aspect of the program that is unforgettable was the incredible speakers that we had a chance to listen to and later meet. I have never learnt so much in such a short space of time. I find my self spending time reading through some of the notes I took down from those talks.
One thing that I’ve began to realise about the experience that myself and the other South Africans have had was that it was all a gift to us. Certain individuals had created this program to help empower young people who are passionate about South Africa. I can not even begin to express how grateful I am to have been part of it. They did not have to do it, but they did. The people who initiated the program and the people to continue to make it a success have given of themselves for a cause greater than just themselves. In the same manner, I believe that our calling is pass on the wisdom, experience, knowledge and networks that we gained this summeras a gift to other young South Africans who are passionate about this country. The spirit of selflessness is what created programs such as SAWIP and the spirit of selflessness has the potential to transform the world as we know it.