This summer Northwest students and staff visited almost every state in America, every country in North America and visited many other countries around the world.

For senior Sydney Sherman and junior Madison Johanning, this summer meant a trip to Africa. In Johanning’s case, this meant her third trip to Africa. For both it meant a fun, challenging trip to help and learn from an area of the world that not many people get a chance to visit.

“I volunteered with a company called Cross Cultural Solutions,” Sherman said, “we volunteered at a nursery school, we went on safari–we explored and submerged ourselves into their culture.”

Sherman visited Tanzania and Johanning visited Uganda. The experience for both Sherman and Johanning was life changing.

“I look at poverty a lot differently now,” Johanning said, “for them it’s not poverty, it’s enough, that they simply have enough. We live really cozy lives and they are so joyful for everything they have. No matter if it’s just a little carpet that they have on the floor when we come into their house in their little room and they have that and they want you to sit on it.”

Sherman and Johanning did not just visit Africa for fun. They went to do what they believe is going to help make the world a better place.

“One of my main goals is to make a difference in the world,” Sherman said, “I was given this awesome opportunity by my grandmother to go anywhere in the world, so I decided that a good way to achieve my goal was to go to a different country.”

Both girls agree that this is not a one time trip, they both want to go back. Johanning wants to return to Uganda after high school to live there with the family she made in Africa.

“I would go back today, I would go back tomorrow, I would go back in 20 years,” Sherman said, “I just fell in love with the people there…I made a family there and they told me to come back and that I would always have a home there.”

Words by Hannah Bothner|News and Features Editor