More Questions than Answers

One line that stands out to me in the Introducation of our booklet is “ We hope that you will leave this experience with more questions than answers.” Since I arrived here, I have nothing but questions. Day 1, the cab drove me from the airport to the house I am staying in. I questioned everything I saw from the kids riding in the back of the pick-up truck without getting pulled over to the highway signs to the first dead body I ever seen in my life on a pavement from an accident. Everything was very different to me. After a day, more serious questions came to mind. At the orphanage I questioned why a mother would leave such a precious child with a beautiful smile that I would do anything for? I questioned why half of the population here is living in poverty? Why shelters made up of garbage bags are their homes? Why after years of schooling, this is the first time I have ever heard about the civil war that happned here twenty years ago? Why the government and policemen have no control over the severe gang violence? Why a 51 year-old man who suffered from the civil war continues to work so hard for his family with nothing but hope and faith? I questioned the purpose of Greek Life and why this is the first I have seen all four councils as truly being unified? As we continue our purpose, I wonder if these little girls at the day care center looking back at me will ever have the opportunites I have if not, will their children, their grandchildren, etc? These questions motivate me to work and to learn and do as much as I can here.


This week has been a journey. I have been to all 3 project sites. I dug trenches for the construction of a day care center on Monday. Tuesday, I met the kids in the community and taught them how to dribble a basketball. Wednesday and today, I would say definitely put me in someone elses shoes every time I carried a bucket of water from the bottom of a steep hill to the top at Ilobosco. This is something the children and women have been doing three times a day, because they have no other sources of water. I also dug more trenches for the foundation of their new home. Everytime I leave these places,it hurts because I realized that this is reality for them. Some things that stand out to me about these people are their willingness to work, to work together as a community. For example, at all the sites, neighbors came by to help with the effort. Children stopped by in their bikes, asked what we were doing, left their bikes and picked up a shovel. This amazes me how much people here care about one another.

A couple days a go my facebook status was, “Although I hurt and miss home, I know I am making a difference.” This is exactly how I feel. I am glad to be here, and to be able represent my sorority, school, and region as well as build this bond with Greeks from all over the nation. It’s so rewarding to know that I am able to make an impact in someones life and to meet and see these people smile despite the the situation they are in.

Diana Bui is a student at the University of Georgia and a member of Delta Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc.