In the News...

Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Section: Front Page-A3

By Matthew Baker
NewsTribune Reporter

One St. Bede Academy alumnus got a very early head start on homecoming with a visit back to the academy Monday with tales from the other side of the globe.

Adam Aleksy and his wife Jess spent the day speaking with students about their experiences in South Africa as Peace Corps volunteers.

Using his trombone skills, St. Bede Academy junior Joe Mauck (from left) plays a South African vuvuzela as classmates Mike Venegas, Ty Dobrich and Ali Braboy look on during a classroom presentation by Peace Corps volunteers Adam and Jess Aleksy. The Aleksys are working with the Peace Corps in the village of Schoemansdal in South Africa. (NewsTribune photo by Amanda Whitlock)

For the past seven months the couple has been living in a country filled with disparity.

South Africa’s major cities are very well developed, but the country’s rural areas are basically the third world, Adam explained.

“We live in the third world part of South Africa,” he said.

They are currently residing in a small tin-roofed home in the village of Schoemansdal.

The home features fairly consistent electricity but dishes are washed in a set of tubs with the used water being dumped outside the house. Similarly, the closest they get to a bath is a set of larger tubs in which they stand while pouring heated water onto themselves.

“I had my first actual shower in seven months a few weeks ago,” said Jess with only slight exaggeration.

Their house also comes with lizards, which aren’t such a bad thing once one realizes the lizards eat the roaches and mosquitoes, Adam said.

Despite lacking in creature comforts, their South African experience has been “fantastic,” Adam said. They still have about a year and a half left to serve in the country.

While in South Africa they are overseeing a café and local craft shop that will cater primarily to tourists. Jess explained the revenues generated by the shop will support the Peace Corps’s humanitarian efforts in the area and the business will create local jobs.

Along with discussing their experiences, Jess gave a short primer on the more interesting aspects of the Siswati language, one of nearly a dozen spoken in the country. The students were most interested in the non-English clicking sounds incorporated in the language.

Students also had the opportunity to try blowing a vuluzela horn – made infamous recently for the loud, droning tones the traditional South African horns produced during this year’s World Cup matches.

Still, not all is well in the country, which explains while the Peace Corps continues to send volunteers into South Africa.

The Rev. Robert Pondant, O.S.B., questioned the couple on a recent report of human trafficking in South Africa.

“There is a massive amount of human trafficking in our area,” Adam said, noting that the problem appears to be on the rise.

Jess said HIV and AIDS continue to be a serious problem in South Africa, as well. In some areas of the country, especially within the immigrant population, the rate of people testing positive for HIV/AIDS is staggering, as much as 62 percent in some cases, she said.

One senior student questioned them on what the Peace Corps does to address such problems.

“What Peace Corps drills into you as a volunteer is: you don’t go in a country and say, “I’m going to do this for you,’” said Jess.

Instead, Adam explained, volunteers work with local organizations to help them build and strengthen their internal infrastructure, thus increasing the organizations’ abilities to grow, increase revenues and perform necessary functions.

The couple also provided information for students who may consider applying for the Peace Corps in the future.

“Over the past few years the Peace Corps has become a very competitive program to work for,” Adam said.

A bachelor’s degree is almost required, but just as important is experience volunteering.

“They want to see a history of volunteerism in your past,” Adam said, adding that St. Bede students, who are required to perform volunteer service hours throughout their high school careers, have an advantage in that area.

He also said students don’t need to worry about having a particular major in college in order to be accepted into the Peace Corps.

For more information on the Peace Corps, visit www.peacecorps.gov.