Orphanage

Hailey native finds the courage to help orphans in Africa
HAILEY - Theresa Grant jumped on the fast track out of Wood River High School. She landed a marketing job in the Silicon Valley with a firm that did the sound for "Lord of the Rings," "Sex and the City," "Oprah Winfrey" and Elton John.She jet-setted to Hollywood on business. And she spent her downtime dining at San Francisco's posh restaurants, getting her caffeine fix at Starbucks, perusing the Bay area's art scene, shopping for Danish furniture, working out at the Four Seasons and parking her Outback via valet.The Boise State University graduate traded all that last year for a toilet that was simply a hole in the ground, a candle for light, coals to cook on and a tub in which to wash her clothes.And a chance to help African kids who have been orphaned by AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis."I began realizing the material lifestyle was not enough to satisfy me," said Grant, 31. "I started feeling a call to give back."Grant, the daughter of Bill and Betty Grant, learned that the most urgent needs in Africa were the 80,000 children in Zambia orphaned by AIDS.She sold her belongings and boarded a plane for Africa, shaking with trepidation."I almost came home within the first two weeks," Grant said. "Here I was a germ freak and they were all wanting to shake my hand and then have me eat with my hands. And there were cockroaches all over."As she made an attempt to fit in, however, she began to feel liberated. She realized she didn't need the three huge bags of designer clothes she'd taken - just flip flops, a blouse and a wrap-around skirt to cover her legs.She learned to "let go" when it came to driving around without seat belts. And she began to get used to people staring at her white skin.When Grant learned that more Africans die of malaria than AIDS, she paid for a roof over the orphanage to keep mosquitoes out.When she saw children as young as 12 with babies, she began teaching 10-year-olds about abstinence and condoms and good touch and bad touch.She helped her new friends plant a vegetable garden and then an orchard. And then she bought a refrigerator to better preserve the food they grew.She learned two of the 73 languages that are spoken in Zambia but she also taught the children English.When she returned home for the first time after three months she realized that her new friends had come to depend on her as the breadwinner. So she vowed to make them self-sufficient upon her return.She helped them build trout farms. She encouraged them to make denim soccer balls with thread made from plastic balls-a novelty the U.S. Olympic soccer team has gotten enthused about. And, recognizing that they might not be able to afford new parts for the tractor she'd purchased, she gave them hoes."The idea is not to bring anything they can't afford later," she says. "One of my volunteers wanted to bring over power tools to make bunk beds for the orphanage and I told him, 'We can't do that because we have to teach them how they can do it themselves.' "Once she felt comfortable in her new role, Grant came up with a creative way of engage others in what she was doing. She formed a non-profit organization that she titled Courage To Be You (C2BU). And she created Make a Difference vacations.For $700 volunteers spend one week counseling children about the importance of brushing their teeth and washing their hands, teaching English and job skills and doing other tasks commensurate with their skills and interest.Then they spend the second week taking a safari through the Serengeti, visiting Victoria Falls and Mt. Kilimanjaro and even lying on the beach in Zanzibar.The $700 includes transportation in Africa and a translator and safari guide. While working with the orphanage, volunteers have their choice of staying in a three- to five-star hotel or being put up with host families who have beds and running water."In Africa even a hug can make a big difference," Grant said. "You don't have to be a doctor - you can extend a child's life just by holding them and making them feel special."For more information please email : gotraveltheworld@aol.com

By Karen BossickFor the Times-News