VIENNA BURTON

My name is Vienna Burton. It has been my dream for 3 years now to go to Africa and volunteer my assistance to those suffering from the ever growing epidemic, HIV/AIDS. I have the deepest love and compassion for Africa and the people that live there. That is why I MUST go and give comfort and assistance in any way, shape, or form that I can.

I believe that I have been very blessed to live in this beautiful, rich country(United States) and wish everyone could enjoy the same blessing and abundance we have here. I am aware of the suffering outside these protective borders and my heart is troubled by it.

I wish to go to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania to help relieve the people of poverty and disease. I know that I have much to offer and can help immensely. The volunteer program that I decided on is called Cross-culture Solutions. This volunteer program is “widely known as the leading organization in the field of international volunteering.”

I have spoken with program directors and even some of those who have already volunteered. The stories they have told are both inspirational and motivating. They gave me the faith that I can make a difference however small it may be; it will have a large effect on those that I will be working with.

It is my goal to save $3,000 to go to this beautiful place for 5 weeks. I hope this is possible for me. I am working very hard towards it as far as working full time and doing as much research on Tanzania as possible.

I want everyone to know how deep my love and interests run for this outstanding culture and its people. I have been working on many paintings including the one that you see here that shows what I see in the loving people that inhabit this continent. I am simply obsessed if you will, talking non-stop about the art, the food, the people but mostly the extreme poverty and devastation that be-fell them. It is my duty to help in any way that I can, because I can.