DoSomething.org continues to feature guest blogger Tyler from Journey for Change. The teen is traveling through South Africa to volunteer and gain global perspective. Here's his latest report.

We just arrived at Kruger National Park. We got there by going on a Turbo Jet plane! It was the second time I have ever been
on such a small plane. I went to sleep as soon as they turned on the plane. It was so silent, even when we took off…silence!

After we landed, we boarded a bus and headed to the park. We passed by a giraffe on the side of the road on the way to the lodge. Everyone was taking pictures, but as soon as the first person got out of the bus, the animal stopped eating and walked away. We were wondering what happened, so the driver said that they get scared when they see people.

After we settled in at Timbavati Lodge, we headed out to play a soccer game and net-ball with some of the local kids. They challenged us to a game of soccer. We tried our best to play against their team, but they have been playing their whole lives so we didn’t have much of a chance.

The next day, I heard knocks on the door at 6 a.m. I immediately thought of the 10 minute meeting we had the day before about how wild animals here roam free at night. Then, I thought of how they told us once people saw a leopard running around near the huts. But it wasn't any animal; it was Anton, our 7 ft. tall security guard. Apparently we have to wake up at six every day here!

That morning we headed to Utha, South Africa. The drive was long the village. The roads went from tar to dirt roads, from dirt roads to rocky/unleveled roads. We were greeted by a man, a woman, and the principal of the high school. The people/community of Utha have three major problems:

• no water within miles
• only one school within miles
• extreme poverty

The community can only rely on 1 tap water pipe the size of a sink faucet, for over one thousand people. They say they have been waiting for a year for a large pipe to be fixed. The problem is the only large pipe they have travels under the road, which has now been covered up with tar. The school situation is that all the kids within the community and two others attend one school, which is the only school in miles. They have to usually wake up at 5:00am to walk to up to two hours to get to school on time, which starts at 7:00am. We also passed by a local daycare, which has only 6 caretakers for over 100 children.

After we toured the Village, the chief of the village spoke to us about the history of Utha. He also helped build the high school. I liked hearing the background of the people who lived there, who are part of the Zulu tribe. After he spoke to us, we had a braai lunch which was cooked by the local women. The food was delicious and included sausages and salads.

When we finished eating, we had a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the high school. We split into groups and painted animal murals on the walls of the school library. We painted a lion, zebra, elephant, leopard, giraffe, and rhino on the walls. The paintings came our really well and I know that we brightened the school for the students there. We all go to write our names above it so everyone who looks at it will know about us and Journey for Change.

What can you do?

Visiting a national park can be a life-changing experience. Help out at one in order to promote natural animal habitats.

Do your friends get how serious poverty and hunger is? Host a hunger banquet to help everyone get more involved in the issue.

Find a project in your area that deals with Animal Welfare, Poverty, or any of our 11 causes.