The independent student media site of West Linn High School

wlhsNOW

The independent student media site of West Linn High School

wlhsNOW

The independent student media site of West Linn High School

wlhsNOW

Oliver Muggli goes to Africa to fulfill lifelong dream of service

Oliver+Muggli+goes+to+Africa+to+fulfill+lifelong+dream+of+service

Africa: a continent of unimaginable beauty and sorrow, the birthplace of the human race, and a place with some of the lowest life expectancies on the planet. Oliver Muggli, senior, experienced the continent of contradictions earlier this fall when he travelled to Africa.

Muggli journeyed to Tanzania, located in eastern sub-Saharan Africa in association with the non-profit organization Africa Bridge.

“Africa Bridge works to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children in Tanzania by increasing access to education, healthcare, and by building sustainable economic infrastructure,” Oliver Muggli, senior, said.

Muggli has been involved with Africa Bridge since 2004 when he was in fourth grade; he now sits on the board of directors. This was Muggli’s first trip to Africa. Other members of the organization include Roger Woehl, former West Linn-Wilsonville school district superintendent, and Barry Childs, the founder of Africa Bridge.

In Tanzania, Muggli spent three days on a safari in Ruaha National Park and then continued on to the town Tukuyu in Southeast Tanzania. From Tukuyu, Muggli and the other members of the Africa Bridge organization travelled to surrounding villages to talk to villagers and experience cultural ceremonies.

One such interaction he had with a villager was when a man came up to talk to him while he was walking through a village. The man was wearing a suit that did not fit him and he was missing a few teeth, but he told Muggli and the other Africa Bridge members that he was lucky because a few years prior he had only had a white sheet to wear. He couldn’t feed himself or his family but Africa Bridge had given him a cow and he was able to survive and improve his life. Muggli was deeply affected by this and the other experiences he had in Tanzania and it reinforced his feeling about the work Africa Bridge does.

The cultural experiences that Oliver had included a process known as “itafake”, meaning “protocol.” This involved singing, dancing, introductions and a progress report. After the itafake, the group would meet with the villagers face to face, and talk with them about their lives and their plans for the future.

    “The people I met; their lives, their relationships, and their strength opened my eyes to a side of the world I could never have imagined,” Oliver said. “There is struggle, there is loss and there is pain, but through it all there is hope.”

Leave a Comment
Donate to wlhsNOW
$50
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of West Linn High School. Your contribution will allow us to continue to produce quality content by purchasing equipment, software, and continuing to host our website on School Newspapers Online (SNO).

More to Discover
About the Contributor
Charlie Craft, Arts and Culture Editor
Hand-delivering a golden owl to one of your heroes may seem like an impossible dream, but for Charlie Craft, senior, this is a dream come true. Craft’s favorite band, My Morning Jacket, announced a tour before his recent trip to Japan in the summer of 2012. Knowing the band has an obsession with owls and bears, he made it his personal goal to find an item to give to the band. While scouring various markets in Tokyo, Kobe and Osaka, Japan, Craft found the perfect golden owl. Craft was luckily able to obtain sound-check tickets where he met the singer, Jim James. After briefly talking, he handed James the owl and in return, received an owl of his own. Star-struck, he could do nothing but say “thank you.”

“Owls are my favorite animal,” Craft said, “Because they look funny and are silent killers.”

For now, Craft has to worry about repaying his parents for his Japan trip. Craft works at Bellagio’s Pizza where he is a self-proclaimed “Pizza Insider.”

“A Pizza Insider does everything short of delivering pizzas,” Craft said.

Being stuck in a terrible job is Craft's greatest fear, which is not the current case. Craft plans to work at Bellagio’s until college. He hopes to attend the University of Oregon, ideally majoring in media studies but he admits it could change at any moment.

The college search process has been “weighing down on” him for a while and Craft is ready to finalize his future plans. Until then, he plans on protecting his coveted owl from his three cats and golden retriever and also “loving” his cat Curry.

Donate to wlhsNOW
$50
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All wlhsNOW Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
Oliver Muggli goes to Africa to fulfill lifelong dream of service