Despite her mother’s reassuring voice telling her everything was going to be alright, Madeline Bleser still did not understand why the big men with weapons had to follow them around.

Bleser, sophomore, traveled to the rural area of Cape Town, South Africa, in 2004 with her mother for her job as a lawyer. She saw people dressed in more tribal attire and living in conditions different home.
According to Bleser, when she arrived, the people were on edge because they were not used to having visitors in their village. After Bleser and her mother started warming up to them, the people were friendly and treated her like family. Among the attentive faces of the natives, there was something bothering Bleser she could not quite understand.

Bleser’s mother is an attorney and was in Africa to work with the U.S government. The line of work they were doing involved the law that was confidential so Bleser and her mother had to be escorted around by bodyguards. Her mother tried explaining what the purpose of the bodyguards was but she did not understand why they were there. According to Bleser, there were four people [both sides and front and back] surrounding her. She was scared because the men were much taller than her.

“Having bodyguards frightened me because I have never been put in a situation where I needed protection,” Bleser said. “I didn’t like the fact that people were following me around, but, looking back, I appreciate it because they were trying to keep us safe and away from people that could hurt us.”

Despite the tall men in black pants with guns, Bleser got to see and experience places in the world that will always stick with her. She enjoyed seeing how the people lived and learning about their culture. Looking back at how the people lived, Bleser wants to return to Africa and provide the people with the necessities like food, water, medication and tools.

“Looking back at pictures, I realize how little resources they have and I want to go back and help the people who didn’t have as much,” Bleser said. “I want to be able to give the people clean water and help the homeless have some type of shelter.”