Thirty of these children, between the ages of 12 to 16, have been paired up with college-aged mentors and brought to South Africa by Malaak Compton-Rock, the wife of comedian Chris Rock. She brought them to volunteer -- to serve the impoverished and the AIDS orphans in this country with the highest HIV-infected population in the world.
Compton-Rock has carved her own niche in espousing service -- giving back. She often quotes her mentor Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund: "Service is the rent we pay for living."
The South Africa trip is Compton-Rock's brainchild -- to broaden the horizons of young teens and give them perspective on their own lives."I believe by traveling you open up your life," Compton-Rock tells a crowd gathered for a press conference the morning after the group has arrived. "You don't think locally, you start to think globally and internationally and I think it gives you a sense of confidence."
She also wants the children to know, "that in the United States of America, even in Bushwick, we have certain services that I want the children to understand that they need to take advantage of."
