For Hannah Dalglish, the adventure is about to begin.

The Barrington resident and soon-to-be senior at Wheaton College will leave later this month for Cape Town, South Africa as part of a self-designed summer internship.

Ms. Dalglish, a sociology major with a double minor in public health and economics, will work with  Wola Nani, a non-profit organization that offers support and assistance to women and children living with HIV and AIDS.

The internship, she said, may include a variety of tasks — one day she may be helping South African women find ways to earn more money with their crafts; the next she could be working or playing with young children.

"I sort of hand-crafted it," said Ms. Dalglish of the internship. "I reached out to them."

Ms. Dalglish said she has been, for years, looking to break free from her comfort zone. She said she has wanted to experience life in other cultures — not as a visiting tourist, but as a resident. With the Wola Nani internship, that is exactly what she will get.

For starters, the internship is not part of the Wheaton College program. The only connection to the school is that Wheaton officials agreed to pay Ms. Dalglish a small stipend for the internship, which will off-set costs of traveling to and living in South Africa for seven weeks this summer.

Ms. Dalglish has had to organize her own travel to the African country and secure her own housing. (She is renting a room in a house in the Observatory district in Cape Town.) There is no guarantee of other college students nearby, or of an internship manager on site.

"I wanted the experience," she said.

"I am most excited about having the chance to work and live in another community that is very different than here," said Ms. Dalglish, who graduated from Barrington High School.

There may be some challenges that surface with Ms. Dalglish's new adventure. She said she will need to be careful traveling around Cape Town, especially at night.

"I have been told not to go out alone at night," she said. "I hope I can meet others my age… I'm going to figure it out."

Ms. Dalglish said she learned of Wola Nani while at Wheaton College. She said another student had worked with the organization and shared her experience — the other student, Anna, spent her time teaching the South African women how to make jewelry.

Ms. Dalglish said she is not quite sure which of her skills will be most needed once she arrives in South Africa. She hopes to spend some of her time focused on income generation, but may also be called to work closely with clinics provided by the nearby Red Cross Hospital.

HIV has arguably reached epidemic proportions in South Africa. It has been reported that South Africa is believed to have more people living with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world. In 2012, approximately 6.1 million people were living with HIV in South Africa.

"There is a stigma attached to it," said Ms. Dalglish. "That is part of the reason they (the women assisted by Wola Nani) need help with income."

Ms. Dalglish said many women diagnosed with HIV in South Africa are treated badly and forced to find alternative ways to make money. Wola Nani assists the women with trade skills.

Ms. Dalglish sees her internship as an opportunity to mesh her different academic interests — public health, sociology and economics — while helping others.

"The disease is a very social issue," said Ms. Dalglish. "It goes beyond being a medical crisis."

Keeping up with Hannah

Ms. Dalglish said she has started a blog to document her upcoming trip to South Africa. People are welcome to visit https://hannahdalglish.wordpress.com to learn more about the local woman's internship and time in Cape Town.