Leah Goodwyne plans to heed her call from the wild.

When she graduates from the University of Florida next year, she wants a job documenting humanitarian aid and suffering in the most remote villages of Africa.

She’s been hooked on this dream for about two years. Last summer, she worked for a nonprofit organization, writing stories about missions at impoverished communities in eight southern Africa countries.

Her approach for reporting “in the bush” was simple: All she needed was a microphone plugged into her iPod.

“It was amazing to just be able to sit on benches and record stories and hear people’s lives that way,” she said.

She misses the country’s rugged, dry terrain during the winter and pines for the distinct scent permeating the air, she said.

But what she wants most are more interactions with Africans.

Reports from Africa usually focus on political, medical and economic strife, she said, but she was inspired by the compassion within communities amid all the turmoil.

In Zambia, for instance, the middle generation is disappearing following years of suffering from AIDS, malaria and hunger, Goodwyne said.

“You see grandmothers and aunties caring for generations well below them simply because of their dedication to their family,” she said.

The prospect of living abroad and traveling to isolated towns by herself does not intimidate Goodwyne. To her, sharing the plight of those in agony is worth the cost.

“I’m not afraid of going anywhere,” she said.

- Katie Sanders