Nakupenda

Happiness, misfortune, and the art of tranquility. All intertwined like a Hadzabe bracelet. Having happiness brings great depth to who you are as a person, and who you become. Maintaining a contagious smile, even when your life is dependent on everyone and everything around you. Holding you to the circumstances you were born with, until you learn to break free.

On Friday, July 22^nd I met a woman who held my heart in her hands. Her name Lillian, 37 years old, and blind. She was unable to see the world through the eyes of a human, but she saw through the windows in her beautiful soul. She trusted a man eleven years ago; who got her pregnant with Ebenezer, soon after he was brought to this world, the father took him. Two years passed, Enoch, her second born, also being snatched away by his father. Not until 2015, did Lillian get them back. Without her presence for eleven years, they only did slave work for their father. When Lillian heard one of her children had been severely kicked in the head by a cow, Lillian decided she would have them visit her, then refuse to return them to their father. She cooks, cleans, and cares for herself and her children. Her story can only continue, and her pain will never be mine, but will remain within my memories. 

To say is one thing, to hear is another. When someone says “I Love You” you respond kindly back, “I Love You Too”. In all of reality, you may not even mean it. You say it to be heard, not said. Then when someone who is underprivileged and has known you for less than 24 hours, tells you, “I Love You”, your heart stops from the shock and power of those words. You look through their misfortune, to see their love. Feeling their gaze on you, awaiting your response, eagerly… Nakupenda {I Love You}. 

Karibu Means Welcome

              The people of Tanzania see you as one of them, holding you close to their heart, all the while the good you obtain floods into their eyes. Upon arriving to Tanzania a new language captured us, surrounding us with, “Mambo,” “Poa,” and “Karibou.” People wearing the warmest smiles, look at you with interest in whom you are.

One of these people was our tour guide Rasta John; A man with both swag and a love for everything. On our tour with him we saw through his eyes, when he showed us the clock tower, and when we stepped on the ground in which many Germans slayed Tanzanians. Emotion rushed through me, as I realized how the same thing could happen to multiple countries and people, but each time the outcome is different. Your roots come from who you are and what you are, branching out into your memories and experiences that grow with you the old and new you. My old self was always someone who wanted to do things, but wouldn’t think they were important enough. My new self strives to make everything better and keep everyone happy.

At LOAMO, they strongly believe that you should, “Leave the world better than you found it.” My first day at the school had me looking around at the eager faces of students, while my arm went around giving high-fives and fist bumps. My first experience teaching I realized that the kids wanted to learn as much as some children in America hate school.  Their faces lit up, pencils in hand and then it began; The laughter, the learning, spelling the word “kitten” and also accepting people. Whether being engulfed in African song and dance, with the dirt flying upward; or being surrounded by kids with “teacher, teacher,” ringing in my ears, I feel I belong.