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Published: November 5th 2006
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Play Time
A little girl standing in the wayside watching us pass her house. As easy as the words came to describe what we were going through when we were preparing to make this trip, I am finding it difficult to find the right ones to fill you in on what life has been like since we have arrived. Not the general life itself, as that is all coming along smoothly; but the real life that is going on here in Africa.
A plethora of emotions transcends words. The look on a face can say more than the right string of letters in the right combination, put together with punctuation marks. What can you say about, for example, the little girl in the first picture? She was playing with this piece of red plastic on the way to one of the Bible studies we went to today. She was unconcerned with anything other than what she was doing right at that very moment.
The look in her eyes is as deep as the abyss of the sea and you wonder what her day-to-day life would be like. Her home had no electricity; therefore no worry which cartoon to watch or what video game to play. Her yard was a small patch of dirt.
Squatters
These 4 followed me until I stopped to take their picture. No playground to go to, no swing set to slide down the slide on.
How do you describe what you know nothing of?
The children are the ones you notice first, each having a different reaction than the next. They come running when they hear a “Wazungu” (white skinned person); for some, their curiosity almost a fear. They are challenged by their buddies to see just how close they can get to you, without you grabbing them, as if you were some kind of monster they have heard about in a ghost story that will gobble them up. They dodge into the doorframes of their homes, or run behind their mothers’, not really knowing what your presence brings.
Some relish the thoughts that you would pay them some attention, or perhaps hand them a piece of candy. This group of “followers” tagged behind us as we maneuvered our way through the maze of alleys and houses, and since they were small, I squatted to take their picture. They squatted right along with me as if this was the way one was to take pictures.
Some are un-phased. Eunice was one of those. At a Bible study
Eunice
Eunice was the FIRST ever child in Africa to go deliberately to Anthony and hold her hands up for him to pick her up. in Monduli, a town about 40 minutes drive from where we are staying, she walked straight to me and proceeded to sit in my lap and play with my bracelet. Anthony had gotten up from his seat and was standing beside the chair where Eunice, in a very determined manner, proceeded to walk purposefully to him and raise her arms for him to pick her up. She was not afraid in the least. She didn’t cry, fidget, nor did she even laugh. She was as calm as the sea when Jesus spoke it to stillness.
Some are camera hogs, just like our kids. This young fellow nearly took me by surprised as I rounded a corner. Almost immediately struck a pose, as if on cue when he saw the camera. “Piga Picha”! They yell. “Take a picture”! I think they like the flash!
And some, you can’t say anything at all about. You just bite your lip to keep the tears from flowing, because you know you can’t change their part of the world so they can see it through your childrens’ eyes. The case in point was a young girl, age 8 or so, who came to
Eunice's Fascination
Eunice was fascinated with my charm bracelet. One I treasure as it is filled with memories of my sisters. VBS in Moshi. I did not get a good picture of her, as I was teaching the class. She had a small baby on her back, maybe 5 - 7 months old, and a younger sister maybe in the 2 -3 year old range at her side. She came to class and sat on the floor attentively with all the other children. When it came time to color, she couldn’t even color for rocking the baby on her back. Anthony took her aside to allow her to stand so she could color on the rock wall. She would not relinquish the baby on her back, nor allow us to take the younger sibling to a younger age class. They were her responsibility and she took it seriously.
We know nothing of their world.
The children is what you see first … their poverty, the things they lack, the things they need, their smiles, their eyes …. No words can take the place of those eyes.
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Walter and Rosa
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The Eyes Have It!
You are so correct. If only we could see the world as a child, it would be a much better place. These children are the promise of tomorrow. Thank you for doing what you both are doing for them.