Thompson And THE Kili Shot

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[youtube=BiminCVGD7s][youtube=v7m9EQFj-yM][youtube=EVXGE9qrq3w]

Ok, so yes I’m home, and easily distracted from my writing by all America has to offer on a daily basis, but, I still have a couple more “must share” experiences from Africa, so the blog is continuing for a little longer (with more pics and videos too). . . .

Definitely a highlight of this trip was meeting a man named Thompson and visiting the “Hopeful English School” he started out of his house and has since grown to three buildings. Near the end of our stay in Tanzania, a small group of us went to visit Thompson, a former security guard at the CCS home base. In order to become a security guard at CCS Thompson had to learn English so he paid someone to tutor him. During this time he struggled to provide for his family, but he knew if he learned English it would be better for his family long-term. His children then started learning after school and soon, other children from the village started showing up at his house because they wanted to learn English too. He now has over 40 children coming before and after their regular school to learn English. He’s done all this on his own with volunteers helping him out here and there.

I wish the videos I posted on this blog did the experience justice. The children sang for us to show how they learn. Imagine sitting in a classroom with a group of kids belting out “Who wanna help? Help Us! Help us, Help us, to reach our destiny!” It was an emotional moment. And Thompson, what an incredible person. When I look into this man’s eyes joy just comes spilling out of him and his smile is contagious. He had never met most of us that visited that day but the moment we showed up he stopped what he was doing, gave us all huge hugs and welcomed us into his home. It’s so amazing to be around someone who is SO happy, fulfilled and living in the moment. What a great role model. Currently, he does not have a paying job, has no clue when and where more funds or volunteers will arrive to help him, but he continues on focus on the children. The children love this place so much he says they even show up on the weekends and just hang out and he could never turn them away. If you don’t have time for all the videos, at least take a peek at the first one.

The other highlight of this day was walking home from Thompson’s. It was getting late and dark so Thompson walked us back to our home base. As we were walking back I turned around to say something to Michelle and I looked over her head speechless. She was looking at me like I lost my marbles and then I pointed behind her to share the most incredible view of Kilimanjaro. It was the perfect light and completely clear. Definitely a good-bye gift for us.

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Photos

Thompson
He looks this happy every moment!

Hopeful English School
The main sign for the school.

Me with a Fellow Christina
For some reason Christy is difficult for Tanzanians but Christina is easy, so here I am Christina.

Teacher and Students
This is one of the new classrooms.

Set Up
For some reason the teacher is really into how the kids are lined up. They spend about 15 minutes organizing their place.

Introductions
Each child came up to tell us their name, age, background and what they want to be when they are older. Most - Doctors and Teachers.

Thompson's Daughter
She seems to lead the group in their presentations.

Teacher Harmony
He guides them in motion and harmony.

Me and Elijah
Such an old soul in a young boy. You can tell he will do great things for his community when he is older.

Elijah the Journalist
Elijah trying out the camera for his future career as a journalist.

Thompson's Neighbor
At this point she is telling Thompson that she wants money for us taking her picture. Oops, too late.

Comments

[Jeff McBrayer]

Jeffery
Christy, Is there an address we can use to send a donation to Thompson? Money, notebook paper, pencils, books???? That's what I took to Israel, and the kids flipped out for school supplies! Love and Light!