Skip to main content

May 26: I was lost but then I found a place for me...

Today I went back 11 years in my life…to my first trip to Mozambique as a volunteer in Escolinha do André. In this Africa day, Sister Beta marked the occasion (the teachers left because it was Africa’s day) with a sports tournament. When we arrived they already ran all over the place but the joy was still in the air. I was surrounded by children; hugs; hands that wanted to touch me; fingers searching for mine; soft strokes in my arms and in my clothes... It was the warmest welcome, and the children joined the party. It was already worth it for me.
The surprise did not take long. Old students were warned that Mana ("Big Sis") Sara was coming and, for the first time, they showed up. Edia who sells in the market to provide for her 3 children – she sent the husband away… Irene has a small child and another one at the school. Salvador who was a skilled basket maker and spent two years in the Chokwé construction works…
We reminisced on their lives, on their choices which drove them away from school. We talked about education and about what they want from life these days. I saw a nostalgia I thought didn’t exist anymore. Years after their departure many knew now they made the wrong choice and asked for help. We discussed what could be different, how they could turn their lives around. How could the nuns and A Little Gesture help. The talk lasted a few hours, sitting on the ground, just looking at each other some times. We talked about how they could give back to the school, spending time with the little ones, learning a trade. They showed interest, then enthusiasm and, after a while, a strong will.
During a special moment I remembered the song I wrote for them 11 years ago. Hearing  the first word, the oldest (the regretful and the still rebellious) gathered in a circle sharing a moment of happiness; remembering perhaps the times when life was much easier and they joined me singing even louder “ I was lost and then I found a place for me – in Escolinha do Andre. Now, I have a friend, who will give me a helping hand, I no longer walk on the streets, now I’m going to study”...
The song was heartfelt by all of them and I cannot forget the deep sadness in Salvador’s eyes who want to help us in basketry. I wonder if he is going to return to his place in Escolinha do André ?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We are not afraid.. are we not?

I see signs saying we are not afraid. Londoners are tough and endured the bombings of WWII. But those Londoners are hardly the same as the ones here today. Yes people in general are resilient, more than we think we can be when looking outside out. That is anywhere in the world, not just in London. And truth be said there is merit in not letting fear control our lives and terrorism win.  Well I just walked into the district line, 5 stations away from Parsons Green and I am afraid. I am not shaking, crying or running away. But I am afraid mostly because it is all so natural. Life must go on I said, as I decided I was not going to cancel my lunch and avoid the tube. But that is what makes it scary. Life goes on and in an effort to not be afraid we recklessly do not change our habits and rely on the stats that more people die on the road then on terrorist attacks. Reality is, the law of probability does not matter because terrorist events are binary.  So I think about my frie...
1 comment
Read more

Too low

Sometimes I feel too low. .  My job by nature involves a lot of rowing against the current, or sometimes just rowing on my own.  I have these immesurable drive to get results and some moments in th day, whére I look and evaluate what I have not progressed, it just brings me down. Today I almost cracked. It does not happen often, I must admit. Maybe I should have blogged during the day to help with the venting process.  An accumulation of incompetence, unwillingness and also just the absolute amount of work it needs to be done by a single person (me) has made me really question why bother. As B says, it's just money, and it's not mine. I wished I could feel like that today.  Maybe i just need to buy those supplements And naturally on top I feel like a bad mother. No matter how I spent the day thinking how I missed C, that wont bring me closer, and what does she care about my thinking. She wants me there. She has struggled with the last weeks, and has become more attac...
Post a Comment
Read more

Flying Sunday

It's been a while, I know. But time is really a precious asset and I have not been leveraging on it well enough... But today I did and I am proud. I threw all the plans out of the window and took the irrefusable offer I was made "Do you want to go flying today?". How does no work as an answer there? Here is one of the c. 30 airplanes you could see there. First reaction from our pilot: "Why are all these planes here, don't people realize it is an amazing day for flying?". Well, I had not untill he told me so! But the best is still to come, as the only girl in the group I got to ride in the front, get first view in take-off, listen to the radio of the air control all the time (we get Boston airport frequency), check the map, speeds, everything... I guess throughout the way we were some quiet passengers, in the wonders of realizing you are on air, the curiosity of identifying different places and the struggle to take the best pictures as we pass the Harvard...
2 comments
Read more