Rau Village, Outskirts of Moshi-
If
you leave Moshi and take Rau road up towards the foothills of Mt.
Kilimanjaro (which looms over the entire area; the snow on its peak is
incredible given the temperature in downtown Moshi), Dusty Africa is gradually replaced by Jungle-ish Africa. Off
the main road, elderly women wearing skirts and brightly-covered head
coverings walk foot paths of dark brown dirt that cut through green
overgrowth. One of the paths eventually leads to a simple, blue concrete
structure on the edge of a large clearing.
This is Matumaini ("hope" in Swahili, pronounced mah-too-my-eenie) Orphanage, home to roughly 20 kids of varying ages and sizes. Two
years ago, Andy spent much of his time here. Since then, Andy's friend
Kim has started the Knock Foundation and started working in earnest with
the kids. The transformation has been impressive: bunk
beds have replaced the 4-to-a-bed situation, there is a full-service
chicken coop outside to provide a steady flow of income and food, and a
teacher comes on Saturdays to give the kids extra work and attention
outside of school.
Stefani climbs on a wooden toy consisting of one wheel and a long handle and yells "I am going to America!" Impressed with the tattoos on Jamie's right arm, he decides to draw four images on his arm, which we later ask him to describe.
"Sun. God. Friend. Me."
The common thread of the kids' English skills is simple: their English is better than our Swahili. Conversation
is possible, but barriers do exist. The first resort is hand gestures
and body language, but when even this fails, the kids walk away without
warning, shouting "Keem! Keem!" so Kim, who is fluent, can translate.
Stefani's proposed journey to America is improbable, but the kids are more mobile than one might think. Roger,
who at 15 is the oldest Matumaini resident, once traveled to the
Western region of the country entirely alone, eventually living with a
brother who works with electronics. Roger must be a quick
learner because above the bunk beds that line the back wall of the main
room, he has hooked up a small radio and speaker and now the kids have
music. Like with his parents and grandfather before, the relationship
with his brother must not have worked out because Roger once again calls
Matumaini home.
Matumaini is:
Andy: Inspiring, sad, welcoming
Jamie: Joyful, lonely, consequential
After the near-bludgeoning, we arrived at Matumaini somewhat … flustered. Red,
sweaty, and exhausted, we collapsed onto the foam-padded bench next to
the bunk beds. The kids gathered around us, long faced and intent,
presumably waiting for us to "do something." Eriki fanned Jamie with a
baseball cap and Alexi laid his head by Andy's knee.
"Hot," we said. "Hot."
They nodded and kept staring, 10 little frowning faces.
Later, Jamie figured it out:
"We looked like we were dying," she said. "They were worried about us."
Which is pretty cool, when you think about it.
From Moshi,
Andy and Jamie
No comments:
Post a Comment