Time Well Spent

My first glimpse of Tanzania was the rocky summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro peeking through the clouds. Below these clouds, the rocks transformed into lush green fields. As we drove home, I noticed goats, cows, and smiles everywhere. I was greeted with enthusiastic waves from precious children, and joyful “karibu”s from their beautiful parents.

This welcoming greeting continued when I arrived at L.O.A.M.O, but the students were so shy that the conversation often ended there. By the next day however, the same students that had been embarrassed to tell me their names were laughing and screaming as they played their first round of trashketball. I had known the students were brilliant from the second I walked into the classroom, but in that moment, they became so much more than students. They are someone’s friend, someone’s sibling, and someone’s child. They are sweet, hilarious, and beautiful. They are students, but more importantly, they are people. Each of them has a story to be told, but it wasn’t until my home visit that I realized just how inspirational their stories are.

Lillian is 39 years old and has two sons, Enoch and Ebanezer. They are both in class four at L.O.A.M.O, and are some of the sweetest boys you will ever meet. From the outside, you would never know that they live in an 8x8 foot home with no water or electricity. Their bathroom consists of a singular toilet bowl dug into the ground, and a bucket of water. They share this bathroom with 20 other people. If you think that these conditions sound bad, the conditions that they came from were far worse.

When Enoch was one and Ebanezer was three, their father left them. The same man returned two years later and took the boys from Lillian. He made the boys work on his farm, and at only the ages of three and five, they would lead cows for miles with no shoes on their feet. When they got home, there was no dinner waiting for them. When one of the boys was nearly killed, Lillian began to hear stories of their inhumane treatment. She fought to get them back, and by the time Enoch was five and Ebanezer was seven, she succeeded. Lillian has been blind since she was two years old, but despite all of the challenges that this creates and the lasting pain that she endures in her eyes, Lillian has worked as hard as humanly possible to provide for her boys. She is one of the strongest, most inspirational women I have ever met, and I will never forget the love and gratitude that radiated from her home despite all of the hardships that her family has suffered.

I have been in Tanzania for less than a week, and I am already amazed by how incredible these people are. They have found hope and joy in people rather than possessions, and I strive to be as strong and loving as they are. It breaks my heart to think that I only have a week left with the students at L.O.A.M.O, but I plan on taking after the Tanzanian people and living in the moment. There will never be enough time, but I can always make the most of the time I have. After all, “[Time], if well [spent], is long enough.” -Seneca