I needed one small duffel for traveling in Africa. No fancy clothes, no make up, no hair dryer, just shorts and shirts. Okay, and a tooth-brush. But my friend and I traveled with two large bags packed to maximum capacity. (which I really didn’t like dragging from place to place.) Clothes, shoes, soccer balls, frisbees, pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, journals, books. What ever we could cram into our luggage that the people, and the schools, in africa might need.
And there was a need.
We spoke with one principle in Zimbabwe that explained that her student’s were required to have a uniform to attend school but that was all. She said that kids walked for miles to come to school, most didn’t have food for lunch and many had no pencil or paper with which to take notes. But over 800 students were there when we arrived. All smiling.
We gave what we could.
The frisbees and soccer balls will give hours of exercise and entertainment. The pencils and paper will help nourish kids minds for a time. But our donations were not a permanent solution. I wish I’d had that. Still, I was so thankful I had dragged along the heavy bags giving the opportunity for a few more kids to learn, enjoy, succeed.
Someday, I would like to go back to Africa. Spend more time with the people. This trip I brought many of my PeaceLoveBasketball shirts and baby onesies and gave them away as well as the school items. In the future, I would love to work with the kids, teach them basketball where they have hoops, soccer where they don’t, read to them, and just help.
Share.
What are different ways you share in your community or elsewhere?
great thought provoking question thank you for the beautiful post.