Day 5-6 - Subida, Kedesh, & Nhamatanda (Manga & Nhamatanda, Moçambique)

Hey everyone! So sorry for not writing yesterday. We ended up hanging out pretty late and I still needed to put in a couple of hours on my personal statement which I am submitting with my medical school application on Monday! Crazy huh? The two days since I last wrote have been PACKED full of things but here are just a few highlights. Trust me, the rest is all super boring ;)  

Last night after finishing up in the villages we stopped by a place called Kedesh which is a home for boys ages 8-18. Most of the boys there lost their parents either to the war or HIV. The most interesting thing about the whole experience is that the place was started by an American, John, who came to Africa 30 years ago to help his mom move home after a service mission she was doing and stayed ever since. He mentioned that he just saw such a huge need here and knew it was the place where he could do the most good. Anyway, John now cares for almost 30 boys all at his home with the help of his now-wife. The other volunteers and I decided that the place is Neverland :) Really, it would be any boy’s dream. Lots of other kids to play with, soccer field, volleyball court, etc. I was even pretty tempted to stay! I am so impressed by those that give up everything to serve other people. I ended up playing volleyball and soccer with the boys for a long time and had a great time. The Mozambicans are such kind, generous people.

Today the village we went to was called Nhamatanda. The most eventful part of the day was definitely getting there and back. The highways here are very narrow and FULL of potholes (see the pic below). The combination of those two things makes for a mass chaos of cars weaving, passing, and narrowly dodging each other. Not to mention a very bumpy ride... It was all worth it though. When we got there, they invited us into a room where all of the kids were gathered up and sang us a few songs. They are so musically talented. It’s amazing how excited they get too when they realize you can speak Portuguese, and even more excited when you start speaking Sena to them (I’m learning more and more each day!). As I spent time there today, I met a guy named Jacob. He is 20 years old and an orphan. His father passed away in the civil war when he (Jacob) was less than a year old and his mom passed away just a few years ago from a “sickness” (the hospitals and doctors more often than not do not actually tell you the specific cause of death… interesting). We became friends pretty quickly over the normal conversation topics… soccer (futbol), Justin Bieber, etc. :) As we were talking, I totally forgot about the situation that he was in as our similarities overshadowed our differences. I had one of those epiphany moments where I realized that I had come here to Africa with a subconscious attitude that I was here to save these poor, suffering Mozambicans. What an ignorant thought! As I was there today, I realized that I am in no way better or less needy than my friend Jacob, though my outward, physical needs may be less obvious. I am equally able to learn and be helped by him as he is by me. It was an interesting combination of an “a-ha!” and a “duh…” moment. I feel like my view of the world shifted in that short time there today.

As I thought about this experience with Jacob today, I was reminded of an article I read recently by Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business Professor. The article is titled, “How Will You Measure Your Life” and it is actually a bit of a preface to a book he just published under the same title. I’ve heard the book is great. One quote I particularly like:

“One characteristic of these humble people stood out: They had a high level of self-esteem. They knew who they were, and they felt good about who they were. We also decided that humility was defined not by self-deprecating behavior or attitudes but by the esteem with which you regard others. Good behavior flows naturally from that kind of humility. For example, you would never steal from someone, because you respect that person too much. You’d never lie to someone, either.

It’s crucial to take a sense of humility into the world. By the time you make it to a top graduate school, almost all your learning has come from people who are smarter and more experienced than you: parents, teachers, bosses. But once you’ve finished at Harvard Business School or any other top academic institution, the vast majority of people you’ll interact with on a day-to-day basis may not be smarter than you. And if your attitude is that only smarter people have something to teach you, your learning opportunities will be very limited. But if you have a humble eagerness to learn something from everybody, your learning opportunities will be unlimited. Generally, you can be humble only if you feel really good about yourself—and you want to help those around you feel really good about themselves, too.”

I hope that inspires you.

Anyway, this weekend we are heading off to Gorongoza National Park to see some of the wild-life there. I’ll let you know soon how it goes! For now, here are some pics from the last couple of days.

NBD just taking a break and playing some games on the beach.

The younger kids in Subida watching as we worked with the older village members.

One of the H.E.L.P. team members training the kids (ages 10-15) on how to make brick molds.

Marissa, does this ball look familiar?

Pretty fun shot, one kid went to head the ball, the other to kick it... No collision and the kid kicking the ball won :)

Nhamatanda - Jacob is the one in the white shirt. I feel like a giant here sometimes :) 

One of our HELP team members (Kimee) with the mamás at a fruit market

Eggplant anyone?

Love the colors.

More fruit market.

LOVE this detail shot on the driver with the sun in the mirror. Such an aweseome hat.

That's a very average-sized pothole :)