Take a chance; you never know what might happen. Our lives
are all about hope.
To better prepare me emotionally for this wild adventure I began
reading a book that was introduced to me by my wonderful aunt. It is called The Rent Collector. It is cast in the largest waste dump of Cambodia
with a young family of three that make a living by scavenging recyclables from
the trash that completely surrounds them. I am not sure if I am attached to this family because
I served my mission in the Asia area or because they will resemble the people I
am going to help in Kenya but one thing is certain... I love them because I belief
they resemble us all in that, We Are
Born To Hope! We all have times in our own lives and in our own journeys
that we mustn’t give up on hope, because it will be the one thing that gets us
through.
I am exhilarated to think that in some way I will be able to
strengthen the Hope in these
children of Kenya; that in some way I will be able to help them fulfill their
dreams or inspire them to stand tall and move forward with confidence that they
can do anything they want. In this book The
Rent Collector, the new mother decides to take a big risk and use a lot of
money to learn how to read. The loving
mother shows her distress and longing in these touching words:
“Why? Why do you want to read?” The
old women had asked, obviously a bit unsettled by my request. I should have
been prepared with a quick reply, but I wasn’t.
“I need to be able to teach my son
to read stories, like the book you hold in your hand…for his sake!”
With each one of my words her face
hardens and I question my judgment in asking for help.
“I need to teach Nisay to read so
that he can find a way out of this dump and into a better life.”
What is wrong with the dump?” she
asked, as if we lived in paradise.
Was she serious? Could she not glance
around? Were her eyes blind from the smoke? Was her nose dead from the awful
smell? I couldn’t say for certain why this set me off, but it did, and my reply
was not kind.
“Are you out of your mind?” I asked
with disgust. “The only way my son will get better is if I get him out of here!”
“I need to do something more to help him, I need to do something now!” Please, Please
help us learn!”
I have taken education for granted my whole life and to
think that there are people, families, mothers, and kids that are willing to
trade almost anything to learn how to read and write is most humbling and
inspiring. Some may say that our quest to teach children how to read and write
is a fleeting fantasy. That traveling so far, spending so much money, and time
and effort is not worth it. I object! If
all we do is help put smiles on these children’s faces and lift their burdens
for a few months then we have accomplished all that we were meant to do. But we
will do more than that. With the help from family, friends and the community we
will have enough materials to teach these children valuable keys to success and
help build a learning environment that will benefit these children for the rest
of their lives. We are all driven by hope…
