HOPE

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…