Africa - As It Touched Me...

July 1, 2012

San Diego, CA

Africa is the second largest continent and, as such, to speak about it as one place would be an injustice. At last count there are 54 independent countries on or surrounding the continent, each with its own traditions, customs, and history. There are well-established and thriving countries and there are are places where dictatorship and cruelty are still the norm. I certainly cannot speak for a continent and I probably cannot speak for the four countries that I spent time in, but I can speak for what I saw and what I felt. I saw economic success and I saw poverty; I saw the technology of the 21^st century and I saw the simple life of a tribal village; I saw physical beauty and I saw squalor; I saw hope and I saw dispair. How does one even know a place after only a couple of weeks; a place so foreign in culture and history that to say “I understand” would be sheer folly and insincere. What I do know is how I was touched by what I saw; the raw nakedness of a lion stalking its prey, the graceful beauty of a giraffe walking along, the care of a mother elephant for her baby, the singing voices of children in a village school and how giving them a pencil was a treasured gift, the graciousness of a young woman in whose home I ate, and the warmth and friendship shown to me by whomever I met. Not having a crystal ball, I cannot know how long it will take for all the wrongs to be righted, for all the bellies to be filled, and for all the children to have shoes. What I do know is the pride that I saw, the hope that I felt, and the determination to build and create that I heard in the voices of those I spoke with. African spirit left its imprint on me and I will hold it preciously inside until my next visit...

Serenaded by the Children at Chinotimba Government School - Zimbabwe

Boys on the Field at Chinotimba Government School

Stepping Into Another Country Just for a Moment

The Bridge Linking Zimbabwe and Zambia at Victoria Falls

                                                                       Kasenu Village - Namibia

                                                                  Young Children at Kasenu Village                                           

A Dancing Good-Bye at Kasenu Village