God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at
a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
I’m not very good at this blogging thing. It’s been
18 days since my last post and here’s an update.
After my last slum visit, I was stood up two more
times by Jackson, Lucy, and Hosna. After the second time I was feeling really
discouraged and down on myself, but the next day Hosna’s grandfather brought
her all the way to school! We now have an arrangement where I give Hosna’s
grandfather dala dala fare every day she comes to school. For the past three
weeks she has come to school eight times and the change in her demeanor is
incredible. At first she was shy and overwhelmed by the structure and the other
students but now she is very social and is quickly picking up where she left
off.
I have not heard from Jackson, Lucy, or their
parents but if they want to come to school, the same offer I made Hosna’s
grandfather still stands for them. I was dreading telling Jackson’s sponsor
that despite my best efforts, I had failed to get him and his sister to school.
I explained the situation to her the best I could, and to my surprise, she was
very understanding. She thanked me for trying and told me that I can’t be too
hard on myself because some things are out of my control. It was a simple piece
of advice, but very powerful.
I don’t give up on things easily. This is part of
what makes me successful in school, but in the real world sometimes my
ambitions surpass reality. I want so many things for St. Dymphna’s and my
students; I want Jackson and Lucy to come to school, the students to be
accepted by their community, the quality of their education be comparable to
what they would receive in the United States, the list goes on and on. I have
given my work here everything that I have over the past 5 weeks, but I have to
accept that some things are out of my control. I can’t change Tanzanian’s
perception of people with disabilities or completely modernize their
educational system in 6 weeks; I’m no superwoman. I have to take comfort in the
fact that I have done my best in the time I had here and I am leaving the
school in better shape than I found it.
Last Monday a new volunteer named Ellie arrived from
Ireland. She has great ideas on how to improve the school, and is willing to
pick up on my projects where I left off. I swear she’s another gift from above.
I was concerned there wasn’t going to be another volunteer at the school after
me, but she’s amazing and has promised to keep me updated on things once I
leave.
After I leave school, I’ve taken on another project
(as if I wasn’t busy enough already right?). Some of the other volunteers that
work at primary schools and orphanages have asked me to visit and screen some
of their students for developmental delays or disabilities. I am far from
qualified to make a diagnosis, but I do my best to find the source of the
student’s difficulty and make recommendations for the teachers and the
volunteers. So far it’s been going really well. Last week, I visited Pippi
House which is a safe house for abused women. A volunteer suspected that an 18
month old boy named Peace was deaf because he did not respond to his name or
speak, so she asked me to come in and perform some simple hearing tests. Long
story short, he is not deaf but his communication skills are delayed because he
is under stimulated. I found similar problems in other children at the home,
and the volunteer explained that the children at the home are sometimes
neglected by their mothers because they remind them of their fathers. After
hearing some of the women’s stories, I found this to be completelty
understandable. Anyway, the volunteer has decided to hold a parenting workshop
for the women and I’m working to teach Peace sign language. In my completely
unprofessional opinion, I think he is capable of speech, but sign language will
allow him to communicate his wants and needs until he can do so verbally.
Anyway, I haven’t really discussed what my life is
like outside of school in Arusha. After being alone for most of the day, I love
coming home to my hostel family. They’re such an eccentric group of people from
all over the world that are trying to do some good over here. Last week the
Americans had the majority in the house, but now it belongs to the Europeans.
It’s so interesting to hear people’s stories about what lead them to travel to
Arusha, and where they’re going. There’s some novice travelers like myself in
their late teens or early twenties and then there’s veteran world travelers
that amaze us all with their incredible stories and experiences. It’s so nice
to be able to come home to such an understanding and open minded group of
people after volunteering. Our work is physically and emotionally draining and
it’s so comforting to be able to decompress with people who understand and can
relate to our struggles. It’s brought us really close, and I’ve made friends
I’ll have for life.
