MY QUANTUM LEAP DECISION
I have always been a great planner and strategist. Like an Eagle, having a clear cutout vision is very important to me. So, as often as I can, I withdraw to solitude from the noise of the world to plan and reflect. It is a habit I have cultivated over time. But this time I was planning for the year ahead 2017, I went on a personal retreat to think and reflect deeply. It was during this retreat I got a spiritual leading that initiated a Quantum leap decision. Which was to leave the borders of my home country to serve/volunteer in another country.
My first call was Kenya, although I was uncertain about a lot of things. I had not understood the magnitude and the impact of my decision; little did I know that my decision would give me a new perspective to life. It is like playing a game of dice; you never can tell what numbers will turn out. We always just have to roll the dice and keep playing regardless.
I believe service to God is also service to humanity. Over the years I had committed my time and resources to developing and empowering people. My desire is to see the world become a better place, where everyone has access to basic amenities. Where no child should walk the streets of Africa hungry or uneducated, where women have a respected voice and in the society.
As the day approached I became restless, I began to have a rethink. I started to develop cold feet. The struggle to take this bold step began. Suddenly it felt like I was about to jump off a cliff, false expectations started appearing real — F.E.A.R.
Mr. Fear, the one who always limits us, who gets in the way of becoming the best version of ourselves, the very one who knocks at the door every time we are about to make an advancement or positive change, came knocking at my door. You will think it was my first time leaving my country but No it wasn’t but this was different it was going to be my first time travelling for humanitarian reasons to an unfamiliar country leaving behind my husband, the singing of my then 2 year-old, the philosophical questions of my 4-year old, and the fashion conversation of my 7 year-old, not watching them pack for school, or assisting them with their lorry load of homework and projects. The thought of all these brought shivers down my spine but I was sure that I needed to embark on this journey. Preparation began in earnest and there was no going back on my decision. Despite the hurdles of getting the required documents needed for my trip. I was not armed with enough information. I did not know what to expect so I packed like a new bride taking cognizance of every minute details.
I got to the airport still in doubt, asking myself so many what-if’s, it was not until I boarded the plane that I convinced myself that there was no turning back. The adventure was about to begin. I arrived Kenya and I met with some members of my team at the pick up point, we exchange casual pleasantries it was after a few hours I looked around and noticed I was the only African on the team of volunteers. The warm reception gotten from the people upon our arrival did well to calm me down. At the beginning we all had a bit of communication challenges but after some days we began to feed into each other’s accent. My “quantum leap decision,”started playing out. At Orientation we were all assigned to different programs, I was assigned to Kibera, a small community in Nairobi. I was to teach at an Elementary school called The Blessed Hope.
My sojourn at Blessed Hope School broke me for good, it was a humbling experience. I met the lady who owned the school and she shared the story of how she had struggled to keep many of these children in school, she feeds them at least once a day as an incentive to encourage them to come to school. I saw her face light up as she spoke about the school and the progress they had made so far. I also met the passionate men and women who commit their lives to educate these children with little or no pay at all. They believe so much in the future of these children that one day they will become great Leaders in Africa. The bond the teachers and the students had was real. I could almost touch it. I saw children eager, ready and willing to learn. I listened to their big dreams with rapt attention. Regardless of the unfavorable environment and the limited resources they always had a smile to share.
There were so many things that needed to be done, but I knew time was my limitation I had few weeks in this school. I had to think around a project that was sustainable, I Introduce Spelling and public speaking competition to encourage the kids to work more on their communication. I also opted to teach soft skills because I notice a major gap in this area. They learnt the basic maths, English, Elementary science etc. but most of them lack basic communications skills not because they didn’t know what to do or say but because they were either timid, scared or lack confidence. I decided to teach them some basic communication and self-confidence skill. You see, The world is fast evolving and technical knowledge alone will no longer be sufficient, the ability to communicate confidently will be key.
One particular experience stood out, myself and some of my teammates took time to visit some slums and IDP camps. As we got to one of the IDP camps we served the children with food items and some other things we brought. At some point I realized that children were just drinking and not eating so I called one of the camp officials to ask what was going on that why weren’t the children eating. She smiled and told me it was nothing, that the children were keeping the food; they weren’t sure when or where the next meal will come from. I was dumfounded. Children as young as 4, It seemed too unreal, I went to a secluded place and I wept bitterly. Right there it was like a part of me opened, I could see why we have bad leaders in Africa I could identify the source. When extreme poverty teaches a child that hoarding food is the only way to survive because of fear of lack, these children will soon become adults and someday Leaders.Today is a fear of lack, which can express itself in greed and selfishness.
Every Child comes as a clean slate “Tabula rasa”. However, environmental conditioning plays a role in the adult they become. We need to re evaluate our Child welfare institutions and create a better social service system in Africa. We need to break the viscous circle and the only way, I believe, is that we need to use the bottom-up approach. Where we start from the Children in terms of welfare and quality education.
I was also opportune to visit one of the slums, we saw so many children with no shoes. We were just in time, because we brought with us footwear for the children. The children started singing and dancing at the sight of our bus. I was in shock by the fact of children not having shoes because their parents cannot afford one. The blister under their feet was proof enough. As I wore the shoes for the children I was literally shaking I could see the depth of the blisters under their little feet and I was afraid I would be hurting them. They were less concerned about the pain from the blisters as they wore they shoes, they kept singing and dancing in joy. The children ran home to tell their parents, their mothers all came out dancing and singing, you would have thoughts we just gave them billions of dollars. I began to ponder about my dear Continent Africa oh My Africa how can we have so much and yet have so little. It is a sad irony.
I knew my exploration wasn’t over and yes it wasn’t I made a new friend; Hannah (not real name), the house attendant. She was our guardian angel. Making sure we were all comfortable, she was very warm and caring. This attitude endeared me to her. I was curious I wanted to know more about her so I confidently approached her with a smile and I started asking questions she spoke as someone who had given up on herself. A lot had happened to this young girl that had brought her to a place of hopelessness. Her father denied her an education because of her gender. She also had to take on the responsibilities talking care of her siblings when her mom died. It was so much that she had to put her siblings in different care homes for their survival. She was living for the now, trying to get by each day. She had the “whatever will be will be” attitude. Having walked a similar path, I knew just how to reach out to her core, I shared my grass to grace story with her. I made her see that if she could dream again, her dreams could become a reality that she could achieve anything she puts her mind to. We both cried and laughed together as we shared our stories. I wasn’t going to leave her the same way I met her I coached her on basic business skills, interpersonal skills and some money too. I live for this. I live to empower people, Especially young girls that are still bound by the shackles of gender inequality, girls who have lost their voices and the strength to hope again.
I sure wasn’t leaving Kenya without exploring the city and wildlife. Given my tight schedule I used my evenings to explore the city I would walk around to inhale the freshness of the Kenyan air. Its city was very captivating, with the rich array of wild animals. I must say that the Kenyan government does a good work at preserving their wild life. Africa is indeed blessed. Refining our Natural resources is one of the many ways out of poverty. I hope my home country will wake up to finding ways to attract those we refer to as the “Oyinbo people” into the country instead of our people running out to other countries for greener pastures. I know that the African sun will shine on its economy one day!
The curtains of my journey were drawn so quickly. I had a teary goodbye experience with the Children and everyone I had come to know. I have always believed that although there are millions of languages in the world, there is but one universal language and it is the LANGUAGE OF LOVE EVERYONE CAN SPEAK IT. We all need to speak it anywhere we find ourselves. I was only a visitor. I spoke the language of love and the children of Kibera responded articulately.
So yes! My Quantum leap wasn’t bad, on the contrary it was very interesting and educative. Something definitely changed in me.
Everyone should make a “Quantum Leap decision” do something different, get out of your comfort zone!
Yes! I did it, I took that quantum leap; and it has propelled me to take many more fearless leaps.
Thank you!
*” Oyinbo” — is Pidgin English. A language spoken by the Niger Delta (Igbo People) of Nigeria. It is used to describe British /America; generally, the Caucasians.
