Umoja and Desiderata

As Max Ehrmann penned in his famous poem Desiderata (Latin for “Desired Things”), “with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

I and the other Duke interns have been in Kenya for almost two weeks. In Kenya there is no refrigeration, wireless internet access and little infrastructure. During my short time here, I have had a gamut of experiences. Some of these experiences include visiting churches of different denominations, attending meetings with Umoja Project staff members, visiting Umoja member schools and interacting with the students, visiting some of the Umoja students at their homes, and visiting our home stay hosts friends and members of their community.

In our home stays, we live with Kenyan families in the neighborhoods where we are visiting Umoja schools. I’m staying with Dorothy (Mother Dorothy) and her family in the Sianda region. Her family lives in the compound, including her husband, daughter in law, grandchildren and a child she is a guardian caretaker for. Her biological children are all grown and live elsewhere, due to school or work obligations. Her eldest son is married with 2 children of his own, and they live with their mother in a house to the right of Mother Dorothy and Willis (Dorothy’s husband) home. Their father, Dorothy’s son works in Uganda, and commutes home on weekends.

These experiences have shown me the beauty, hope and richness of the Kenyan people and culture. The Kenyans I have met are some of the kindest, most giving and most loving people. They love you, simply because you are God’s creation. They are not a people that give short salutations or greetings. They embrace one another, and desire that you do the same in return. Being prompt is not a virtue for Kenyans, but concern for others is. For example, Kenyans may schedule a meeting for 2:00 p.m., but the meeting may not begin until 4:00. For us in the United States, this would be cause for crisis and fury. However, for Kenyans, this is just a way of life.

Unfortunately, I have also witnessed the devastation that poverty, illness, and HIV/AIDS has done to the community. I cannot articulate the emotions that I feel being here, staring abject poverty in the face. To visit a child-headed home, where they have no bed, no mattress, no electricity, no food and no shoes, are just some of the small examples of what I have seen. For some, it seems tragedy is just another part of life, like waking up and breathing. Instead of attempting to write, I will close this entry by saying that if we believe in Christ, hope can never be a lost virtue. We must remember that all the suffering and pain in this world will end with the return of Jesus. As Jesus said “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” Luke 6:20-21.

Desiderta (desire) and hope must continue to fuel projects like the Umoja Project and others that work to reverse the devastating aspects of poverty. No one person has the answer, but no matter how difficult it becomes, we must continue to persevere.