Come see!

Few things are harder to grasp or are more exciting than a world we've never seen. One look can change your mind forever, ending years of not knowing.

It's available for the price of a few days on the road.

Come see for yourself!

These are bright, energetic folks who work hard to be good parents, good business people.

The face in the photos is a nice young lady we met in Africa. She and her siblings laughingly waved me down (photo; right) and asked for money. It was more recreational than real begging. They took me home to meet mom and dad; nice folks, tough minded and practical. They raise goats and  camels, generating a small income to support a family of nine. They welcomed me each time I was there and made a place for me in their social circle. We laughed a lot and parted tenderly at the end of my cycle of travels to their country.  I so hope to see them again.


"And can you promise that I will come back?" ~ Bilbo Baggins
    "No."     ~ Gandalf
         "And if you do, you'll not be the same."

Poo Flinging

Poo flinging isn't the normal precursor to great discovery.  In the 1974 Leakey expedition, however, it was.

At the work site in Tanzania, Andrew Hill and David Western were two members of the expedition; they took advantage of cannonball-sized dry elephant dung for a little humorous interchange.  Dodging one flying poo-ball and laughing, Dr Hill fell on the dry river bed and, since he was now close enough to examine it carefully, found an unusual fossil pattern that turned out to be raindrops.  Further search uncovered the animal tracks and finally, bipedal hominids; the oldest such record at around 3.6 million years old.  The well-preserved tracks might well have been parents and child, walking along the migratory route of the animals in the region.  They were nomads, and the first to stand on their feet as they walk, just like we do.

So despite what your mother told you, perhaps poo flinging isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The Laetoli Trail has become recognized as one of the wonders of the world, down which three somebodies or somethings ambled splashily across a mudflat. The smallest somebody or something halted and half-turned for a moment to gaze sideways. The third one came along a little later, and amused itself by putting its feet rather imprecisely in the first one’s prints. They were tiny people or creatures, but the high arch of their insteps and the splay of their toes (the wet mud squeezing up between them) is entirely modern. No relic in paleontology is as charming and touching as the trail of the Laetoli walkers.

Interestingly, the results of the years of labor by the Leakey teams turned much of paleontology upside down. The popularized 'killer-ape' of the 20th century literature turned out to be a fiction as did other extrapolations from similarly small evidence. Thirty-five years later, there's still a bit of contention about who left the footprints; was it Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy's family) as originally proposed, or perhaps the poorly known A. anamensis or even an as yet undiscovered candidate might be in the running. The impact of the discovery remains regardless of the outcome of that particular academic debate.

Because of Laetoli, because of all the archaeological toil of the Leakey dynasty in Olduvai Gorge and Turkana, because of “Lucy’s” skull in the Afar desert, the world now accepts that the human species originated in Africa. More recently still, the so-called African Eve” hypothesis indicates a single common female ancestor, located in Africa at that place where the countless ramifications of the gene tree run together.

Africa has changed in terms of place and relevance. ... the place which Europeans for five hundred years regarded as a stagnant backwater has turned out to be the fountain-head of all human development. Man began there.  Africa’s Lost History JUNE 11, 1992 Neal Ascherson

An emerging understanding, Africa is perhaps the greatest illustration of large-scale human failure. Magnificence and nobility, spoiled by spoiled minds, civilizations shattered by invading colonialists and slavers. It will take further centuries, perhaps, before we understand what has been done. Africa is attempting to recover from the blows; we all have much yet to learn.

(Thanks and a hat tip to the movie 'Madagascar', of course.  Great good humor.) 

FEB '13 A Family's Progress

This is just part of the story of some fine folks.

JAN '10

A family in immediate crisis:  In January '10, the coordinator from STeP Up took me to meet a family; the father of four had lost his arm in a traffic accident and almost died.  Step Up had helped with medical care costs, but he'd lost his only means of income.  He was a taxi driver.  Now, the family subsists on food gathered from the countryside.  When I met the father, he was in the woods, cutting firewood with a machete and carrying it back to the house, one handed.   While we talked, the boys came in with bags of fruit they'd gathered before walking several miles to school.  They have nothing at all and an uncertain future.  We're stretched thin, but we've added them to our efforts to help.  We need help to keep the kids in school and to help the family get back on their feet.

UPDATE: FEB '10

A generous friend of mine saw this and has begun a basic sponsorship for the family through our NGO!  They have a floor in the house and mattresses for the kids, now.  The need is great, though, and there are more opportunities like this one to come alongside and lend a hand.

UPDATE: APR '10 

With some help, the family has repaired their home and built a kiosk out by the road in front of their house.

They'll sell rice and perhaps some vegetables they grow in a little patch next to the house.  Much hard work ahead still.

Oh, and pigs!  They have a breeding pair of pigs now. 

UPDATE: SEP '10

I got to visit the family and drop off a few books and things for the kids.

Inside the family's kiosk, dad and a couple of the kids almost smile for the camera.  The good news that greeted me; all the kids passed their academic year to the next grade. The older boy passed his sixth grade achievement test, a big deal here.  About 75% do not.  Brought him some books in Portuguese & English to celebrate and perhaps prepare for the 7th grade where he'll begin studying English.  The rest of the kids were more excited about some balloons sent by the bookstore manager in Lisbon than they were about the books I brought.

Thanks to help from friends, this family has a plan that's working.  Poppa embraced me warmly and offered sincere thanks as we were leaving.

UPDATE: DEC '10

We've arranged for a business accounting instructor to teach bookkeeping and inventory basics to mom, dad, and oldest son.  Got an email from our NGO rep that coordinates our efforts there, "They're so joyful," she says of the family, "now that they have hope!"  The family photo (right) is typically formal; only the younger daughter is smiling for this Christmas pose.  Note the new floor and walls.

UPDATE: JAN '11

They've purchased the pipe and fittings to bring water to the house from a line running nearby.  Dad and the older boy are digging the trench by hand to lay the pipe this month.  Little by little, they're making progress and again convey their thanks to their friends who are walking through these times with them.  You're so welcome, my friend.  It's our genuine pleasure to be part of your lives.  You've taught us so much.

Update: JUN '11

They've got water at the house now (a spigot in the yard) so they don't have to walk the mile to the river for water any more! 

With a garden next to the house and pigs in the pen in back, they're pretty busy.  They laid the pipes themselves (dad and oldest son).  When we visited, they beamed with pleasure at the good progress they'd made and escorted me to each improvement, explaining with pride what they'd accomplished.  Down the road a quarter mile from the house, they have a field they're cultivating.  Corn, tomatoes, okra; the two acre field is doing well.  And, they're they've begun building a pen for ducks!

Update:  JAN '12, they've finished laying pipe for water to the field!  Financial assistance along the way, tutors for the kids, some medical help, and a lot of hard work by the family have brought them up to being able to feed themselves plus have excess to sell, and to have hope for a future for their children.

The success story is theirs, of course.  They've done all the work themselves, persevering through hard times.  Fine folks, and an encouragement to us all.

Update:  JUN '12,

Stopped by to visit in June; they were happy for the opportunity to show off their progress.  Their cultivated field is now about 500' square and producing well.

Here (left), big sister demonstrates the water spigot that serves their field. 

All but the youngest child are in school beginning September, and each is doing well. 

The family sends their love and sincere thanks to their American friends who stood by them when the crisis came.  What a joy!

Oh, and dad has had his driver's license reinstated!  He'll be returning to work part-time; it will make a big difference for them all.

Update FEB '13 - The country's rural electrification program brought power to their area.  They had been running a generator a couple of hours a day so they'd have light in the house in the evenings, but fuel is expensive.  Now they have cheap power!  And a TV.  And mom can iron clothes which, I'm told, is really a big deal.  Great news, and we get to be a part of it with them.

Asking for Help

In the Kenyan coastal region, the rainy season has failed again.   They're asking us if we can help.

Folks in the village of Guruguru are struggling.  The crops have failed, the only water to drink is brackish, and the teachers went on strike.  With the schools closed, those children who depended on that one meal a day go hungry.

Today, the teacher strike is finally over, but government food aid hasn't been available for the last two months.  Meals at school will be rice, perhaps, or cornmeal.

Our friend on site is Bishop Samuel Kazungu.  He visited the village (left) and took some juice for our kids. He found 5 more who hadn't eaten recently and who couldn't afford the school fees.  We've added them to our little project.

We know Bishop Samuel and his church well, and we appreciate their willingness to help their neighbors.  When I was working in the area, I visited the village with Samuel.  Nice folks living in a harsh world.

A government water line project will bring the area back to life, they hope, but the project is still months away from completion.  Meanwhile, they need help.  We can't do it all, but we have direct access to 40+ children and their families.  We can get the kids in school with the required uniforms and supplies, and they'll get that one meal a day.  For many, it's all they'll get.  If we can raise additional funds, we can assist the families with bags of rice and perhaps some juice products that are available in a nearby town.

This is my buddy Wakil.  When we arrived last year with some treats for the families, our sponsored kids (37 of them then) came out from school to meet us and say thank you.  We'd paid their fees and bought them uniforms and supplies.  Wakili outran them all coming to meet me; he wanted to be first.  Sweet fellow.

This year, they need help badly.  Call, email, or Facebook message to me if you'd like to help.

You can transfer funds via Western Union directly to the church (or I will for you and I'll pay the fees.)

The church will provide a report (and maybe pictures) of the funds being put to practical use.
Tax deductible contributions must go through Our Father's House marked for Kenya.

My friend Wakil; a bit taller
now, more than a year later.

Update Dec '12:  We took food and water to the village and followed up with some specific assistance for families.  Much appreciated.

Update Oct '13:  With the new school year, we have 50 children sponsored in school now, three teachers employed and added to the school staff, plus some family assistance efforts.  More to come.

Go see for yourself!

Our 'comfort zone' is a 'holding cell.'  That can change.
 
In a coastal village in western Africa where we work, a sweet grandma shows off her new grandson. She hopes and prays for a better world for him.

You can make it happen.

Curious?  

Things you can do:

• Go.  Go see for yourself.  Stay long enough to outgrow being a tourist.  Stay long enough to meet and get to know some folks.  Then go back when you can. 
• Give.  Figure out how much is generous.  Then double that and give it.  If it isn't difficult, there's no cost, and you're unchanged.  Give until you have to change your lifestyle to keep it up.  Do that from now on.
• Help.  Find out where the needs are and pitch in; join in with those who are effective.
• Hope.  Push back the hopelessness for just one family by giving them a hand up.  Or two families.  Or ten.
• Learn.  Study deeply enough to get past your emotional response and get practical with your efforts.  Helping without hurting isn't as easy as it sounds. Pity isn't helpful.  Friendship is. 

Rinse.  Repeat.

Friends of ours since the early days, three here

are siblings; can you pick them out?
(click for larger version)

If you're living comfortably in the west (with a job, a house, a car, and a bank account), you're in the world's top bracket for wealth.   Rethink, adjust, do differently.  Or not.  Your choice.  :)

APR 2014: Specific requests (opportunities) in the queue:

$50 will cover a semester's costs for a kid in western Africa; fees, uniform and shoes, supplies, and some food assistance.
$300 will give a family a chance to step up a bit with food for a couple of months, materials to repair their home, and medicine they need. 
$800 will put 40 kids in Kenya in school, including one meal a day, for the upcoming semester.
$1500 will employ 3 teachers for a school year.
$2500 will equip, staff, and operate a preschool for a year.
$1950 will supply an elementary school with notebooks and pencils for each of their 600 students for the upcoming semester.

You can go to Africa and see for yourself; it's not inexpensive, but it's worth the price to understand the world we live in.

Africa is my focus; it need not be yours, but we should have a perspective that's larger than our own comfort zone, should we not?

Don't let me persuade you; go see for yourself!  You'll never be the same again.  :)

_______________________________________
The following is a quote from “Africans – Altered States, Ordinary Miracles” by Richard Dowden. 

“Africa has a reputation: poverty, disease, war.  But when outsiders do go they are often surprised by Africa's welcome, entranced rather than frightened.  Visitors are welcomed and cared for in Africa..  If you go you will find most Africans friendly. gentle and infinitely polite.  You will frequently be humbled by African generosity.  Africans have in abundance what we call social skills.  These are not skills that were formally taught or learned.  There is no click on have-a-nice-day smile in Africa.  Africans meet, greet and talk, look you in the eye and empathize, hold hands and embrace, share and accept from others without twitchy self-consciousness.  All these things are as natural as music in Africa.

“Westerners ... often find themselves cracked open.  They lose inhibitions, feel more alive, more themselves and they try to understand why they have only half lived.  In Africa the essentials of existence - light. earth, water, food, family, love, sickness, death - are more immediate, more intense.  Visitors suddenly realize what life is for.  To risk a huge generalization: amid our wasteful wealth and time-pressed lives we have lost human values that are still around in Africa.”