Hodi from Diane in Arusha!

Sanjay, Stacey and I have been cohabitating, working, eating and brainstorming together for over a week. Never a dull moment!! Sanjay and Stacey have the energy of the bunny squared. It is a challenge to even try to keep up with them, especially for a Shikamoo (Swahili for elder) of advanced years. After eight days with my partners, I am over-stimulated, exhausted, excited, energized and exhausted again.

This afternoon we had the pleasure of talking with Mr. Gidori, the father of Gideon, an adorable, inquisitive and very bright Shepherds Junior third grader. Mr. Gidori is a member of the Parents Committee and we thought it would be interesting to get his perspective on the school. When he walked into Mama Lucy’s living room, I could not get over the resemblance between him and his son. And after talking with him for only the first few minutes the resemblance went far beyond the physical. 

Mr. Gidori explained that he has a small welding business and also is a minister. He had traveled to Australia and had seen the abundance of the “first” world society. I can not begin to imagine the sensory stimulation that one would experience traveling from one of the poorest countries in the world to the continent of Australia. Mr. Gidori loved his visit to Australia but he kept on thinking “How could this be? How could we all have the same God?.”  It was stated in an intellectual way, a curiosity, not in an angry or resentful way.  Mr. Gidori wonders, as we all do, why would God create a world were some have so much and some so very little? What is that all about? Why such global economic disparity from a god who creates humans in his image?  Like me, he does not have an answer, just these unanswerable questions. 

Mr. Gidori’s frankness and thoughtful questioning reinforces what I know…that we are all in this together. He went on to say, “if you tell a man he is weak, he will be weak, if you tell a man he is poor, he will be poor.”  We’ve seen many instances here where well-meaning westerners and missionaries come and build schools, hospitals and charities in “the mzungu way” (i.e., the foreigner way).  I believe this approach in many instances perpetuates exactly the problem that Mr. Gidori has identified by implicitly communicating that Tanzanians are somehow unable to do the work themselves – which could not be further from the truth.  Shepherds Junior is just one of many examples we’ve seen here of incredible intelligent, hard-working, committed locals working against all odds to improve their own community.  This is why Epic Change will continue to empower local leaders and the projects they identify rather than initiating our own. 

Mr. Gidori continued:  “Why is Africa called the dark continent? Africa is full of hope, a continent blessed with enormous amounts of natural resources.” He conveys a sense that by empowering the African population with education, confidence and a trust in themselves, everything they need, they have. 

As Sanjay filmed the conversation, Stacey and I were listening to Mr. Gidori, riveted by his social consciousness and articulation of what I thought was my unique political and social perspective. And here in Mama Lucy’s living room in Kimandolu, Arusha – in Africa, Mr Gidori, a Shepherds junior parent “gets it” and articulates the philosophy better than I do. There is a world full of hope here. And yes, Stacey was choked up and teary-eyed!!! 

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 (Stacey here, as always adding my two cents – and, by the way, I only cried a little:  In fact, we got an email message from Mr. Gidori.  I thought you might like to hear directly from one of the parents, so I got his permission to publish it here.  He wrote:

Hello friends,
It was so great to meet with you today!  As one of the school committee members, and Gideon’s dad, am so impressed with what you Americans are planning to do to help Mama Lucy with the progress of the school in Tanzania. Thanks so much for joining us.
 
I have been reading the website of Epic Change. The blog is so wonderful. I did not know what happened really with the trip of our kids to Tarangire, but now I know in details.
 
We have a common Swahili saying: “Ndege wanaofanana huruka pamoja” which means, the birds with the same feathers fly together.  It looks like we have “the same feathers” according to Stacey’s vision of how you are planning to come and help Tanzanians.
 
Please feel free to ask anything from me. On the other hand I will try all my level best to tell you whatever I feel to tell you. We are friends now!
 
I invite you to visit our ministry whenever you have time.
Blessings!
Gidori)
 
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Spending time with Mr. Gidori was an absolute pleasure-another look at all the potential, all the possibilities that the locals have to create their own destiny. We plan to visit with more of the parents this week. 

Now if I could just get S and S to slow down to 4^th gear, I may survive the next 2-3 weeks . . .