My mom visited me in rural Burundi last month, and we took a rough bus ride to Kigoma, Tanzania to visit the NGO founded by our dear friend, Yared. We had talked about making this trip from the US for over ten years, and it was a lucky coincidence to find a Global Health Corps fellowship a mere 6 hours away from his village.
When I was in middle school, a group of eager students at our neighboring high school went to Tanzania and studied with the world-renowned primatologist, Jane Goodall. The students met Goodall’s brilliant assistant: a young, eager Yared. Goodall had heard about a young boy in a village not far from Kigoma who was committed to conservation and environmental protection. She sought Yared out, and invited him to work with her on school holidays and breaks.
After meeting Yared, the older students and teacher from my school in Farmville, Virginia helped arrange for him to come study in the US. He attended the local university. My family met him soon after his arrival, and my mom became one of his American mothers, and I one of his sisters. I remember being very moved by his story, and our friendship had a big impact on me. He was one of a few students to continue to secondary school and was from a poor village. The adjustment was not easy. He told us about the first time he used a water fountain and elevator. Seeing large amounts of food wasted in the university cafeteria, while people in his country were hungry, was very painful. In his village, no one had a soccer ball, while at the university soccer practice there were 50 or more balls. The stark inequality in the world is chilling. Knowing Yared surely influenced my interest in international development, education and children’s rights.
Our friendship with Yared remains strong, and my family has enjoyed seeing his dream of finishing his Ph.D. and making a school a reality. Yared completed his doctorate in the U.S. a few years ago. Two summers ago, my brother Carter, known locally as “Cata,” volunteered at Yared’s NGO—the Gombe School of Environment and Society (GOSESO). Cata organized soccer drills and practices, and built great friendships with members of the community. His friends were thrilled to meet us. I was amazed at the welcome we received, as Yared’s dear friends and Cata’s mother and sister. The warmth we felt was very strong and unlike anything I’d experienced before in a relatively unknown place. It was inspiring to see bright, young students who are passionate about environmental issues. We had the privilege of participating in a science experiment, testing the water and studying the organisms in a nearby stream. For more information about the school, please see: http://www.goseso.org/.
I was also moved by the enthusiasm of my Burundian colleagues about meeting my mom. More than 50 staff lives on site. We work together, eat together and sleep in an overcrowded residence together. As a colleague explained to me later, in Burundi, one mother is a mother to all. My mother is their mother. Even colleagues that I don’t know as well stopped me to say how happy they were to have her with us. They still ask how my “twin is doing.”
I feel very privileged to be a part of the Global Health Corps community, the Village Health Works community and the Gombe School community. And, with so much hospitality and solidarity around, I think there are many reasons for hope.