From another perspective #3

November 1^st 2014

Today we traveled to a secondary school a few hours from Arusha to see some of the center kids who are now at that level of learning.  As I sat in the bus I looked out over flat dry land.  Tornados of dust lifted from the dirt floor of the valley like columns on a building.  They would push up toward the sky and quickly dissipate as the wind shifted.  The landscape changed as we entered Mochi and made the steep climb up the foothills to the school.  It was like a jungle, everything green and lush.  We stepped through the gates of the school and I felt as though I was in some kind of foreign Hogwarts from Harry Potter.   All the students were dressed in addidas jackets color coated for their specific year in school.  The form four students who were about to take their final exams were wearing bright yellow with the younger grades in blue and red.  The path was dirt with rocks lining either side.  Perfectly cut shrubs stood behind them with buildings of tan stucco and wide-open porches placed along them.  The turquoise of the fence, which lined each façade contrasted sharply against the many colored flowers that grew along them.  The students cleaned fervently as we entered the compound.  We sat down on one of the porches and waited for the boys to meet us.  After a few minutes a lumbering young man came bounding up the stairs and headed straight for a hug from Katie.  His wide smile took up most of his face as he thanked each of us for coming.  He was followed by two other boys much quieter but also extremely appreciative of the visit.  We sat and talked in a circle as it began to rain.  The drops fell from the tin roof into small puddles pooling along the path.  It was the first rain I have experienced here.  I looked at each of the boys’ healthy faces.  Smiles spread across each, their clothes clean and sharp.  I tried to imagine in that moment that these boys had once been those street boys, which had impacted me so heavily just the day before.  I could not comprehend how such a transformation could have taken place.  I felt at though the rain was cleansing me as I saw what could be and the horror of the day before was softened by these three boys.  I cannot say I have been more thankful of relief in this whole trip.  Despite the relief that sleep has given me when I am exhausted.  The relief that food has given me when I am starving or water when I feel as though the dust has taken over my body.  No relief has been greater than that of these three boys, smiles beaming, laughter echoing from each.  Relief from the swaying dilapidated bodies, which I had witnessed the day before.