Breaking Bad Habits

These past two days at the school have been indescribable. Each day there is like a mental reset; everything negative, everything toxic that I have let into my mind is cleared away by the bright smiles on these kids’ faces and their contagious energy. The comfort of their little hands effortlessly slipping into yours when they greet you is like coming home.

Each person here is so incredible. The teachers on their own are remarkable to talk to – they all have their own stories and unique personalities, but they share the same vigorous passion for teaching. The work ethic that the teachers and students have here is something that I wish I saw in those in American schools. We are so fortunate to have an excess of resources to teach ourselves with, but they are abused by so many students. Here, the students are more advanced than many of those in America, and they only have textbooks and a chalkboard to learn from. To think of what they could do with more than that is exciting and heartbreaking at the same time.

After school Kevin, Tate, and I went on a home visit to the house of MR. Kimaro, the computer teacher at LOAMO. I don’ know what I was expecting his house to look like, but it was not what we ended up walking into. It had two rooms, and both were smaller than the size of my kitchen. What little space there was was filled with two small beds (one in each room), a stove, a small couch, and various pots of water and bags of clothes. Despite being small and crowded, the living room that we were invited into was remarkably neat and tidy – it was obvious that the family took pride in what they had. It’s amazing how people here treasure their possessions even though they have so few, while many of those at home have no sense of appreciation for belongings that are considered luxuries here.

Mr. Kimaro invited us into his house and we had a conversation with him about his life. As we sat with him, his wife, and his three kids, we learned that he was a very driven, passionate, and dedicated man, with a passion for teaching and a desire to do everything he can for his family. He is taking night classes at the University of Dar es Salaam (in addition to teaching for eight hours each day) in pursuit of a teaching job at a secondary school. His drive to better his life is inspiring, but he lacks the resources to go to school and live the life he deserves. Sometimes, he told us, he has to suffer so that his family can eat at least two meals per day.

It is so easy to slip into a routine of abusing the luxuries we are so blessed with, and that is exactly what I realized I had done in the past year. When I stepped into Mr. Kimaro’s house, and I felt the welcoming atmosphere even though the place was so small, a sense of gratefulness hit me like a freight train. Mr. Kimaro is so deserving of the job and life that he wants, yet he has so little resources to get there. Meanwhile, I have seen myself and my friends disregard the privileges we have by complaining about the fact that we don’t have more. As I left his house, almost to the point of tears, it became clear to me that simply saying I was blessed is not enough. By giving back, working as hard as humanly possible, and appreciating everything I am so fortunate to have, maybe I will have earned the luxuries that Mr. Kimaro deserves.