"What lie behind us and what lie before us are tiny matters compared to what lie within us".
Ralph Waldo Emerson
From L to R: Daniel (9), Victor (9) and Favor (5)
I spent the last few weeks living in a slum in Lagos, Nigeria. While I was there, we had to fetch water from a tank because the pumping machine had broken. This tank is about four blocks away and we had to fetch the water in containers and pour them in bigger basins at "home". If you ask me, this is the most inefficient way to spend one's waking hours, but this is what millions of people across the globe are exposed to everyday.
It was indeed, very humbling to wake up to what I would term, "a village setting" and reconnect with the harsh realities that over a billion people, around the world, face everyday - an unnecessary lack of basic amenities.
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Notable Facts:
3 billion of the world's people (one-half) live in 'poverty' (living on less than $2 per day).
1.3 billion people live in 'absolute' or 'extreme poverty' (living on less than $1 per day).
More than 30 per cent of children in developing countries – about 600 million – live on less than US $1 a day. worldrevolution.org
Of the 1.3 billion people who live in absolute poverty around the globe, 70 percent are women. CARE, Women's Empowerment.
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I could focus this blog on the gross ineptitude and injustice of the Nigerian polity but I'll save the rant for another day. This piece is about a group of kids who knowingly or unknowingly, have decided to live and dream without holding back or missing a beat regardless of their present situation.
Samuel (11) (Left) and his friends
It was on one of those errands that I met a group of kids playing at the tank - Actually, they had been sent to fetch some water for one of the neighbors (Something they do to earn some change for food). My first encounter with them was very interesting.
One of them had mistakenly dropped their ten Naira - the equivalent of six cents - in the well and they were trying to use the fetching pail to retrieve it. I thought this was an improbable task and even if it was possible, it wouldn't be worth their effort. So I tried to convince them to forget the tenner by recounting the following story:
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'There was this little kid who had dropped his quarter in a hole in the side walk. A young man was passing by and found the puzzled little fellow trying to figure out his next best move. After taking a few seconds to objectively assess the situation, the young man thought it would be prudent to hand the kid another quarter. This he did and went on his way.
On his way back home, a few hours later, the young man was shocked to see the same kid at the same spot looking down the same hole. He asked why the kid was still there and got this reply, "I'm still trying to get my quarter. You see if it hadn't fallen in the ground I would have had 50 cents now".'
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After my tale, the kids looked on with huge So-what's-your-point?-stares slapped across their faces. I just smiled, handed them a brand new 50 Naira note and went away with my water.
Upon my return, I found the kids pulling out a ladder from the well. I ran up to them to tell them that ten Naira is not enough incentive to pollute the water that so many depend on, besides they could hurt themselves and the medical bills to be paid will be a whole lot more than just ten Naira. I asked if they had already put the ladder in and they replied with a resounding, No! Then they ran off.
Only while fetching some water for myself did I realize that the Irreplaceable Ten Naira was no longer there - The deed had already been done. I had a blast and each moment spent with them was a privilege. They bring true meaning to the phrase "living on a prayer" and they did it with effortless grace. It has been fun teaching, learning from, and sharing with these kids and their families. I believe it is important not to take their optimism and passion for granted.
Kids such as these are quoted as OVCs - Orphans and Vulnerable Children -International development agencies such as the UN, UNICEF, e.t.c. The truth is, they deserve much more than just a passing glance. The worst thing anyone can do is think that they are someone else's problem. I'll pen off with a quote from Abraham Lincoln that helps me keep events such as these in perspective: He said, "No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child".
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