preview

I Am A Man A Fish

Decent Essays

“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime”, Chinese proverb, bible quote, wherever it came from this quote struck a chord with me, and I have always wrapped my values around it. Queasy, jet-lagged, and debilitated as I walked to the front gates of the orphanage I was going to stay for 9 weeks. I took note of the circle moldings on the gate and the word “AMANI” painted inside the circles meaning peace in Swahili. This made the place very welcoming and playful. I arrived at such an odd time when the children were still in school and Dr. Karambu, my counselor and supervisor, had business elsewhere. Instead, I was welcomed by the house mother and a few of the caretakers. Honestly, I don 't …show more content…

I do not see how we are going to continue after they have left.” (The Idealist, Munk, 87). I was woken up by the giddy sound of children’s laughter, playful screams, and the overall uplifting spirit of children playing which brought delightful memories of my own childhood. A few moments later Gladwell, the caretaker from earlier, came up to my room announcing “supper is ready”. Still feeling a bit groggy, I went down to dinner and was introduced to all of the kids and KACH staff. Reinvigorated with the warmest of welcomes, I wanted to stay up all night to just play with the kids, laugh with them, and just do anything and everything, but the night always has to come to an end. As soon as the kids were tucked into bed and wishing them good night “lala salama” I crawled back inside my mosquito net, journaled, then called it a day. It was fairly similar for the next couple of days. The now familiar scene inside the compound of KACH was always a sight to behold but when the time came to walk out from the confines of the compound to go to Thirii and Meru towns, I was distraught by the sights that I saw along the way. The locals were burning their trash that included plastic bottles, tin cans, among others. The road is filled with litter; the sewers are clogged, stagnant and black, and the air is a picture of pure smoke. I thought of it as just normal for a developing country and there’s not much that can be done.

Get Access