“What is your name?” I ask. She has watched me greet and shake hands with the boys in her class but now that I’ve crossed the muddy courtyard to her, she doesn’t lift her eyes to mine.
“Violet,” her voice is barely more than a whisper. We stand on the uneven cement of the tiny classroom as she looks beyond me to the potholed road outside.
“It’s really nice to meet you.” I say. She pulls her tattered notebook to her chest and fiddles with the edges. When she finally looks up, I see the trace of a smile on her lips. I ask if she likes coming to school here and her eyes widen in delight. With her traditional muslim hijab framing her unadorned face, she is beautiful.
“I love school. I want to be a teacher.” Even with a thick accent, the passion in her eyes needs no translation.
In this moment, we are not strangers from different sides of the world. We are simply two humans – talking about a dream.
Moments like this one in rural Tanzania have changed everything for me. Moments like this one make me impatient for change. Perhaps Melinda Gates said it best in an article I recently read,“I think of myself as an “impatient optimist.” There are times, however, when it’s harder to muster the optimism, and the impatience takes over. That’s how I felt when I read about the hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the extremist group Boko Haram to be married off or sold into slavery.” Click here to keep reading this powerful piece: How Boko Haram Imperils Nigeria’s Future.
It’s so easy to wrap ourselves in a protective North American cocoon and ignore the more troubling stories going on in our world. But, when we have felt the earth of another country beneath our feet (or even the earth of a struggling neighbourhood within our own country), we can’t read the story of the kidnappings without feeling pain. Even if we haven’t been to Nigeria, we hear about this crisis and we think of girls like Violet and want change to happen right now.
Thankfully, people all over the world are now lending their voices to the #BringBackOurGirls movement through photos, articles, and signing the petition at change.org. If you haven’t joined them already, it’s not too late.
This Mother’s Day weekend – in honour of the mothers who are waiting for their girls to come home – will you take action and join us in being the change?
Three Easy Suggestions To Make A Positive Impact on Women & Girls In Africa
1. Like the Bring Back Our Girls Facebook Page and stay in the loop about how you can help make a difference for the almost 300 kidnapped girls.
2. Read Nicholas Kristof ‘s article with tangible ways you can DO something for the world (even if you can’t travel to Nigeria to rescue these girls): Honoring The Missing Schoolgirls.
3. Check out Le Dessein – a fashion company that empowers and educates girl in Africa. Subscribe for updates and be the first to make a purchase from the new line and you will help fund school tuition for girls in Africa.
Sometimes the problems of the world feel crippling, but we can all find a way to do SOMETHING. Even if it feels small and insignificant – if each of us does ONE THING – it ripples out to make a bigger impact than you or I could ever imagine.
Let’s be the change. Not just talk about it.
If you are a cancer patient or survivor seeking an opportunity to start fresh through meaningful travel, visit the Fresh Chapter Alliance Foundation page. You will meet other kinds of survivors across the world. Travel brings us all closer together through greater understanding of our shared humanity.
