The value and love of learning – doesn’t need paper and pencil, phone or computer.
As a teenager, my first trip to Africa was driving through Spain via Gibraltar to Morocco – what beauty, amazing buildings and markets – through the desert and mountains, where children appeared as if by magic; scintillating scents, vibrant colours and glorious beaches.
Then, as a father, my second trip was to visit my daughter in Kenya, during the second of her 10 years spent working for Charities in 6 African countries. How rich the experience in so many ways: experiencing a tiny fragment of another stunning country, seeing some of the good and bad elements of our Imperial heritage and extensive Commonwealth links. Nicola’s commitment to the needy, lifetime friendships, struggles, and exposure to real danger taught me so much about what really matters in life.
As a grandfather, my third trip – to South African – Siyathathuka (the community we supported as a church before the focus moved to Mafambisa) –was inspired by what The Room, our oldest youth group, brought back from St Andrew’s first trip to Hands at Work. Their stories, experiences, understanding of real need and the importance of walking alongside, playing, praying and eating with the youngsters inspired me to join the next group going out.
Most importantly, we met the children, their care givers, including elderly Gogos (grandmothers), looking after several generations with virtually no income, scant possessions and facilities; we worked and worshipped alongside and did what more we could to support care workers, marvelling at the skills and generosity of Service Centre staff and the brilliant, inspiring, challenging leadership from Hands at Work leaders at The Hub.
Among so many rich experiences we learned through first-hand experience, more about:
Trust Wonder Dependency Inventiveness Joy & Fun Need
Play Commitment Personal Stories, triumphs and tribulations Love…
So do we have ENOUGH or perhaps TOO MUCH? Can we, who have so much, understand words like deprivation, austerity, REAL NEED – without walking alongside and working with if we can, using the eyes and experiences of others if we can’t, so we can help meet better the basic needs of the most needy children, perhaps here in Britain, but certainly in many parts of Africa, in Afghanistan, in the Lebanon… They, in exchange, may help us to understand better, those things which really matter in life.