Kabir writes: “Ag, bless you man.” Daniel Kambol (Kam-boel) and Simbarashe Ndowa (nearly silent N-doe-wa) said in harmony to me, as I came into sight from around the wardrobe that stands directly in front of the door and obstructs an immediate view of the person entering the room. Blushing out of embarrassment and guilt I replied softly with the absolute truth, ‘Ag, it was no problem.’ I was embarrassed, as I always am, when I am showered with gratitude or praise. But I was guilty, this time, because I had just come from a dinner of meat sauced spaghetti and slow cooked rump roast at my Aunt and Uncle’s house, only to walk into my room at 9:45 P.M. to find my friends (roommates) standing over the cold Tupperware container I had set there four hours prior. This meal, consisting of sadza, beans, and beef –containing more bones than meat – was to be their first meal in two days.
“On good days they have bread and tea, and on better days they have powdered milk and sugar to accompany their tea. But despite a half a loaf of breat d day (the two share one loaf) they wake up every day smiling that they have made it this far and they go to prayer every night at ten o’clock to thank God for making it possible.
“Though I do not usually think about situations in spiritual terms, I do believe that faith, such as this, warrants more than a mere awe-filled acknowledgement, it warrants an answer; an answer to the call.
“As with the majority to life’s decisions, I felt that I, when making the decision to come to Zimbabwe, was making the decision for myself. ‘I just need to get away from the ‘American lifestyle,’ I just need to ‘experience the world,’ I just need to ‘find MYSELF,’ I would say to persons’ questions, justifying my move more for myself, than to calm the curiosity of the asker. However, if there is spirituality, if there is a God or a higher consciousness, and there is a purpose for me being here, a purpose beyond …me, myself and I,…Then maybe, this is it."
Daniel Kambol is 23 and is in his second year of his program. He is an international student from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) His native language is French and Swahili but he is fluent in English and can communicate effectively in Portuguese and Shona (the native language of Zimbabwe.) He is in the Faculty of Education; however, he is in the process of transferring to the Faculty of Theology so that he can study to become a minister to his local people and community in the DRC. He says he has misread God’s original plan, and that what he is truly meant to do is to preach the Lord’s word. However his application for the transfer, no matter how deserving he is, may be futile. Daniel was nearly denied the ability to register this semester, when his anonymous financial support dropped out on him and left him with only 350 US dollars in his University account. With a lot of persistence, Daniel got his registration form stamped so that he may continue on with his lectures. Nevertheless, he will NOT be able to take the final exams, and definitely NOT be able to register next semester, if he does not get his debt paid and cover the increased fees for next semester.
Daniel wants to finish his program here at AU, and has already requested application forms from Bowling Green College in Ohio, and a couple of other US institutions so that he can work on a post-graduate degree in America. For now, however, there is a serious obstruction to his vision. The projector of his dreams is blocked by a gloomy cloud of money, and is unable to show through to the undoubtedly bright future on the other side…
“ ‘Ag, I never would have dremt about coming here, my parents still can’t believe it, that I am at University, Ag man…’ said proudly with a huge smile on his face as my other Bryan, and I sat around the small moveable desk that was now serving as an ll o’clock tea time table instead of its original purpose: a study aid. ‘ Ha, ha, you know, three years ago I didn’t even know about shoes, or belts…or even trousers. I thought they were just for when you got old, and now I am here, Ag man, I’m telling you…’ Drowning out with a look of nostalgia on his face, I jumped in, eager to hear more about such a foreign concept….
“’Ha, seriously? ‘ I asked, with a hint of laughter, which helped to ease my conscious mind into this new world as I tried to absorb as much as I could from the following summary of a 21st, rural-raised Zimbabwean.
“Simbarashe Ndowa is 21 years old. He speaks English and Shona fluently, and has been living with a pastor in Harare for the past year. His primary school consisted of waking up at four in the morning so that he had time to collect firewood, cook his own breakfast, and walk to school, barefoot, in time for 7 A.M. lectures. There were no desks in the schoolhouse, therefore the kids would sit on the dirt floors through nine-hour long subjects each day. Sometimes, not bathing for weeks or months, and witnessing his mother tear apart her last “Sunday” dress so that he could have a shirt to wear (a shirt he proceeded to wear for nearly two years). Simba never freed the smile from his face, and finished with a chuckling phrase that I have already grown accustomed to, ‘Ha, I just praise God that I am still alive.’
"Simba has been helped to his current position through the pastor he stayed with in Harare. The pastor and another person in his congregation have paid for the original fees for his first semester. I say original, because due to the hyperinflation in Zibabwe’s econom6y, the original semester’s fees have recently been doubled. Simba explained to me that however much his pastor, Andrew, wants to, he simply cannot afford to be his financial backbone for his entire three years in the program. Therefore, right now, Simba is trying to secure funds so that he can finish his degree. Unfortunately, with unemployment in the country over 80%, Simba, joining thousands of his fellow Zimbabweans, is coming up short.
“’ Ha ha, man, I’m not worried about food. I don’t need food, all I want, all I need to be guaranteed is that my fees are paid,’ Simba said, ‘sweating’ honesty and truth in every syllable. As he took his last meal of the day: a dry sixth of the loaf of bread bought the night before, and in swishing the last gulp of tea around in his mouth one more time before swallowing, Simbarashe recaptured the universal code for resilience…his smile.
“Life here, in Zimbabwe, is simple, pure, and flooded with dreams. Sadly, what makes it so simple and what makes it so very pure, is the fact that life in Zimbabwe is more difficult, and more tiresome, than many, including myself, could ever truly understand. Life is simple and pure because life here is at its most fundamental stage…survival. What is struggled for during the day is: food, water, and shelter. But what is dreamt of during the night, is no less fundamental: education, safety, and reliability. Having made it this far, Daniel and Simba are ‘waist-deep’ in the ocean of their dreams but are now being pounded back by incoming waves.
“As I said in the beginning of this story, maybe the purpose of my being at Africa University this year, is not for me to learn or experience something new, maybe my purpose is to be a conduit for the resources necessary to fulfill the dreams of these two young men. I know I want to try.
"It costs approximately $1800 per semester for each student at Africa University, not counting food. Simba has 5 semesters left and Daniel has 3. So I hope I can find a way to raise the $11,000 in currency and pledges necessary to guarantee their education because, as Simba said, ‘…all I want, all I need is to ber guaranteed that my fees are paid.” My parents and I, personally will take responsibility for collecting contributions toward these fees and forwarding 100% of them to the Nashville Office of Africa University, designated for the tuition of Daniel Kambol (Student Number RO43092ED) and Simbarashe Ndowa (Student Number RO65018HU). What any individual gives toward this cause will remain confidential, but I will prepare a report to everyone who has contributed to let everyone know the total amount of contributions toward this goal, and how these young men are doing. Checks should be made out to Africa University and are tax deductible. Earmark the check for Daniel and Simba’s Tuition.You should send any donation for this purpose to Africa University, Africa University Development Office, P.O. Box 340007, Nashville, TN 37203-0007; 6l5/340-7438 (telephone) 615/340-72990 (FAX) audevoffice@gbhem.org.
"The purpose of this story is not to guilt anyone into making a donation. This is not about guilt; it is about generosity and the opportunity to help. A wise woman, my mother, once told me, “There are more needs than a single person could possibly meet, and awakening generosity is not meaningless, even if one cannot immediately give. If a soul has become sensitive to helping, there is no telling what they might give…when they can” Meeting Simba and Daniel has helped awaken my sense of generosity. By sharing this story, I’m glad to give you an insighyt into African life. My purpose, however, is to ‘awaken’ generosity in your hearts, and my hope is that your generosity can help my two friends stay in swchool…Dive head first, under the waves, into the ocean of their dreams and not have to retreat to the shore.
"Thank you to all who have heard this story. I am truly grateful to you for listening, and I hope that maybe, just maybe, this story has awakened some…generosity.
With Thanks, Kabir Moss" |
