Understanding

In your life’s journey, there will be excitement and fulfillment, boredom and routine, and even the occasional train wreck…But when you have picked a dream that is bigger than you personally, that truly reflects the ideals that you cherish, and that can positively affect others, then you will always have another reason for carrying on-Pamela Melroy

This quote really touched me this week. For the past few years I have talked a big game about the things that I want to do and the impact that I want to make and how I want to make a difference in people’s lives, but never understood that it’s not always going to be rosy and flowers but it will be tough and frustrating. This past week part of me wanted to give in and throw in the towel because I had first hand contact with the unjust system that I continually condemn and try and come up with solutions to fix. At first I was angry then I remembered that it’s always worth it to keep fighting and keep trying to make a difference. Namibia has one of the largest genie coefficients in the world, much like the rest of southern Africa, and it is apparent at almost every corner you turn. When you see a person who has everything walking down the same street as a person who has nothing because it is an ill gotten gain it makes you want to scream. For generations their family was oppressed from achieving anything and now they are left frantically trying to catch up. Both at the macro and micro level the country is rapidly trying to catch up, constantly feeling inferior to their rich white counterparts, and reaching out in the most drastic ways to receive some source of income. These are the reasons I wanted to come here, to understand what made the country the way that it was. I’ll never find the answer and in my quest I’ll go through highs and lows that might make me want to give up on helping alleviate the problems and might make me question why I care? It would be easy for me to pull out the typical….Well it’s just Africa and it’s an awful place, but that’s wrong because people are people no matter what part of the world you are in. I have safety nets and could never imagine a life with out them. If I didn’t have anything I would see someone like me and be frustrated and angry to and want to do something to make their life not so easy for a day, or I would want to pull a robin hood act. Here, the people I’ve met are not more violent then anywhere else they are just more frustrated and rightly so. They have a lot on their shoulders with very little support and if taking something from my safety net to create theirs is the only power they have then I cannot fault them. I cannot get frustrated or mad at them, but only understand that at the end of the day I am trying to help. I never picked the easiest goals or safest and I may be happy at times and sad during others, but if I could make a difference to help give someone hope or some answer as to how to rebuild after being broken down time and time again then the problems I am faced with along the way will have been worth it.