Treasures of Africa KIDZ Project - How Generosity Changed a Life
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HOW GENEROSITY CHANGED A LIFE
The tears came so easily...and unexpectedly.
It was about 7:30 in the morning when I pulled up to the bus stand in Moshi, Tanzania. My task was simple, to deliver Irene and her possessions to a bus headed for the big city of Dar Es Salaam. It felt like such an impossible yet miraculous moment. This girl who had begged on the streets of Moshi 14 years ago was now headed to the LAW SCHOOL OF TANZANIA to begin the last phase of her journey to become an Advocate (lawyer).
Now about those tears. They began streaming down my face as we sat in the car waiting for the arrival of that bus. I was thinking back to the early days just after Irene arrived at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home. She was a scared and hopeless 12-year-old whose mother had died. She had fled the abusive home of a drunkard relative who forced her to beg on the streets for food. I thought, "Where would she be today if she never came to live at Treasures? Where would she be if compassionate people had not donated their hard-earned money to help orphaned and abandoned children on the other side of the world?"
Then suddenly, a hollow-eyed sunken cheeked boy of about 9 years appeared at the car window. Motioning that he was hungry, he put out his hand to beg for alms. The stark irony of the moment was not lost on me. 14 years ago...Irene was that child begging for food money on the streets of Moshi. Now the mature confident young woman sitting next to me was headed to Law School. The tears would not stop.
So many people with generous hearts have donated and helped the children at Treasures of Africa over the years. Irene is one of many whose life trajectory was totally altered through GENEROSITY!!
(And regarding the boy begging for food money...of course we helped him, but he disappeared into the crowd before we could get details of his situation. But I am watching for him on the streets, and I am confident I will see him again.)
Generosity changes lives – Thank you for being a conduit for the power of generosity!