I travelled recently to a small town in the rural North of Tanzania, called Kahama. The drive was two things for me; Baobabs and Action!
I am not sure if you have seen a Baobab in person, but it is truly a majestic sight. Most of them while being absolutely massive and easily able to substitute as the space within the ring a roses circle of any pre school, are also seemingly deformed. I found my eyes drawn to them almost like the rubberneckers at any accident scene. Either way they seemed to exude an ethereal beauty, standing tall in a country side of very short stuff. Perhaps it was their sheer bulk, or their timelessness as they seem to have been standing there long before time but, I want one in my garden! Maybe two....
We passed a lot of baobabs and then we found ourselves there. The town was busy and packed with people. People were not just ambling along, instead they moved with a sense of purpose. The streets were a blur of colour as people darted and wove to get ahead.
A restless activity pervaded everything. Some were digging out sand to make bricks to build their own houses. Others were cutting thatch to roof those houses. Some pedalled their bicycles furiously with the load of a passenger. Sometimes two passengers and sometimes those passengers were goats. Still others strained in front of carts loaded high and heavy with stuff. Their well defined muscles, glistened with sweat, and spoke of a life of consistent toil.
Here one cannot sit on the corner and expect that food will miraculously appear, or a shelter just raise itself above your head. Here there are no rich benefactors or tourists with bulging wallets. Instead, life comes down to you alone. If you are not prepared to make your own difference, nobody else is going to do it for you.
In Africa there is no time for idleness. If there is no food on the table, you starve and then you die!
I always thought that I could carve out a life of ease for myself. My stint at home this year has certainly opened my eyes to the joys of surfing at my leisure. Surf bum may not sound like a great occupation, but it certainly felt like a good life!
Africa has taught me many lessons, but the one that really struck home has been the value of hard work. Me, bobbing on my surfboard in the beautiful Indian Ocean does not seem right when billions around the world slave to put morsels on the table to feed their families. Surely I can do better than that?
