Thirteen guests

Posted by Ali

Seventeen people in a room. Fifteen African. But fifteen white.
Thirteen have had to fight to prove their worth in a society that neglects and ignores their plight.
Thirteen know how it feels to be despised by their fellow citizens, by members of their communities, and even sometimes by their own families.
Thirteen have known extreme poverty, have struggled to gain an education, have been rejected, have experienced terrible discrimination, have even feared for their own safety.
Because of a disability. Because of the colour of their skin. Because of a gene.
And thirteen have overcome the challenges life has thrown them and now strive to help others do the same.

I am humbled in their presence.
I am impressed by their adaptability.
I am amazed at their perceptions.
I am awed by their attitudes.
I am inspired by their initiatives.
I am longing to tell the world their stories.

ADRA-TAS orientation meeting

Today was the first day of our orientation meeting with thirteen head officials from the national and regional offices of the Tanzania Albino Society. We are introducing them to a new project for albinos that was just recently approved by ADRA UK. Our meetings will run until Thursday and, if things go similarly to how they went today, I expect we're all going to be great friends by the time the week is over. Our discussions were interrupted often with friendly joking followed by uproarious laughter and clapping. Luckily for me, Yona, the programs director, did a great job of translating and I was kept in the discussion loop, which was a definite benefit.

My absolutely favourite memory of the day happened during lunch. The albinos are staying on or near our campus during the meetings (most are staying in the ADRA cottages like me, but there isn't room for all thirteen so some are staying at a nearby hotel) and are provided with three meals a day and I am able to eat lunch with them. I was sitting at the end of the table in our open-air cafeteria and listening to Swahili swirling around me when one man, Innocent, walked around the end of the table to get back to his chair and stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at the ground. I followed his gaze and saw Ebony, Max and Davona's black Shitzsu dog, lying in his path. He looked at me, then back at Ebony, his expression incredulous. "What is it?" he finally asked. I blinked, not exactly sure what he meant. "What is that animal?" he asked again pointing at Ebony, who looked up nonchalantly. "That's a dog," I said, suddenly realizing that he couldn't tell she was a canine. "A dog!?" he gasped. "I have never seen such a tiny dog in my entire life!" I wanted to laugh at his dumbfounded expression but I suppressed my giggle. "What does it do?" he continued. Again I was confused and Innocent rephrased his question. "What kind of work does that dog do?" "Oh, she's not a work dog," I explained, "she's a pet." He marveled at this answer and then set his plate down next to me and pulled his chair over, all the while continuing to shoot glances down at Ebony. We then had a pleasant conversation about Tanga where he lived (a town on the coast), how his stay here in Arusha was so far, and where I was from and what I was doing at ADRA. But throughout the conversation I knew I would never in a million years forget his disbelief upon learning Ebony was in fact a dog. It was priceless!