I was walking around in a village, to find out and observe how the people are living and what their biggest needs are. The area can be described as a forestry highland wherein the villages and households are very spread. Most of the people fled to this area in the beginning of the year due to fighting in their homelands. I see men planting seeds for the coming harvesting season. Women and girls are walking to the swamps to collect water. Young boys are running around with guns made from blue carton boxes, which were dropped during a food distribution.
Amongst these people I saw a young man limping around. He is paralyzed, his legs are kind of folded, but he is still able to walk with a stick. I felt sorry for him. It is already difficult for normal people to live in these circumstances, how is he able to survive? I know that in a lot of cultures people with weird sicknesses or disabilities are ignored. They are seen as less and worthless, they are disabled because they have sinned or have been cursed. Imagine if you are a minority, and you are disadvantaged and on your own, what would that do with your self-esteem and your motivation to live?
During my time in these villages I had moments that I didn’t know what I was doing there. We are coming in with a helicopter full of food and water, to sustain ourselves during this week. But the people around don’t even have enough food and they need to drink the black dirty swamp water. If they are sick they can walk for two days to the nearest basic health facility. I felt a minority. But then an advantaged minority.
Half way during the week another helicopter came in to deliver supplies. Of course, this is a spectacular event, and everyone started running towards the landing place after hearing the noise in the air. The limping guy was also amongst them, I had difficulties in keeping up his speed. He had a big smile on his face and wanted to help carrying all the cargo. In one hand his stick, and the other hands some buckets he proudly walked towards our tents. He was confident that he could do this.
The day after we were trying to set-up a big tent with aluminum poles and a white canvas. It was a very frustrating puzzle and it turned out that not all the pieces were fitting together, and that the canvas didn’t fit on the frame. Some guys who were helping already gave up and said that the right stuff need to be sent before we can finish it. A lot of people were watching how we were struggling to pull everything together. Then we saw that the tent canvas maybe fitted on a small wooden frame which was already been built but not in use yet. And the guy with the limped legs, was the first person who climbed on this wooden frame house, to pull the canvas over. He believed that it was possible and that he could help in making this happen.
Later on I met his family and found out that he wasah called Mayom. And Mayom had a big self-esteem and high motivation to live, in contrary to what I was expecting the first time I saw him. I learned so much this week in the village in the middle of nowhere but especially from Mayom. Where I am sometimes drowning in all the things that I am not able to do or in all the things that I do wrong, Mayom acted completely the opposite. People around him might not have believed in his abilities but Mayom himself believed that he was able to accomplish big things. He believed that he was a good man. He was not depressed for all the things that he was not able to do, or for the things that he did wrong. No, he was the guy who didn’t gave up and who believed things are possible. Mayom took the burden literary in his arms and carried on with a big confident smile.
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are solely ours and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any organisation.
Wondering Nomads 