From Angela Zahn - some thoughts

Everywhere I look I see rolling mountains, red earth, and people who seem to be coming from nowhere and a destination out of sight as well. I still haven’t gotten used to seeing young children walking along long stretches of road bare foot, maybe walking to school if they are lucky or home from the market, again if they’re lucky. I have to imagine each person’s story but as soon as I begin, a new face quickly appears and replaces the others in a blur. The road are littered with grazing cows, donkeys, and goats keeping the grasses at a manageable height. Mothers with babies strapped to their backs and heavy bags in each hand holding as much as they can bear, all while balancing a container (hopefully full of water)on her head. As we stop along what seems to be a deserted area for our lunch, we learn very quickly there is always someone somewhere in the dusty, red winds. I try very hard not to look up and make eye contact with any of the people of Swaziland, ashamed of what is in my hands; the guilt fills my stomach far more than the food which has been carefully prepared for me. I have been burnt by the fiery African sun, hit with the dusty, red winds, felt cold bitter enough to go straight to my bones, and have even been thanked for bringing rain to parts of the country that haven’t seen rain in three years. Africa holds so much beauty, it is like an onion; it takes some work and some tears to get through it all. Angela Zahn