We sat in the living room, as the women started trickling in, gradually.
Sophie is to my right, she’s writing down notes on what to say - I catch a glimpse…
‘Never give up’ it says.
These women are pretty incredible, and even that might be an understatement – Allow me to introduce Sophie, Mery, Lisa, and Nelly.
These women come from different backgrounds, all different walks of life.
They didn’t necessarily come from money, or come from opportunity but these women have created these opportunities to support themselves.
When they got knocked down but they got right back up.
Now that’s something to write about.
I ask you to do one thing before I start – think about all the women in your life, all the women who have inspired you in some way – have you got it?
Hold on to those women, whether they are present or not –
It is something to be thankful for.
The funny thing about this workshop in particular was that I thought it would be romantic in the sense that I’d hear their stories and their struggles and have a connection of sorts to the emotional aspect of it – but ironically, most of it was spoken in (very fast) Swahili, where I couldn’t connect to any of it. This is the translation bits to take away:
Sophie
Sophie, whom you’ve met prior (briefly) is a wonderful woman who always has a smile on her face. A woman who always has a smile on her face, no matter her challenge. It all started when she was a little girl, in a village (not sure where). In this village, she had to walk to get water, 20 kilograms for 20 liters of water… Twelve times a day. Having to walk to school for a total of 7 kilometers each way, or 8 and half miles there and back, throughout her childhood. She found that there was nothing for here there, other than that and that is when she decided to leave the village and follow a priest… but the rest of the story is a big foggy. “How I came to be who I am, it wasn’t easy…” she said, as she very distinctly, smiles with such pride.
Yesterday, Sophie claimed her safari company, run entirely by women, called Matriarch Hills and I couldn’t be happier for her.
Lisa
“You have to have a target, trust your gut and trust yourself,” she said as she placed her hands on her heart. Lisa had a bit of a rough start as well, when she originally came to Give A Heart To Africa she was initially turned away. Not because she didn’t want it enough but they thought she had enough education to go further in her job, which she had working in a salon at the time. Thankfully, Lisa kept coming back until they gave her a second shot at things, and the rest is history. Little bit of messy bits in the middle included losing her job because she couldn’t balance between work and school and losing friends and her boyfriend for her desired choice in occupation… It is presumed that a woman who gives massages is considered a prostitute. Or she sees it as “just taking challenges as opportunities.” And now, Lisa is the proud owner of Lala Salama, a wonderful spa facility in downtown Moshi thanks to GHTA and just opened up a makeup/hair salon on her own terms. She is one proud mama.
Mery
Mery came from a very poor background and has come a very long way. With having little to nothing in her family, she spent most of her young adult years working through holiday breaks so that she could make enough money to go to school. When she was older and settled down to have a family, she found herself without any source of income for almost two years. It was then when she decided to start something within her community – building a home for a family in need of one. She did just that, through means of fundraising and labor. Now she runs a volunteer hostel out of downtown Moshi and helps other women grow their own food, wholesome organic food.
Nelly
Nelly is very pregnant. It’s hard to say how far along she actually is, but needless to say, she’s kicking butt at life while carrying life inside of her.
“You work until you are finished” she said.
Nelly’s story was a new one to me and I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to meet her – Nelly’s family has 14 kids in total. This may sound alarming at first until you hear that her father had three wives (at one given point in time). But when you look at the family, Nelly is the one who is carrying the burden because she is the eldest in the family – This mean she had to plan her money and budget to make sure she can support everyone. A burden no one should have to carry.
In order to do so, she sold Mondazi (a Tanzanian donut made of fried dough) with her mother each morning before going to school. Her mother tried her best, to support those she was responsible for, with Nelly because their father ended up drinking all day til days end. After Nelly went to college, she because a teacher and is now working on building a nursery where she is trying very hard to create a solid ground before her little one arrives.
“Trust in family” she says.
