Chapter 1
Crowded around a metal barrel with a fire inside, warming
the shaking hands in the cold Nairobian night air, stories of Africa are lively
spoken about. From as far apart as South Africa to Kenya, to Egypt to Uganda.
To the stories of upper Kenya, tribes, traditions, and God. Our laughs echoed
throughout the compound I was staying at, with the sound of KiSwahili songs
from a patched up old radio adding to the night’s ambience. This was a night
that I will remember for a long time, not just because of friends created, but
because it was a night that showed humanity was one. No colour, religion,
wealth or background. All the night needed to make it perfect, was a grill on top of the barrel and a few
packets of borewors (a South African sausage and all around culture) cooking,
slowly letting their smell take over the environment. This is Africa, living a
life of love and acceptance. This is Ubuntu, a South African terminology meaning
a quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity.
This is why I travel, to find this quality and let others embrace it no matter
where they live or what language they speak. Ubuntu, is God. He created it to
get humanity to live in one perfect world and even though this is not a full
reality right now, how much of the world can be changed by the
simplistic way of loving your neighbor as you love yourself. This is the world I am travelling and volunteering in, the beautiful breathtaking continent of Africa that forever calls me to embrace and embrace it back.
