Tag Archives: presence

who seek refuge

  These are snippets of stories of some very small few of the humans who seek refuge in this world, whose paths I briefly walked alongside and whose lives I, alongside and within the incredible community of humans volunteering, did my best to care for while on Lesvos, and whose wellbeing is bound to myContinueContinue reading “who seek refuge”

being here through it

Written 24 September 2013: Today was a hard day for Sarr family here in Sénégal. During the summer of 2011 my Kenyan sister Winnie lived with my family in the US. Toward the end of her stay, the D-H family had a hard day. And I remember so clearly her telling me that she wasContinueContinue reading “being here through it”

this is why i came here

written 19 September 2013  We’re sitting outside, my sister and I, the electricity out and searching for the cool breeze. We’re talking about weddings and clothes and what to do when boys harass you on the street as they often do and the pressures for women which exist across cultures. Papa comes out to joinContinueContinue reading “this is why i came here”

the challenge is to stay

To this day, these are some of the most formative and grounding words I have ever read: “You know, the challenge is to stay. The challenge is to be present with that pain. As my mother was dying, I sat with her. You know, as my brother was dying, we sat with him. And there areContinueContinue reading “the challenge is to stay”

i have lived and am living

I’ve discovered that I love to read poetry while in Kenya.  Somewhere during my junior year, in AP English, I found the beauty which poetry conveys (although I didn’t dare admit that at the time).  During the horrendous ice storm of 2011, when I had recently returned from my semester in Kenya and school wasContinueContinue reading “i have lived and am living”

i mean the words i say

We approach as a parade: first the primary student, then the LINK teacher, Umoja Project volunteer, us.  Occasionally we greet others as we pass, speaking mostly to the teacher and volunteer as the students whose homes we are to visit trail behind, nervous and shy.  It is the home visit routine, something we do atContinueContinue reading “i mean the words i say”