I won the lottery….

 

This is probably not how you would think a post about my travels and life experiences would start.  But, guess what? I realized that I won the lottery! Have you ever bought a lottery ticket or just thought, “If I won the lottery, then….” Well, I did. I won the lottery at 1:10am on Sunday, June 13, 1971. That was the moment I was born – born in the United States of America. I won the lottery because I wasn’t born in a third world country with poor access to healthcare, running water, electricity and even food or freedom. I won the lottery because I went home from the hospital to a solid home with running water and electricity and even if I became homeless today, I won the lottery because I could go to a park and get a warm meal and perhaps some clothing – no questions asked – from the generosity of others. I could go on and on about how I realize that I won the lottery at the moment I was born, but instead, I want to tell their stories – from my local area, in Africa and others that I have met and will meet as I go down my path in life. From time to time, it hasn’t been the path that I wanted or should have been down, but when I found myself going off-course, I had the courage to change things and head back down the path of purpose that I was always intended to be. And as you read their stories from my voice, my wish is that you contemplate if you have won the lottery. And if so……are you willing to share the wealth? In your community? In your country? In your world?

At the end of our lives, we will leave as we entered — with nothing.  All that will eventually be left is our story and an answer to the question from God, “What did you do with what I gave you?”

 

Africa 2009:

 

Stepping foot on African soil for me, truly felt like coming home. I felt a new spirit in the air and a new purpose in life. And even though it would only be a short trip, I new that the journey would last much longer.

 

I arrived on Valentine’s Day. I must say that I had no idea that Valentine’s Day was so celebrated around the world. It was a great celebration of flower stands with roses and stores filled with balloons on the other side of the world just like back home. The first place I stayed was with a lady named Grace. She lives in Nairobi in a two-story home with her 6-month-old son, Roy and her nephew, Tony who was about 11 years. Tony lives with Grace because his mother passed away in a Kenya Hospital at the age of 27 after experiencing the “worst headache of her life” right before her CT Scan. As a physician, it sounds as if she could have had an aneurysm that ruptured and did not get the critical medical care in the hospital that she would have needed to save her life. Hearing that story was one of the first realities of being in another country. Grace’s home was surrounded by a large stone wall and metal gate and the entire subdivision of homes was kept safe by another metal gate that remained locked unless someone inside the gate opened it. All of this security was very necessary as I realized the next day another reality shock.

 

 

Grace's Home

 

We were staying just a short walk from Kibera – the largest slum in Africa – which houses 1.5 million Kenyans and is increasing in population every year. Nairobi, Kenya and is the same size as New York City’s Central Park, about 1.5 square miles. At 1.5 million people, the population density is 30 times that of New York City, and Kibera does not have multi-level housing. Most people living in Kibera have little or no access to basic neccessities, such as electricity, clean water, toilet facility and sewage disposal. On the second day in my journey to Africa, I was able to go with some of the volunteers and visit an orphanage in Kibera. It was one of those overwhelming moments when one wonders if one person can make a difference. It was tough to envision the children who have to sleep day after day in lice and bed bug-ridden beds that they share two and three together. The teachers hadn’t gotten paid in several months. The conditions of the orphanage were so rustic compared to what I am used to that it was a sad reality. But, at that moment, I reminded myself that one can truly make a difference and even though during my journey to Africa and in life would occasionally bring overwhelming thought that I couldn’t make a difference, I really can.

Walking into Kibera

Bedroom in orphanage

Next Post…..On to Maasailand……….

Advertisement