This month in Swaziland I had the privilege of assisting in a preschool classroom and it has been an incredibly joy filled time. I was a full time preschool teacher before coming on the World Race and I am in my element spending my days with these precious children. I am in awe of their endless amounts of energy, their contagious smiles, and their enthusiasm about learning new things. I have enjoyed seeing their cultural dances that are performed in front of the King and how these children can dance for hours without getting tired.
For many years I grew up with the preconceived idea of starving, sad children in Africa. The media portrays Africa to be this solemn place and how we ought to give money to this poor place. I have known this misconception from the media to be false for years and I continue to find the misconceptions frustrating. I have spent time with children all over the world and the children I spend my days with in Swaziland are some of the most joy-filled and care free children I have ever met. This is not to say they are without struggles in life, however as Americans we need to break the stereotype of Africa being a place to be pitied. To be honest, I am jealous of the joy these children have about life and there are incredible things to be learned from these children if we slow down and take off our cultural biases. These children do not “need” things from our materialistic culture. Our instinct is to pity Africa for not sharing the material wealth we possess, when in actuality they are wealthy in relationships, community, and contentment in what they have. In America we have an abundance of possessions and in Africa they have an abundance of joy. My teammate spoke into existence before we got to Africa, “Africa doesn’t need us we need Africa.” I absolutely believe this to be true and I’m eager to learn more from the locals I spend time with each day. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude at the opportunity Swaziland has given me to have my eyes enlightened to a rich way of living.
