It’s been a year since I met her, the little girl who loved Fanta,
loved being mischievous, and loved holding my hand as we walked through
the sandy roads of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
A year since we
danced in the living room, watched a movie together, and learned as much
as we could about each others languages.
A year since I found out that she was orphaned, and living with HIV at the young age of 9.
A year since I fell in love with someone I hardly knew.
And
I wonder how things have changed for her. If she is still doing well in
school, if she is still dancing while singing “Mambo Sawa Sawa” in
church. I wonder if the boy who taunted her is still taunting her, and if
the boy who got in trouble alongside of her is still her partner in
crime.
And I miss her. I miss Gracie. 
I think about how I have changed over the last year — how my own
situation has changed from living in a Tanzanian home with a Tanzanian
family and my teammates to living in a Georgia apartment with one
other person who sleeps two rooms away.
I no longer teach English to Tanzanian adults, but write newsletters, press releases and e-mails throughout my day.
But my goal is still the same.
I want to change Gracie’s world.
When
I held her in my arms, I wanted her to feel love like she’d never felt
in her life. When I spent time with her, I wanted her to feel accepted
and not alone. And when I taught her words in English and Spanish, I
wanted her to grow in ways she couldn’t have before.
The things I wanted for her then are the same now. Not only for her, but for all of the other Gracies in the world.
For
at least another while, I’ll change her world in the best way I
know how — in the form of newsletters, press releases and e-mails.
