One of the best times of my life so far, was when my wife Lizzie and I traveled to Tanzania in Africa to do some voluntary work for 7 months with an organization called SPW (Student Partnerships Worldwide). This trip was incredible! We were living in a very remote village that was 4 hours drive from the nearest road with hardly any facilities. The village was fortunate enough to have running water which was piped in a few years previous, but apart from that it was very basic. We lived on rice, pumpkin leaves and ground nuts and that was pretty much it. The village was called Iringa and we were placed with some Tanzanian volunteers to aid with communication.
Our aim was to help the locals with an education that would change their lives and we were determined to make a difference. Reality was a very different story though. AIDS, poverty, disease, alcoholism (a local brew called Ulansi – made from sugar cane) all created an average life span of about 40 yrs, if that! We found ourselves getting very frustrated. There we were, pumped up and ready to make a difference. Determined, so that they didn’t have to live like this anymore. Yet the biggest part of the whole trip, was sitting back one day and just watching them go about their business. Yes they were living short lives in really poor conditions, but most of them were happy. Everyday, I would see them walking around with a great big African smile yet I couldn’t understand why. Looking back now, I can see that the ‘why’ was never about them. It was about me. Why couldn’t I see that life is not about working hard, but enjoying the moments that we have. We are all going to do it hard. Some more than others. But it’s our mindset that determines our quality of life.
Yours truly,
Stuart Ginbey
Tags: Africa, aids, alcoholism, gap year, health issues, spw, student partnerships worldwide, Tanzania, voluntary work
