It took three days of travel before I found myself rolling into DaDaab with the Mobile Harem. This is the name that we five women dubbed ourselves as we laughed and chatted and prayed our way across Kenya toward the remote northeast area where Matt was. (Yes, "was".... he has finished his time there and will be back with us tomorrow.) DaDaab is 99% conservative Muslim people of Somali descent. Matt was the only tall white guy in the primary school where he volunteered teaching two English classes, a math class, and a couple of P.E. classes (P.E. happened only if the heat allowed for any movement at higher speeds than a slow crawl.) There is a highly fortified U.N. compound within walking distance, but Matt had very little, if any, contact with the residents there.
We rolled in the winding dirt streets, through crowded lanes of little corrugated tin shops, past wandering goats and gawking pedestrians, through the gate (everything of any value in any developing nation is gated, fenced, locked) and into the compound where Matt was staying.
Let me now make a extreme understatement as the mother of this young man: it was good to see him.
Yes.
The elders and the teachers welcomed me warmly. The people there have appreciated Matt very much. Plus I'm older and in this continent that means honor. I'm good with that! I wish I could get to know the women, some of whom wore full coverings so that we could only see their eyes. You can tell when a woman is smiling, even if only the eyes are showing.And if anything is sure to elicit a smile, it's my blundering attempts at Swahili. (Most people in this area are of Somali descent so speak both Somali and Swahili.) I appreciated the friendly encounters, and also occasionally felt the strain of being an American woman in a very conservative Muslim world. For many women here, life is very harsh.
If you're interested in this neck of the woods, you can go to Tim's blog and hear about his visit to DaDaab. My women's trip was a bit different. (No trips to the local restaurant to socialize and no viewing of soccer games on the t.v. there..... no women allowed!)
takhere.blogspot.com
Thank you for your prayers on Matt's behalf. God has sustained him and upheld him. The young men who also teach at the school took him in as a friend, insisted that he take a meal with them everyday, and made him part of the town soccer team. The elders who manage the compound where Matt lived kept a watchful eye out. In turn our prayer has been that Matt would be a blessing, that in some small way he would be the hands and feet of the God of love who loves deeply the people of DaDaab.
