I’m starting to think I have a thing for African babies. Kinda like Angelina, Madonna, and all those women with so much disposable income they can’t just have a baby, they gotta buy one.
2 years ago on my first trip to Africa I met Baby Ghana Joy, and though he couldn’t speak yet, he somehow managed to sweet talk his way into my little soul forever. On our 2nd day here in Tanzania, I encountered another little one that touched me just as deeply. After our day at Tarangire National Park, we stayed near a village called Mto Wa Mbo, Swahili for Mosquito River. When our driver Robert explained that it’s literally near a mosquito infested river, I could help but wonder how (and why) the people in the village there could stand it. Occasionally during the summer I’ll get a lil badass mosquito in my Brooklyn apartment, that buzzes in my ear in my sleep just to let me know who’s boss. I don’t care if it’s 3 AM, the lights come on, I’m fully awake and it is WAR until I can catch and smash the dangerous invader to smitherines, protecting myself from…um…I mean not like West Nile or like Malaria or anything. But like, they itch and stuff.
So, here is this village of people from living in some of the worst conditions I’ve seen, literally surrounded by malaria-infested mosquitos, and as we drove by, I see a little girl around 2 years old sitting with her siblings near the road. Her hair is cut close like a little boy but I can tell she’s a girl because of her smile, which flashed across her face when she saw our jeep pass by. I waved back and locked eyes with her for maybe 2 seconds before she was out of sight.
She smiled. And waved. That’s it. But I was stuck for a good half hour on this little girl. Like, borderline tears. And it’s hard to explain why. Her clothes were tattered and she was sitting in the dirt, in an area prone to malaria. There were no toys in the front yard, or any handheld games to occupy the time of the little ones who gathered together like their own little families along the street. Yet, she looked truly happy. She probably likes waving at the jeeps because the people inside probably smile and wave back at her. It’s almost like talking to people from around the world without saying a word. Or maybe she doesn’t get much attention bc her parents are busy working all day.
Or maybe she’s just little girl who likes to wave at people. It could really be that simple because joy comes from the simplest things to babies and children. I wanted to get out and bring her toys and dolls and take her for ice cream and do all the fun things little kids should experience but seeing her smile was a reminder that we can all find happiness despite circumstance if we learn to appreciate the little things.
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