Amina

To describe Amina I need to speak of her in both past and present tense. For the Amina of the past has died but the Amina of the present is vibrantly alive. I met Amina during my first visit to Kenya and Korogocho slum; home to over 300,000 people living within one square mile without access to clean water, electricity, or proper housing. We walked down tin hut lined dirt roads vigilant of our surroundings and the potential danger of being a "tourist" in one of the most dangerous slums in Africa. Residents eyes were upon us watching us with curiosity and apprehension. Walking into her home you need to duck beneath a low dirt ceiling for her home is about the size of a small walk in closet. Sitting before us is Amina and her 8 year old daughter Nuria. Her house consists of one pan, some cooking oil, and a bench with some old blankets which is the bed for herself, her daughter, and her 3 year old son. She welcomes us with a frail voice as she stares down at the ground holding onto her daughter's hand. She is painfully shy and her eyes only speak of suffering. Her daughter Nuria sits on their bed, her knobby knees dangle down and her legs look like dark brown toothpicks. Amina and Nuria are HIV positive and receive free medication through the Kenyan government but most days they are unable to take it for they have no food, and taking the medication without food in their stomachs makes them very ill. We speak to her with the help of a translator, she begins to speak a prayer in Swahili and that is when I begin to unravel. Nuria lets out the most pain filled cry I have ever heard come from a child; a cry of utter trauma and disappointment for she feels cheated out of life and a childhood. I begin to sob unable unable to hold it in, for this is the darkest human suffering I have ever seen.

That was the Amina and Nuria of the past for upon my return three months later a new woman had emerged; a woman filled with grace, dignity, and radiating joy. Within these past months Amina had become part of a HUB sponsored microloan group, starting her own business selling coal and being a part of a woman's craft group. She now hugs me with such strength and when I look into her eyes I see hope. She now welcomes us with song and begins to dance with all her heart. The group leader tells me that she is the most animated and motivated woman in the group. Her body looks healthy for she can now afford food. Amina tells me about the overwhelming gratitude she feels each day now, and that she wakes up each morning thanking God, for her cupboard is full and her children are fed. Nuria is beautiful and now spends her day playing kick ball in the streets and attending the local school.

Not all stories that start out like this have a happy ending, to be honest most do not, but this is one that does and that is why I wanted to share it, so that we can once again remember the power that we all have to change our present circumstances. Amina is a woman who will continue to remind me of this lesson, and when I close my eyes at night I hold her in my heart hoping that she and her family will continue to thrive. Thank you Amina.