Monday, February 4, 2019

Working in five countries for the last decade with thousands of children's and families in need, I could fill a library with stories of struggle and survival. Yet, there is a 16 year old boy named Benard, that currently attends the "Brainy Heroes secondary school" in Arusha, Tanzania, that levels me to my core; in a way that nothing else ever has. I have spoken of him before, and I will speak of him again, because the way he lives his life, after what he has experienced, is impossible and too profound to explain only once.

The moment in 2013,  when I found out what he had endured, I couldn't physically walk through the door of the Headmaster to get a plan together. That is usually how I combat the sadness, by coming up with solutions. This was too overwhelming, it felt like the heaviness was swallowing me. An unbearable pressure began to take up space in my throat, like my vocal chords were about to snap from the strain of holding back my rage.  I walked outside the gates of the school, sat on the side of the dirt road and cried.  He was one of 200 children in that school, and one of the thousands of children we work with around the world, but on that day, in that moment, it was only him. I could have never imagined the relationship we would have today and how far he has come from that 11 year old that would never make eye contact, hung his head low, and would only speak in a whisper. All side effects of child who was invisible.

He has been tortured, enslaved, abandoned and cast aside. He has been given every reason to live his life as a victim, to become a statistic, to harbor hatred and anger. He refuses to let his suffering continue and chooses to focus on the good, where other people would have never even looked to find it. Benard has never had parents to guide him, yet he is driven, polite and kind. He has never been promised material possessions in exchange for good grades, yet he has completely dedicated every moment of his life to his education. He has never lived in a loving home, had his own room, or had running water, yet he is grateful. He isn't entirely sure when his birthday is because it has never been celebrated. There is no one pushing him, except him. His entire life he has scratched and clawed for his survival. At 8 years old he was tending to goats for $1 a month, to help the Aunt he was living with, who eventually died.  After her passing, he gave up his dignity and freedom, and lived as a slave, because he was told he could also go to school. Tortured every day, he slept outside in a dilapidated dog house and did his homework by kerosene lamp. Can you even begin to imagine? His story is more than just a story of survival, it is a story of strength.

The couple who enslaved him at 8 years old, had taken his dignity as a human being and stolen his spirit, but their evil was far outmatched by his resilience. He truly is unbreakable.

I asked him in August to make a list of the items he would need for the upcoming year. CGA sponsors his education and he boards at his school, so food and shelter are covered. When school goes on break for two months each year, he stays alone and has to provide for himself. When he gave me his list (dated and numbered) The familiar pressure instantly began to build in my throat. He had numbered his list to 10 but only came up with 7 items....for the year.

-A box of pens
-A box of pencils
-Exam folders (required to turn in exams)
-School shoes (required)
-A T-shirt
-1 body lotion
-Soccer shoes
-Soccer shorts

I also asked him to include pocket money for the year. After carefully thinking about a budget he came up with $7.50 a month. That is 25 cents a day for extras....for a 16 year-old boy.

I haven't stopped thinking about this list. He consistently brings me back to this place, humbled and in awe of what he has been handed in life that he refuses to let define him. I am grateful to the forces at work that day in his 5th grade math class, when the seat next to him happened to be available. That day and this boy have impacted me for life. Benard, you have easily been my greatest teacher and in this lifetime I will always support your dreams. I hope to give you at least a fraction of what you have given me.

I wanted to share more about Benard because through CGA we are not only focused on creating global minded future leaders in our own community, but also around the world. Every human being matters, and this is what we teach our students from America. We need to care about the bigger picture. Our volunteers get to spend time with their peers, like Benard, from all corners of the world. It makes an impact like no classroom ever could and their perspective is forever changed. As I mentioned before, Benard is only one of the thousands of children we are fortunate enough to work with, in five different countries around the world. These children were put on this earth to do big things, but there is a great imbalance in the chances they are given to achieve greatness.  We will continue to provide them the opportunities to live out their dreams, so they can give back to the world in the most profound and beautiful ways. This is CGA.

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