This week’s focus is on the people living in Kenya and Congo.
Check out inspiring stories published this week.
Enjoy!!
- “What’s surprised you most about being a parent?”
“The feeling of being called ‘Dad.’ It’s the best feeling on earth. The first time my daughter called me ‘Dad,’ we were playing hide and go seek. I was pretending that I couldn’t find her, and I kept searching and searching, until finally she screamed: ‘Dad!’ It almost made me cry. It made me feel like Superman.’”
(Nairobi, Kenya)
- “Everything was fine at breakfast. We talked normally. I went to work thinking that it was just a normal day. Then when I came home, the door was locked, which was strange, but I didn’t think much of it. Everything seemed to be in place when I went inside the house. So I sat down and watched TV, expecting them to come home any minute. After awhile, I went upstairs to the bedroom. And that’s when I noticed all her clothes were missing. Then I ran to the children’s room, and all their clothes were missing too. After seventeen years, she left me without saying a word.”
(Nairobi, Kenya)
- “My mother died when I was three. I don’t remember much about her. But I do remember, when she was very sick at the hospital, she said to me: ‘Never let a man steal your life.'”
(Nairobi, Kenya)
- “I first learned that I was crippled when I was eight. We played a game in the yard where we would race and do somersaults. When even the youngest kids beat me, I knew I had a problem. Then when it was time to go to school, I was the only one who couldn’t go, because it was a very far walk.”
“Do you remember the saddest moment of your life?”
“When I turned twenty, I had this moment where I realized that I hadn’t been able to get any education. And suddenly I knew that I’d probably never have a family.”(Nairobi, Kenya)
- “He’s only five years old, but he acts like an old man. Just now, he was just telling us that he was tired of our immature jokes. He doesn’t even like to play. After school, he usually comes straight home and reads.”
(Nairobi, Kenya)
CONGO
- “What’s your biggest dream?”
“To be the mother of a doctor, the mother of a minister, and the mother of an engineer.”
(Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- “It’s always been my dream to have a successful business. I’d like one day to open more stores, and maybe even expand into the provinces. But the conditions are very difficult to start a business. Taxes are very high and services are very limited. The electricity was out for eleven days last month, but I still had to pay for thirty days. And when I try to use a generator, the costs are so high that the customers stop coming. It’s very difficult.”
(Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- “I’m embarrassed to say this, but I’ll say it. I’ve had a really hard time finding work, so I’ve been living with my grandmother. And she’s told me recently that she doesn’t have the money to feed me. So I’ve been eating at my friend’s house. I go over there, and I’m too embarrassed to ask for anything, but his dad always insists. He says: ‘Why aren’t you eating? Please, eat!’ This has really caused my idea of ‘family’ to widen. I’ve learned that your family can be anyone.”
(Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- “There is a stigma in this country around women with jobs. So I want to start an organization that provides girls in the Congo with examples of women around the world who have balanced family and career. Most men in this country think it’s only about money. They think: ‘If I make enough money for us to live, then my wife should take care of the children.’ The common belief is that a woman who works is hurting her children. People don’t realize that children also gain from the knowledge and experiences of their mother.”
(Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo)
Text and Photo credit: Humans of NY ( Facebook page )