Right now, I am feeling rather splendid… but I had to go via fear, loneliness and worry over the last two days to get here!
My arrival in Shela village on Lamu island was like something out of a boys’ adventure story: an island-hopping plane and then a ride across a choppy strait of water in a fisherman’s boat, followed by some local men carrying my heavy bags on their heads through the village’s narrow, winding streets where two donkeys can just about squeeze past each other. There are no cars here, so why make them any wider?
After I had settled in to Wendy’s beautiful guest house that I am staying at till I move to the clinic a short walk away, Crispus, the local coordinator, took me out shopping for dinner. I felt a few waves of fear as we walked through the moonlit streets where shadows would suddenly move and a local person would jump out to greet us. Although I kept smiling and accepting their warm welcomes, I felt very very far from home, which, added to the tiredness of not sleeping much for 36 hours, was making me quite emotionally vulnerable. The food in the shops was also sparse and mostly quite unknown to me, and I had visions of starving slowly for three months!
I was also very conscious of the fact that Crispus is only around for a few days before going on his yearly holiday, so I will have to fend for myself for a month till his return. This means I need to learn the crazy layout of the village paths quickly, and find out how to tell a residential house from a shop – they look almost exactly the same! I felt very alone and out of my depth by this point.
But, as always happens when my very human fears and anxieties start to build, everything is put back into proportion. Remembering my pleasure at teaching, I volunteered to help with English lessons at the local primary school, and I also visited the local football team, who will now be coming to see me for check-ups and sport massage – and taking me with them on away games up the coast so I can teach their team paramedic more skills!
The lesson is thereby spelled out for me: when I follow the urge in my heart – to teach, to help, to give – this immense love for humanity just obliterates my fears. And, thus, I feel splendid!
I have also squeezed in two trips up the coast to Lamu Town, once on foot and once by boat depending on how high the tide was. Now I know that I can at least find food there if all else fails in Shela village, where all restaurants are currently closed as June is the low season for tourism. Lamu Town is big enough to leave some open.
This weekend I will be moving to the clinic and continuing to enjoy the rather fast Internet connection by wireless dongle that I acquired today… And then on Monday, I hope to find a manageable queue of Shela villagers at the clinic door!
“We work on ourselves in order to help others, but we also help others in order to work on ourselves.” – Pema Chödrön
