Where’s Jeremy… blog #1
August 25, 2011 by Steve ·
Friday
I have been challenged to write about my current venture. My resistance is high, seeing, experiencing and then digesting requires a couch; communicating requires more than I might be capable of. Who will listen anyway? What can I say?
I pursue an abiding passion to right wrongs, to see justice, to help people navigate through life. Programs, systems, strategies all play a role. But real change comes as individuals encounter one another in ever deepening relationships. People engaging one another.
I sit on the plane with my traveling companions, Bryan and Francis. Byran is a 31 year old accountant, a fellow marked by sincerity and loyalty, Francis, 28, a big hearted engineer. Each desiring to discover their niche and contribution. Our plans will take us to Kenya and then Zambia. Our objective is to learn and discover, and if possible, assist. But what do we know? In a few hours we will land in a world none of us have ever encountered before. The country of Kenya with its varied history has long held an appeal to me.
Saturday
Today we encountered a truly remarkable school, perched half way up the hillside looking out over a sprawling settlement. This elementary school seeks to provide hope for community transformation. And hope beyond.
Piled one upon another, railway transport cars serve as an adequate home for 140 students. Built on a model of total sustainability, the leadership of this school has established vegetable gardens, a small herd of milking cows, a well to capture methane gas from the cattle manure, water recycling, and a fish pond.
Outside of our car windows, the world simply flows by in an every changing kaleidoscope of life; farmers swinging their hoes into rich red soil, herders following behind mooing, jostling cattle or bounding goats, town markets bubbling with activity, each stall carefully arranged to show its multi-coloured wares, pottery piled pyramid like.
And people – walking, cycling, cavorting, waving, staring, jostling — always people – swinging machetes, balancing loads on their heads, always people – life abounds.
Just a few days ago, we left behind the world of stock markets and uncertainty. Commentators in serious tones relating doom and fear. Fortunes teetering on the verge of collapse, it seemed. But the people who make up my movie reel today know nothing of that world or the uncertainty that can reach into each corner of our lives with a strangling grip. They go about their days as those before; farmers farm land, herders herd goats, mothers nurse newborns, men gather in circles, chatting. Today is today. “Today”, a wise teacher once said, “has enough trouble of its own. Let tomorrow alone, deal with today.”
Where’s Jeremy???
August 18, 2011 by Steve ·
Today, Jeremy, Bryan Bauman & Francis Bauman are on their way to Kenya Africa. Jeremy is intent on blogging his way through this journey and has promised to email updates regularly to us. Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming news!