15th Sha'baan

Everything here feels so spiritual all the time. Last night was the night of the 15th of Sha'baan. I spent much of the evening with the primary students, praying and reciting du'as with them. I love that they all recite everything loudly, in unison, and without hesitation. It's fantastic. I usually pray near the Grade 3 girls, but yesterday I prayed nearer to the Grade 6 and 7 students. What energy was in that room. After the two ish hour a'maal, I headed over to secondary / Zainabiyya (the name of the mosque where the secondary girls pray everyday). Their a'maal was starting at 10, as the primary kids were ending. On my way, I ran into Nana Bashir. We decided to go for a walk around campus. It was fantastic. The entire campus was still. As we walked, we could hear the du'as being recited on the loudspeaker in the background from every corner of campus. I received a text from Mohammed Abbas saying that the boys were all set to go to the futbol field that we always go to. I left Nana Bashir and made my way over there. Mohammed Abbas, Mohammed Rahim, Frankie, and I sat under the stars in quiet contemplation interrupted by discussion regarding how much of the khoja population is plagued by cultural racism. We were joined shortly by Ali Khimji, Abbas Ali Jagani, Khadija, and Ilham. The second group only stayed about five minutes which, in a way, was good because it was getting crowded and noisy which was defeating the purpose of us being there anyway.

We wrote our arizas in the sand and watched the stars reflecting on the year that had just passed and preparing ourselves for the year to come in relative silence. Because the futbol field is right behind the boys' mosque, we could hear the du'as being recited. We had already recited Du'a e Kumayl and Surah Yasin with the primary girls but, hey, no harm in repeating. It really was a beautiful moment. Then, Nana Bashir came to fetch us and commanded that we go home as it was late and we all had early mornings the next day. Instead of listening to his advice, we relocated to the balcony above the administration building (where we hold "kushalibankro"). Mohammed Abbas grabbed one set of benches, I another, and Mohammed Rahim spread himself out over the table. We ended up falling asleep there. I was woken at 4 AM by the cold after which I headed home. It was a great night.

Today was a bit longer than usual. The morning started off late as the kids were up all night praying. By late, I mean that they started school at 10 instead of at 7:30. I searched around for the rest of the kids that I had to interview for the sponsorship report. I found four who said they would stop by the administration building after 4. The rest were nowhere to be found. Class was fun today, but it seemed a little boring. Maybe that's just me being over-critical, but I doubt it. We did prepositions as well as reviewed nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. We also discussed The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the movie we watched in class yesterday. It's funny how all the movies that American adults love are seen as childish here. The kids here are not as easily swayed by fantasy, etc which is reflective, I think, of their very "real" lifestyle. I really will miss these boys. A few walked back to the administration building with Mohammed Abbas, Mohammed Rahim, and I to hang around for the next hour. It was nice. Oh, there's also a new volunteer who arrived today. His name is Abbas Ladak and he is from Birmingham. He shadowed me during the afternoon and was rather helpful. I am glad he showed up before I left. I hope he can carry any projects that I have to leave halfway done to completion.

Oh, update on the sandpit. We stopped by earlier today to check it out and tried the water method. It helped some but not as much as I would have liked it to. One of the askaris started digging at the orphanage to illustrate how easy it was for him to dig in this earth. He ended up digging a corner and then asking a thousand shillings for it. I think we might exploit his awesome digging skills and then pay him "generously." I can't believe these askaris. They have no days off, work twelve hour days, and then get paid the equivalent of fifty dollars a month. That's the epitome of cruelty.

This evening, we went to Mlandizi. There is an orphanage there, and we went over to see the kids and drop off iftaar. It was so heartbreaking. I don't know what it is about this place. Africans are so moved by hugs from Indians. To me, a hug is such a natural action. I love hugs! When I see an African, hugging them is not something that I have to consciously make an effort to do. It's something I want to do and something that I do do. Today, I hugged an old woman who was sitting outside the orphanage. Her voice broke when she responded to my "Habari." For some odd reason, that moved me in all sorts of directions. They all tell me that they will miss me when I leave. I'm realizing that I will miss them more than they will ever know. Today, Frankie told me that he made me a gift. he handed me a handmade frame holding a piece of paper that says, "Hanna we will miss you, please come back soon." He had drawn hearts in it and decorated it with brightly colored wrapping paper. It was so thoughtful and so heartwarming. I will miss him horribly.

Haidari is a Form IV student here. He comes and videotapes my class everyday. He's become another part of the family here. I really like him. Today, we were walking to the orphanage. He came with us. We walked by Medewell (the Health Center) and the ambulance was sitting outside. He looked at us and said, "This ambulance has been here for so many years, but I don't think it has ever carried a sick person." We laughed so hard. There was something about the moment - this random African boy with his random African accent, the quiet in the air, the breeze, the giddiness and dehydration due to heat and fasting. It was just funny.

Back to the orphanage. There were about 40 children living in a home that was the size of my sisters' bedroom and mine combined. It was insane. They were sleeping about 15 to a room. There were no lights in any of the hallways or the rooms. There were also no chairs or desks and only two chalkboards in the entire thing. I don't know. It was so sad. The kids were so lovable. We brought them balloons and glowsticks and the looks on their faces were priceless.

I could keep writing, but I have to go. Nana Bashir is setting up kushalibankro and that's the last thing I want to miss. Also, the sky is beautiful tonight and we are going walking soon followed by stargazing on the field. More soon, insha'Allah ..