#21 “Beautiful Welcome”

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Be The Change – Episode #21

We continue with our report from Ipalamwa, Tanzania.  Our host Ruth Curran brings us four unique interviews with team members who’re experiencing rural African life for the first time.  We get to listen in while they explain what – and who – most impressed them about the character and magnetism of the community.  Please note – the ambient sounds and rough audio is due to the field recording – and brings you into the scene!

Amy affirms the beauty of the children’s voice in song outside the village church upon the team’s arrival; it’s incomparable to children’s choirs in her hometown, she says.  The soulful music, emanating from deep within their hearts, anchored her fully within the spirit of the village. She knew immediately she was in a special place.

Robi says a “series of small moments are huge” in grasping Ipalamwa residents’ reality.  Visiting homes opened her eyes to the children’s struggle with so few resources. Volunteers may indeed feel despair amidst hope when confronting these conditions: “You see the pride, you see the poverty, you see the hunger, you see the resourcefulness, you see the shy smiles… you really kind of see it all .”

The expansiveness of the surroundings, the wildlife, and the village’s natural beauty in contrast with families’ lack of material assets was immediately striking for Kelly – emphasizing that wealth can be recognized within a community’s people and culture, most of all.

Captivated by the exquisite landscape and the vast and decorated sky, Dan declares:  “I sit here in awe of the natural beauty of the area, and the natural welcoming of the people.   It’s hard not to fall in love with a place when it’s beautiful and you’re welcomed.”

Episode storytellers: Kelly, Amy, Robi, and Dan