The Sketch Artist

As the monsoon season continues here in Tanzania, Mother Nature is dropping rain on us with a vengeance. I love it, but there has been flooding, and lives have been lost. Several roads have washed out. I grieve for the folks and animals with insufficient protection from the elements.

Though the temperature rarely dips below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, for Tanzanian folks it is very, very cold. I frequently see people wearing heavy jackets, like something I would wear on Kilimanjaro summit night. Meanwhile, I’m running around in short sundresses, usually feeling too warm. It astonishes them. And me.

It’s been generally a quiet day, but as is often the case here, there’s always something delightful and inspirational waiting around the corner. Today, it came in the form of a kid herding cattle near my house.

He greeted me in Swahili, and I learned he was from the Sakuma tribe near Lake Victoria. I asked him what he liked to do, and in English, he said, “draw.” Then he asked if he could draw me sometime. I said, “yes, right now.”

He had paper but no pen, so I loaned him one. In no time, he sketched the following: one with sunglasses, one without:

As he drew, I took his picture so I could share with you.

Remarkable, eh? He complained that the drawings were poor because he didn’t have his good drawing paper. I told him that he was talented and should continue to study. I asked if I could keep them, and he obliged.

He said he would try to find me again tomorrow with his good paper so he can do another. I hope he does. I will take him to the duka and buy him some nice pencils and paper. Perhaps someday we will admire his work in an art museum. I hope so.

To Africa and its people: Thank you for making my life so rich. Sometimes you make me weep with joy.

-Badger OUT