Sometimes I want to hug strangers. More about that in the next (last? Blogs are confusing) entry. But I wanted to talk about one stranger in particular.
They call him….”The Belt”.
Okay, they actually call him “Orukoba” (the Belt), but it doesn’t exactly carry the same mystique and impact in Runyankore. To be honest, even in English, I don’t really get it. But I want to tell you about him anyway. This man is 78 years old and walks every day to attend our beekeeping training in Kataara. They tell me that he actually jogs. And, actually, I’m pretty sure he was never invited. But he showed up around the 4th or 5th day, I’m a softie for old men, and we’ve all been the better for it since. But wait. You have to realize that he is walking/jogging to Kataara from Katerera, which must be at least 12-15km away, up/down some of the steepest hills in our district and across two rivers. The training starts at 8:30am. He arrives at approximately 7:20am. I always find his name first on the list. One day, he traveled that distance while carrying an enormous hand-woven basket hive, so that we could use it as a demonstration aid. I bought it from him, for approximately $2, and stored it at the office just to not suffer the guilt of imagining him returning home with it. And get this, outside of the trainer (and, maybe not, actually), he is the most skilled person in the room. He leads some of the demonstrations, he stands up to teach his peers when he has knowledge on something. He’s been keeping bees for years and yet is the most appreciative trainee in the room. He often leads us in our enthusiastic (lengthy) closing prayers.
The Belt, in hat and suit coat, with his hive in front of our office
Then he puts back on his hat, wraps his notebooks and pencil in a plastic bag, takes his walking stick, and starts the trek back to Katerera. In between there, he usually tries to strike up a conversation with me in Swahili which, I routinely try to tell him, in four Ugandan languages, I do not understand. But bless him for trying. Honestly, when I look at this man my heart swells a little bit. In one moment, I think to myself, “this is why I’m here”, but in the next moment, I think, “man, you don’t need me here!”. I will never have a functional conversation with this man, but I’m so honored to have met him, and to work with him.
The Belt!
