Hair

There was a UNESCO caravan that made it’s way to the monastery today, with what I think was a Peace Corps worker in a white girl. Apparantly they want to set up a one day clinic to help malnourished children in the area. That’s all fine and dandy, I just hope they have a system for keeping up on looking after the kids once the supply of miracle vitamin pills runs out. As long as they keep up with it, power to them. But if this is a one stop shop, hand out, pack up and go home operation the children would probably be better off without it.

I saw part of a documentary (came out this year) on Swaziland during one of my first trips to Christian’s house in Kara. Two things stuck with me. The first was the princess saying that she had a dream from God about it raining in a region where it traditionally hadn’t rained, it came true, and the people who converted to Christianity and believed in Jesus were cured of Aids. Something’s gotta give. The other, was the president (who is female and was dressed out of 19th C England) chronicaled, fascinatingly, how the freedom that had crept its way into a rather close-minded societal structure has lead to that society having widespread HIV/AIDS outbreaks and poverty and that all of the aid and donations that have been given has been more harmful than helpful. She ended with our children grow up wanting this freedom that the outside world offers, the receive it and they only bring back disaster.

I am not saying that UNESCO is going to bring disaster to Togo, but unforeseen consequences of poor preparation/planning can be pretty magnanimous.

Anywho, the girl had really long, blonde hair and one of the strands ended up on a cup or plate that Blaise was going to use at dinner. I picked it up and looked at it like a child looks at a worm for the first time. He then nudged Johanas and they both stared at it in awe wondering what the hell it was. I laughed at the sight, during the silent dinner, and asked what they were looking at. “I don’t know.” I told them it was hair from the girl who visited earlier, to which they were unaware. But the look on their faces was priceless when I told them what it was. It would be worth noting that black people’s hair is spongy, curly and doesn’t fall out very often (could be due to the fact that all men have shaved or shortly buzzed hair as do girls and only well to do women have long hair, which I wont even bother describing).