Some Days It's Great to be a Parent

As Cameron gets older (he's 13 now) we're starting to see glimpses of the person he's becoming. I've spent quite a few moments fretting about my kids not being quiet enough, polite enough, conversational enough, kind enough...whatever "enough" it sometimes seemed that everybody else's kids were doing so much better at that particular moment.

ISM has a community service requirement for kids once they start 7th grade of 20 service hours per school year. Kids can do things on their own or sign up for school activities to get their hours. Some kids find a passion and become involved in something pretty focused early on. Others, like Cameron, dabble--a few things at church, a few things through school, but no real set agenda (other than getting those hours).

A week or so ago the cook for the Tanzanian canteen at the school had a stroke. She was in the hospital for 3 weeks and is unable to pay her bills. I don't know the exact cost, but it's possible that this kind of hospital bill would be $200-300 or so. It's not a lot in our eyes, but it's the kind of thing that can cripple a family--family members who may not have been able to work because they are taking care of the person in the hospital (here you only get medical care--food and personal care are the family's responsibility at hospitals), the person who is sick has lost their income, and a family falls apart.

Today was the school's Family Fun Day. Several students set up carnival-type games to earn their community service hours. At the 11th hour, Cameron and a couple friends decided to put together a booth where people could pay 500 shillings (about 45 cents) to throw darts at targets and win a soda or a piece of candy. I raised my eyebrows a bit because they were putting this together via phone Friday night...

Their booth raised 97,000 shillings--about $80! That's a lot of dart throwing at 45 cents a pop. They donated the money to the mama from the kitchen to help her pay for her medical bills. I know that she will absolutely never expect something like this and that money will help that family tremendously.

We were so proud to watch Cameron talk about this woman and her situation this week and what he and his friends were going to do...and not because they needed the hours. It was because they recognized a need and realized their potential to make a difference. Living in Arusha and being a part of ISM has not only opened his eyes to the needs around him, it has empowered him to do something about it. We are so grateful for the experiences he (and the rest of our family) has had and the opportunities to grow in such meaningful ways.

Cameron was already a great kid and a very special person; he is on his way to even bigger things!