Today in Tanzania, we met the family of Stanley, a student sponsored by Make A Difference Now. He is getting ready to attend college later in August. We went to his family farm. His grandparents were so kind to us and told us more about the value of hard work they have taught Stanley, having a motto of “work hard, no talking!”
They beamed with pride as they talked about their grandson and the future he has in university after coming from a life of poverty.
Stanley (when on school breaks) and his grandparents wake up early to take care of the animals they have and then begin the physical labor of caring for two different plots of land- one right by their house where they have bananas, avocados (yum!!!) and yams planted. They must walk an hour and a half to get to the other plot of land where they grow corn, beans and sunflowers for oil. Can you imagine walking an hour and a half to work? Most of what they raise is for their family to eat, but they are able to sell some crops. Each year this little money they raise helps them to afford improvements to their house including a new toilet and some more bricks for a house they are trying to build slowly. It has taken a number of years. Their current home has many cracks, but has weathered many storms. It was built by Stanley’s grandfathers’ great grandfather!
*Pictured are Sean and Grace helping with farm chores: planting a banana tree and feeding goats. Stanley also showed us the long process of growing coffee, preparing it in a mortar and pestle, roasting it, and then grinding it in a mortar and pestle once again.
