The Youngest Among Us
On Monday, I went out to interview farmers for the first time. I loved meeting everyone, but my favorite farm that we visited belonged to a woman named Jane. I was preparing to interview Jane when I felt something hovering behind me. I turned to see four little shy smiles. I tried asking their names, but they were so quiet that I barely got anything out of them! Luckily, I was prepared, and knew the perfect way to break the ice: coloring.
I grabbed the coloring book and crayons that I brought out of the car and showed it to them, but they still looked confused. It had completely escaped me that coloring was not something that children commonly do in Kenya. Writing utensils are scarce and highly prized, so me giving them crayons and coloring pages was a foreign idea to them. Despite this initial road block, they immediately caught my drift once I demonstrated what to do and set them loose with a 64-pack of crayons and 5 coloring pages.
During my interview with their mother, they kept racing back and forth to show me their masterpieces, and let me tell you, I am not exaggerating when I say that they were beautiful. As a seasoned pro working with young children, it is almost instinct to tell children that their work is amazing. But, when I doled out these compliments to them, I actually meant every word of it. For kids who don’t normally color, they sure knew how to stay in the lines! (Something I still struggle with to this day…)
Once I was done interviewing Jane and a few other farmers at her house, we packed up our things and hopped in the car. As we drove off, the children excitedly said goodbye, proudly waving their works of art in the air.
Cornfield Reflections
I’m going to start a new series in my blog called cornfield reflections, because for some odd reason, I experience my best moments of inspiration and reflection in the cornfield…go figure.
For this week’s cornfield reflection I’ll speak on the impact of my work here.
As a planner, my brain is often onto the next thing, and sometimes I lose sight of the bigger picture and purpose. I initially had a hard time defining my personal motivation in coming to icipe, but all of my interactions with children this week have really clarified it.
All of the children that I’ve met reminded me that I am not only working to create a more food secure environment in the present, but I also must do my best to ensure a food secure future for the the next generation. I’m not trying to be their savior, and I know that I alone cannot devise the solution to world hunger, but I am responsible to do everything in my power to ensure that children are able to grow up in a world where food security is a reality for more people than it is as I sit here writing this. My generation must set children up for success so that they can come along and do even bigger and better things in the future than we could ever imagine today.
I love working with the youngest among us, because I gain so much insight and wisdom from them. They see the world in a way that most adults do not. This week, they helped me define my purpose for being here at icipe, and I am excited to see what they will help me uncover next…
Until next time, this has been Cornfield Reflections with Christina. Your source for the deepest and cheesiest observations on my time in Kenya. Thanks for reading!
