The Power of Kindness

This post has been inspired by my job. Yes my job. The same job that I (sometimes) whine about.
During my time with Oxfam Zambia I undertook an evaluation with them to understand people's behaviour towards water treatments and their willingness to pay for them.
This work took me to the heart of a peri-urban area called George Compound.  For three months I associated and worked with people from this lively neighbourhood.  Most of my interactions were with women. During this time I grew to love and care for some of these people. But most of all they taught me that there power in humanity.

Often times, even though these women had little to nothing, I hardly left without a parting gift. A cup of munkoyo, a freezit or even a plate of nshima were often shared with me as a symbol of courtesy.

During hot days when all we could do was sit and chat, my visitations became sources of comfort for these women. I was greatly humbled by how much they confided in me. Some of these women had passed through life's worst troubles and yet they still were going strong. Through this I began to feel empathy not sympathy but empathy. Even though my simple life was tonnes better than their own lives, I identified with their state.
Even in my own misery I found comfort in these women. On cold, rainy days I remember being offered hot water for tea and tonnes of rugs under my feet to keep me warm.  I remember being offered a cold drink from one woman's stock on an unusually hot day. Alot of what they gave took great sacrifice.  As simple as it maybe these kind gestures ingrained in me a deep lesson.
A lot of these women did not expect anything from me but they freely gave what little they had to me out of their humanity.  I had nothing more to offer them and they knew this but they did it anyway. 
This is a life lesson I hope to pass on to others who cross my path. Being good is not done ouy of duty or out of selfish gain. It is done out of love. Being good should not have conditions. You are good to people because you are a good person. A friend once told me "A man who is rude to the waiter is not a good man at all". The point of thay little quote is that kindness and goodness are not selective qualities.

A bemba quote says "Lesa ala bwekeshapo" and I know that as simple as those acts of kindness were, Jehovah God saw through their hearts and rewarded them in time. That is the sort of person I now strive to be. A practitioner of goodness, having no partiality but self sacrificing in ways.

What I give will not be limited to material things. A kind smile or even a hug are going to be added to my bag of goodies.

To the women who taught me this profound life lesson Thank You. We may not speak often but my heart has never betrayed you ♡