"He taught me that fishing is just like cutting the grass and that, sooner or later, it will grow back up over and over again. There are days when fishing is just such hard work to catch nothing – and the buckets remain empty while driving back home from the river."
"I bought a big sheet and painted a tree trunk and flower stems on it and each kid put a green hand print as a leaf on the tree to create their “family tree” and then they were able to use other colors to make flower petals and butterfly wings with their hand prints."
"When I went around the room to check everyone’s work I noticed the classroom was oddly quiet. I looked at Halima and she had her head down really close to her journal, her pencil held close to the tip for maximum precision."
At times, I miss school or arrive late for it. I would love to study - to learn about things. I don't get the chance to do that. I feel like I never will. And that makes me very upset.
"Yet, we have left something behind. It is as simple as that. Socially, we have missed the necessary steps. We need better communication. More understanding before starting not to appreciate each other and ourselves; See your friends through hardships"
"Today, looking at all of this death surging upon my land scares me. It reminds me of when we did not have anything, where there was just madness. Sadness. Hopelessness in the eyes of My people."
“When I was little, I thought making mistakes was not just part of everyone’s life story. I was told to avoid making them. And I have always tried to live my life by trying to find ways of not making errors."
"I want to go to school to learn about changing what water is doing to the ones I most love. I have lost many of those. And I can’t pretend nothing is happening. I am angry. Furious. I want some change. We all want that! We deserve that.”
"A few weeks after we got back from Mombasa, I was sick. I was warm. I was sweating and coughing heavily. I had a fever – the doctor said. I was taken to the nearest hospital where we live – my daughter and I."
"Today, when I sit down and see the dark around me, I can hear his heart beating. I can perceive his glance going across the ocean to find better sleep. Every time the wind touches my skin, it heals my soul. He heals my soul"
"There are days when she becomes like a tornado. She spins around the house like a top and runs away from our cat. Those are the days I feel the happiest as well. It can’t be just a coincidence"
“Everything is to gain in life. We are born with nothing. We leave with nothing. And everything that sets in between is a good living – because what can be even scarier than living is the idea of never being born.”
" It was when I least expected it that life got complicated; that mother got sick. She spent weeks at the hospital. She never made it. I dropped out of school the same day she went to heaven"
"It was supposed to be just an ordinary day. Going on the road with my cousin to meet those strange people at those strange places. When I woke up that day, he was not where I thought he was supposed to be."
"She would just rub her bald head and laugh along. She was always racing the boys and kicking the ball around, and usually sat on the “boys side” of the classroom."
"And If it takes me twenty minutes to get to Kenyatta, that day it took me two hours. I got lost. She would not care. She was not worried. I thought of what made her so comfortable everywhere we went"
"Mr. P., I used to call him. His name did not matter to me. I cared that he cared. He cared for my mum. He brought her to live a new happier life. He helped her forget the past - all the difficulties. He got my mum time"
“I can’t wait to see the day I will be old enough to remember these days as the best days of my life. Because I know they are. I just can’t see them this way now.”
