Challenges and Courage: Reflections on a Board Member’s Recent Trip
- GSGC
- Nov 24, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 22
I’ve just returned from Trip #4 to GSGC-sponsored clubs in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Once again, I came home amazed by the tenacity, vision and resourcefulness of the women and men we sponsor as mentors to young people in their communities — and the strength of the girls and boys themselves. They all face daunting circumstances and situations, and the Mentors lead them through all this, not only with compassion, creativity and thoughtfulness but now, with a resounding expertise they have gained over the nearly six years I’ve been visiting them and bringing you their news. I can see the change, the growth, the confidence.
But each trip, I felt I’ve gained far more than any small contribution I might have made being there. I’ve been enriched by a greater understanding of the world, by more discussions, more laughs, tighter bonds with more people. A greater understanding of how I can be of service. This trip, for the month of September, was no different.
I finally noticed the ubiquitous use of the word “challenge.”
The word pretty well sums up the daily lives of local people I visited in Dete and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Livingstone, Zambia. No water is a challenge. No power is a challenge. No food is a challenge. No employment or how to pay the rent or school fees, each is a challenge.
They say it without anger or bitterness. They say it with the determination to put one foot in front of the other and make a better life, or a better day.
Our Western use of the word is so different, I thought. A challenge is something to get over, put behind us, be done with, to conquer. Yes, there are too many in our society who face the same challenges every day, and that is shameful, even if there is a safety net.
But what I know is that GSGC-sponsored Mentors are the best and the brightest to face the daily challenges of life in Southern Africa. They are the most loving and giving, and the most deserving of support. They are working without a safety net, and they are masterful at balancing life and hope.
