Human Jungle Gyms

Today marked the closing of our emotional journey through Sir Lowry’s Pass this week. No matter how hard we may try to recount stories or show pictures to our friends and family, nothing will be able to properly quantify the love and joy we felt from these truly inspirational people. From the first moment we stepped off of our bus we were mobbed by hoards of children smiling from ear to ear with arms outstretched, only longing for us to wrap our arms around them and embrace them as we would a member of our own family (which began our roles as being essentially human Jungle Gyms for them throughout the entire week). The love and genuine affection they demonstrated for total strangers was insurmountable to anything I had ever witnessed before. Every member of the township, from the smallest child to the oldest grandparent, greeted us with a wave and a smile that truly pierced the heart and uplifted the soul. They lived with such a selfless mentality and were sincerely concerned with the well being of every member in their community. These people did not need material wealth to justify their happiness; they instead were rich in love and strong family values that allowed them to find joy in every aspect of their life. Despite their extremely cramped small homes and lack of real financial means, they were grateful for the small amount they did have. I was even told on numerous occasions by the soup-mothers how they believed that God had truly blessed them and their families for giving them just the basic means to survive. Even though these people have very little worldly possessions, they knew that somewhere in the world someone was worse off than them and so were thankful for God’s blessings. It made me embarrassed to live in a society that places so much value on material objects and uses it to justify the worth of someone. We could all learn a lot from these people, that you can find joy in even the smallest moments in life and that we should enjoy every instance as if it were our last.

When we first came into the township I was under the impression that we were only going to have an impact on their life. Little did I know the powerful and emotional effect they were going to have on me. They taught me that I should always have an open heart and open arms every day of my life, because a life should be lived surrounded by love and emotional support. They taught me that a life does not really have true worth unless it is used in the pursuit to help those less fortunate than yourself. They taught me the value of having a strong community and of caring about your fellow neighbor. But, I believe the most important lesson I learned from them this week is to just go out and live life to the fullest and to not let anything ever bring you down and take your joy away from you. Joy and happiness is what gets them through their day-to-day struggles and is what keeps that glowing smile on their faces.

As our bus pulled away today and the children were chasing after to say their final goodbye, everyone one of us could not help but to be overtaken by a sense of sadness. Even in such a short time span we had developed such a powerful connection with this community and the beaming faces that greeted us upon our arrival every single day. I cannot help but feel great envy for the other group that gets to spend their next week in the township. I have assured them that their week of adventure will not even come close in comparison to the journey they have ahead of them. The only joy I could find today as the last child gave up on trying to chase the bus, is that we will have another opportunity to spend just a little more time with the township in our final week. I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to learn and grow together with the people of Sir Lowry’s pass.

Christopher ‘Romo’ Ramanauskas