Children as Allies

Children are my greatest allies in this country.

That's probably not a surprise to many of you, but what may be surprising is how valuable they are as allies here. I hinted at this in the "minions" post, but kids here are incredibly independent. After all, if they're available to take orders for a random adult, it's because they're doing their own thing.

With their independence comes...

...responsibility

I find it very interesting that animals (cows, goats, sheep), despite often being the most valuable possessions a family has, are entrusted to small children. If a child is big enough to hold a stick and follow orders, s/he is big enough to herd a few cows and supervise their grazing for the day. Once a kid's weight is at least comparable to that of a goat, one of the morning chores becomes dragging said goat (or several) by a rope to an area with some foliage and tying it to a tree for the day.

<< one of my favorite mental images is from one morning a few months ago, when I saw my neighbor, Ida, trying to drag a stubborn goat. I happened to look over when she was at a nearly-45-degree angle with the ground, and that goat barely budged! >>

...and power.

I.E., the power to look out for their sweet, lonely little Nasara neighbor! (Yes, I just liked how dramatic it sounded to call it power)

Kids would do a lot for any adult, but I like to thing that they do the following because they like me. ;)

-- I cannot tell you how many fruit deliveries I've gotten. Not all of them are entirely welcome (someone already gave me four mangoes today...what am I supposed to do with six more?!), but I like to encourage it, so I always accept them.

-- I already mentioned that adults don't have to pump their water if there are kids at the pump, but sometimes kids come to my door asking if I need/want them to go get water for me! I will admit that these kids are likely soliciting candy, but whatever.

BUT MOSTLY:

-- My neighbors sell dolo (local beer made from red sorghum) Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Anyone can bring a bottle and have it filled to take home, but most choose to hang out under surrounding trees, etc. (NB: it's never too early to drink dolo - I've been stopped to share a calabash at 7am) Any time I leave on a "dolo day," I have to pass through everyone hanging out.

One Tuesday morning, I was coming home from my class and after I passed through the dolo area, I heard someone yelling after me. I look and see an older woman leaving the dolo area to follow me to my house (probably 100+ yards away). I'm confused, but I figure she must want to talk to me about something, so I stop outside my gate.

THEN! I see about 6-8 of my neighbor kids sprinting towards me, with the strong-willed Isa (not to be confused with Ida, goat dragger) leading the pack with an arm outstretched and a finger wagging at me to match her cry of "Chloe! No!"

By now I'm really confused, but I trust these kids so I know something must be up. And then she arrives (immediately followed by my child-warriors), and it becomes clear. From her mannerisms and speech, she seems to have some sort of developmental problem, but more importantly was how aggressively she was demanding money from me. Darling Isa kept a close eye to make sure I wouldn't give in (as if I would), and all of the kiddos were poised to intervene if her grabby-ness took a turn towards violence. They stuck around until she left, saw me safely locked in my courtyard, and then went on their merry way.

Of course, I could have handled it without their backup, but witnesses are always appreciated -- especially witnesses with numbers on your side...and it's great to know that they're looking out for me, even if they are "just" kids! :)

xo, chlo