There are certain stories in life that are worth telling. A story where someone touched your life in one way or another or you have touched a persons’ life, is a story to tell.
I have been fortunate to be acquainted with an elderly lady (Bibi in Swahili) for whom we helped build a new house. Bibi had a house, a very dilapidated house. It had no working windows. The roof was leaking and the walls were nearly about to crumble. When it rained, Bibi had to shelter from the rain and so did the mosquitos. As an elderly women in Tanzania, her savings (assuming she had any) was good enough for a few meals…not a major home renovation. To sum it all up, Bibi needed to win the lottery to have any chance of repairing her home. This is when her prayers were answered. The call was made, and the community responded. We set out to repair Bibi’s wall so that at the very least she can feel like she had a home to shelter in. However, upon taking a closer look we soon realized it is going to take more than just a wall. The whole house needed to be demolished and rebuilt.
Bibi’s old house being held by a piece of wood.
Bibi’s windows were falling apart.
So what did we do? We should have told Bibi we are demolishing her whole house. But we didn’t. Instead we sent her away to live with some friends for a few weeks and got straight to work. That’s right Bibi thought we are just repairing her walls…not demolishing her whole house.
A few weeks went by and of course so did the budget. Bibi needed new glass windows, a new door and some really strong brick so that this house will keep her safe for many years to come.
After a few weeks of major work, Bibi eventually returned back to her house, but not without asking us where her original house was? That’s when she quickly realized her life was about to change.
The day that Bibi received her new house, she exuded happiness in a way that could not be described. She’s nearly 100 years old and before this she had no hope of sleeping in a safe place. Her unrelenting gratitude was all because a person gave from their heart and did not calculate or deliberate where or how the money was to be used.
New windows, new door, new roof. In this photo the glass wasn’t installed yet and a few more touch ups were still not done.
It was our idea to do it, but we couldn’t do it without the generous hearts of supporters who were touched and influenced by our story to do something special for the community.
Imagine giving a person a new house to live in as a gift. A house that they can comfortably sleep in without any worries or threats from the weather and mosquitos. To us, It’s a blessing that comes in a way that we won’t understand or even expect.
It doesn’t take much to touch someone’s life who doesn’t have much. Just like it doesn’t take much for a rich person to give what he is rich with. That’s a story worth telling.
– Sam & Mark
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