She came from a place that is poles apart from my hometown. I am a city girl and she came from a village. At the tender age of six, she journeyed along three rivers to go to the city to get an education. As her parents waved good bye, she waved and then she shut her heart there among the jungle trees. She opened her mind to all that she could learn in the city, whether it was in the school or in her relative's house. She was so innocent that she did not perceive any slight or rejection from the other children. She was able to divide mentally her year into two parts: school year in the city and holidays in the village. She absorbed knowledge like a sponge because her dad told her that it was important to learn all that she could.
* children.jpg from soundof life.net
When I met her, she was a retired Senior Assistant who labored in a mission organisation. No wonder I never thought about her origin and race. She is God's child first. Though she is proud to be a native in her land, she is my equal in my home city. She did not lord it over me, an immigrant's grand child. Neither did she need to fight with me because of perceived inferiority.
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