So I got back from Africa about a month ago, and a week later, after many difficult goodbyes, it was all over. And like all of my former fellow students, I was left wondering – what on earth do I do now? And what just happened?
Africa was amazing. I’d been to Zambia before for a short trip with Habitat for Humanity two years ago so I had some idea of what Africa could be like, but this was the first time I really got to see how people live in the poorest places on earth, and the first time I really got know people there. I’m not going to describe the entire trip now. If you want the details you can check out my friend Kellen’s latest post. But I will mention my two major revelations of the trip:
Firstly – I love Africa and could happily live in a place like Rwanda or Burundi. I had a great time in Zambia previously, but I did get an awful dose of food poisoning that wiped me out for a few days (we were only there two weeks), and in my capacity as a youth leader, I probably spent more time making sure certain members of our youth weren’t off kissing local boys, than actually making a difference to Zambia. The only real work we did was building houses, and suffice to say, I’m a much better software engineer than a builder. So the whole experience didn’t leave me dying to jump on the next plane back…as fun as it was. My time in Rwanda and Burundi was very different. I quickly got comfortable with the local culture, and picked up a little of their language. I loved it.
Secondly – they really need and want people with IT skills in those countries. When your view of Africa is mostly based on what you see on the TV, you imagine that the only thing going on in a country like Burundi, is people queuing for rice, and waiting for rain. It comes as a surprise to find cities where there are shopping malls and universities (albeit rundown ones with bullet holes in the walls). Even more of a surprise to see Rwanda really making an effort to develop it’s IT infrastructure.
So where does that leave me? Very keen to go back to Africa. There are countless people here who can do any job I can get here, but probably very few people with my skills in Central Africa. Right now, I’m exploring my options. I could jump on a plane next week, but what would I do when I get there? All big questions. And of course the biggest question of all: what is God telling me to do?
[This is my favourite photo from the trip. The children live in an internally displaced people's camp in north-eastern Burundi. Their living conditions were shocking. Their excitement and joy in this photography... difficult to understand.]
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