Day 26

I have thought about being a counselor or helping displaced, rescued, or orphaned children in some way before, but I never really understood the emotional toll it can take on a person. Until today, I hadn't realized that after spending enough time with a young person who has been through so much in life already, you catch a glimpse of their past and their pain.

At first glance, he was all smiles; shy, polite, and studious. But today, I saw the hurt of his past in his eyes. I don't even want to imagine what he has experienced in his short life time already, but I know that it has been enough to make his heart heavy. I still don't know what exactly his story is. I do know that his safe place is the football field. I know that he hopes to raise a family of his own one day. I know his dream is to be a semi-professional football player in the UK or Canada. But I don't know how that's going to happen. It makes me sad to know that breaking the barriers of growing up in poverty-stricken Africa is a hundred times harder than overcoming the same obstacles for a teenager in Canada.

Looking back now to the first time I met the kids at the GDH, I feel like I was a completely different person, unaware or maybe even ignorant of the fact that these kids had been through so much. It has been almost three weeks since my first visit at Boona Baana, and just now I am starting to feel like there is trust - but at the same time, I know it's only a few more weeks before I have to say goodbye.