My most prized possessions
in my life are my beautiful children. I couldn’t have asked for a more blessed
chapter in this journey of being a woman. They have brought meaning and depth
to this life and for me the feeling is irreplaceable.
This emotion grew onto me
even stronger when I had to work away from home for a few weeks and my only
contact with my kids was a phone call each night just to tuck them in. Being a
doctor, I am so dedicated in my field of service. I accompanied a voluntary
group of doctors into a war torn Somalia in the aim of service and love. It was
a sight to remember, pictures that wreak havoc even in my mind when I think
back to it. Little children succumb only to the hope of water, food and a
smile. I cried with fear every night when I got into that camp of ours to sleep
away the pain of tormenting sights of disbelief and poverty.
How could anyone be so cruel
to humanity. How could life become so difficult to live by. How does one
swallow pain and sleep on the pillow of its acceptance. I wanted to run away
from here into the arms of my comfortable home. It was very hard.
One morning while doing my
rounds in a tent full of woman, I noticed a frail woman clutching something
that looked like a baby. Its stench made me tear with pain. It was dead and she
wasn’t letting go of it. This incident led me to understand that even in death
there is love and the hope of a new beginning for the death of this child gave
this one woman of Somalia hope. Survival meant giving up everything even a life
for your bread. She didn’t want to let go of the corpse because she felt that
she was wrong to allow herself to live in place of her baby, but in reality she
was stronger so she would be better opted for survival.
That night when I called
home, my kids rushed to the phone in such delight of my presence on the other
line that I built up the courage to smile and tell them how much I loved them
and I was coming home very soon. We were there now almost five weeks and I was
growing weaker with pain from all this. I nursed the sick, fed the children and
helped the frail wither away into their comfort of care. I made a difference
but it still didn’t grant me ease. Something was missing, if only I could
settle into the seat of my thoughts and work out where my weakness was.
This notion stayed until the
moment we returned home and one night as I was tucking my kids into their beds
I realized why I had been feeling displaced. My heart was cold now and I
trembled with fear. I was a mother with a world of possibilities and I had the
comfort of my home. They had nothing except the hope of seeing a new day. But
those woman had such strength and determination in them that we cannot match
with our struggles of life.
Woman lay a foundation for
life.
Woman create life.
Woman make the house a home
and for this notion we can believe that there is no place like home..
