Recently, I went to the beach with friends and a few boys who live on the streets of Maputo. Street boys are a big problem in our city. They are on the streets for various reasons, but usually due to some unpleasant event at home that made them think it would be better to run away to the big city even if it meant begging for survival.
My friend Sarah works with these boys everyday - providing food, play and an opportunity to learn to read. The goal of this project is to keep them safe and hopefully reintegrate them in to a family rather than have them living on the streets. The money from my young cousins went to support this work.
During our beach trip, at each meal we would sit at the table and ask a question that each of us would answer. One of the boys is named Fred. His answers always challenged me.
What do you want to be when you grow up or what did you think you would do as a kid? Fred said (in Portuguese) that he dreams of being an Engineer. It is unusual for a kid in his circumstance to have a big dream like that as they are usually too focused on survival day-to-day. For example, the other boy with us could not answer the question. This is what I typically see from those living in difficult circumstances. But, not Fred. Fred has a big dream. I pray he keeps dreaming about a brighter future.
If money were no object, what is your eccentric dream? Me. I'd like to take flying lessons and own my own plane. Fred had a very specific dream about living in a house, with a door, and a bed, and plates with a dining table like the one we were eating at, and he would have a refrigerator with food and a car to drive. Fred's eccentric dream probably looks a lot like your daily life. It looks like mine. I pray Fred realizes that dream. I pray I never lose an appreciation for the opportunity I was given to live that dream.
How about you? What did you want to be when you were a kid? If money were no object, what is your eccentric dream?
Sheri
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