EDRO

I wasn't going to post this but this event was such a major part of our day. We have a young man, named Edro, who is our driver/guide extrodanaire. He is one of those exceptional African people who has had nothing, yet has managed to attain a good job and life in a country where unemployment is 70%. Yes! He is kind beyond measure and we have all taken an instant liking to him.
We were hiking today near Victoria falls when he received a call on his cell. I saw him bend over then kneel down. I was immediately behind him,and he turned and said his mother had called and his older brother had just been killed. For some of my own very personal reasons...and for Edro , I was too, overwhelmed. It just seemed so weirdly out of place to be hiking along this beautiful area,and everything in life changes in an instant. Many things happened, then, and of course, some hard decisions were made. The hardest was to let Edro go to his family. While all arrangements were being attended to, we were sitting in our van waiting for a new driver, and feeling helpless and so,so sad for this young man who had to now drive over 1000k on crap roads to get home to Harare. We quickly decided to "pass the sun hat" and in a matter of seconds, our very generous travel mates had collected about 500$ which we had to literally run over to Edro, who was leaving in another van. I saw him almost collapse again. This young man came back to our van, and with so much humility and poise, thanked us in his way. I am still tearing up writing this. I guess I needed to process this day of many challenges. How life can turn on a dime. How poor Africa is, how beautiful Africa is, and how proud I was to be an American today! We are a very generous and kind people, and we made a difference in someone's life today.