Mosaic

I was happy to have accomplished so much office work at my internship for the day; but I was still struggling with my desire to go out and see the community. I came to Africa to be "connected to a cause" - and I hadn't found it. I was seemingly stuck in an office on the administrative side of non-profit work, until 4:35 on that Thursday afternoon.

Sitting in the front waiting room patiently waiting for my transport to arrive, I was chatting away with one of my colleagues. Recounting our day and laughing at some of the random things that had taken place, we were all of a sudden silenced in our tracks. Our internship manager walked into the room only to hold open the door to the clinic waiting area, and say, "Come on in. You can come in here," in a strong but safe voice. Not one moment later did a large woman of such broad stature, wrapped in black headscarf slowly stagger in. Each step she took seemed heavier than the next, and although I could sense that she wanted to conceal her wet eyes, she could no longer control her emotions once she crossed the threshold of the safe space. She began with a quiet sob, hiccuping short breaths with every tear as she strode across the hallway. The counselor took her into the room adjacent to us, closed the door, and she broke down.