Anonymous 

“I am from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Back home, I lived on a farm in a mud house. We grew beans, maize, cassava, and sweet potatoes. We had cows and goats, too. Because I had astigmatism and was needed on the farm, I didn’t go to school as a child. I would spend my days doing chores like cleaning the cows’ poop, cutting grass, and collecting water. I would have to walk three hours every day for water. It was very hard. The water was very heavy. If you tripped and spilled it, you would cry. You wouldn’t cry because you got hurt, but because you would have to go all the way back. 

I have five sisters and three brothers. Sadly, all my brothers and parents passed away. It was hard to help them with no money. When they were sick, I tried to take them to the hospitals, but there was a lot of corruption. All of the international volunteer doctors that were there when I was a child left. Now, it’s all under the table. People become doctors, but don’t actually know how to do anything.

Moving to the US has helped me a lot. My husband and I adopted our daughter from Tanzania, and I'm grateful that she can have this good life. She is like a typical American teen. With the money from my job, I was also able to build my parents a better house before they passed away. 

Sometimes it gets lonely, though. I try to talk to my family on the phone, but it is very expensive and I cannot buy all of them a phone. People here aren’t friendly like in my village. Back home, everyone greets each other, but here people are quiet. I try to go back to Tanzania every three or four years. It is important to me to visit and show my daughter the way of life there.” - Anonymous