Dorothea Hertzberg served a term...
Illustration
Dorothea Hertzberg served a term as a Peace Corps volunteer in the tiny, impoverished
African country of Burkina Faso. One sweltering hot day, she was riding her bicycle
along a cattle trail, when she felt something in the machinery snap. The wheels of the
bike still turned, and so did the pedals, but pumping the pedals accomplished
nothing.
Dorothea resigned herself to pushing her bike the seven miles she had yet to go. The temperature was 115, and she had only half a bottle of water. Just then, an elderly man came toward her, on his own bike. He asked what was wrong, and when she told him, he rummaged in his belongings until he found a long rubber strap, the sort of thing you'd use to tie packages onto the back of a bike. He attached one end of the strap to his bike, and the other to Dorothea's handlebars. Going back the way he'd come, he began to pull the Peace Corps worker on her bike, toward her destination.
As Dorothea recalls it, "It turned out to be one of the most hysterical, yet touching, moments of my life. What a scene we must have been. This poor man vigorously pedaling and dripping with sweat as he towed the American princess through the barren desert. Every villager we saw along the way shrieked in surprise and called out 'Ney Yibeogo!' (Good morning!) After a while, I began to feel terribly guilty, posed on my bike, waving like a Rose Parade float queen....
"An hour later, we arrived at my destination. He was exhausted, I was giddy and in awe of his generosity. I took a long look at his face and those kind eyes, and I told myself never to forget it, because this man is the heart of Burkina Faso. This man is not an exception in his culture. He is the very essence of it.
"Two years ago, at the age of 27, I volunteered for Peace Corps service to 'give back' to the world. Today, I realize I gained much more in return ... When I think back on that moment, when I was stranded on that deserted cow path, there was a part of me that was calm, because I knew where I was. I was in a place where you never feel alone or abandoned because someone will always come along to help you; where a starving woman would give her last bowl of food to a stranger; where kids are elated to play with an old tire and a stick. A place where family unity is everything and the guest is paramount.
"To the Burkinabé, these principles are more than just cultural values, they are a way of life. Burkina Faso means 'the land of the upright and courageous people.' It is one of the poorest countries in the world, but a place where I learned what giving truly means."
(from "A Lesson In Giving," New York Times, August 23, 2003)
Dorothea resigned herself to pushing her bike the seven miles she had yet to go. The temperature was 115, and she had only half a bottle of water. Just then, an elderly man came toward her, on his own bike. He asked what was wrong, and when she told him, he rummaged in his belongings until he found a long rubber strap, the sort of thing you'd use to tie packages onto the back of a bike. He attached one end of the strap to his bike, and the other to Dorothea's handlebars. Going back the way he'd come, he began to pull the Peace Corps worker on her bike, toward her destination.
As Dorothea recalls it, "It turned out to be one of the most hysterical, yet touching, moments of my life. What a scene we must have been. This poor man vigorously pedaling and dripping with sweat as he towed the American princess through the barren desert. Every villager we saw along the way shrieked in surprise and called out 'Ney Yibeogo!' (Good morning!) After a while, I began to feel terribly guilty, posed on my bike, waving like a Rose Parade float queen....
"An hour later, we arrived at my destination. He was exhausted, I was giddy and in awe of his generosity. I took a long look at his face and those kind eyes, and I told myself never to forget it, because this man is the heart of Burkina Faso. This man is not an exception in his culture. He is the very essence of it.
"Two years ago, at the age of 27, I volunteered for Peace Corps service to 'give back' to the world. Today, I realize I gained much more in return ... When I think back on that moment, when I was stranded on that deserted cow path, there was a part of me that was calm, because I knew where I was. I was in a place where you never feel alone or abandoned because someone will always come along to help you; where a starving woman would give her last bowl of food to a stranger; where kids are elated to play with an old tire and a stick. A place where family unity is everything and the guest is paramount.
"To the Burkinabé, these principles are more than just cultural values, they are a way of life. Burkina Faso means 'the land of the upright and courageous people.' It is one of the poorest countries in the world, but a place where I learned what giving truly means."
(from "A Lesson In Giving," New York Times, August 23, 2003)
