The Ham Represents

By coincidence or providence, I met up with the uncle of a friend with whom I went to Framingham North High Scool. We are Spartans! Joseph "Joe" Morrisey, uncle of Mike, grew up in the Saxonville neighborhood of Framingham, MA (known to many as The Ham). Since 1969, Joe has been tirelessly helping the deaf, the blind and many others with physical disabilities throughout the world but mainly in Africa. Joe has a quiet demeanor but is obviously a strong, dedicated man to his personal mission and blessed with immense patience. Throughout 2009, I have met many wonderful people. Joe will go near the top of the list for his hard work and welcoming persona. My parents remain at the top.
Last week, Joe kindly invited me to come along with him to the Mkasanda School for the deaf and deaf-blind, just outside of Moshi town here in Northern Tanzania. Although this was a rest day, I jumped at the chance to meet these kids and I loved every minute of it. After driving some 10 km, 5 of which were on a horrendously bumpy dirt road that made New Orleans streets seem flat and well maintained, we arrived at a small boarding school secluded in a half rain forest/half cow pasture grounds. After an introduction to the head mistress, by slowly spelling out my name in ASL, I learned that my meager sign language skills might get me by for the day. Importantly, only one letter from ASL (American Sign Language) didn't translate to the Tanzanian counterpart - the T. I put the correct way of making that letter in the memory bank and was off to see a class comprised of 10 teenagers. After a few minutes of observation, the teacher surprisingly asked me if I would teach her Math class. She then walked out of the class before a response. For the next 30 minutes I channeled all my energy to try and best explain how to multiply and divide fractions, through sign language, in a strange combination of Kiswahili and English. Shockingly, I think 80% of the class understood me, and I didn't make any math mistakes (that anyone can prove). Yes, I was secretly glistening (sweating profusely), but loving the challenge. However, not satisfied with my less than perfect percentage, I tried a few other tricks Framingham Math great Mr. DiDomenico taught me many moons ago, and by the end, I am confident they all could do the exercises of the day!
Slightly drained, I recovered by sharing a cup of chai (tea) with some full time deaf volunteers who had a much better grasp of English than I do of Kiswahili. After a short rest I was offered the chance to run a sports session. With 80+ smiling faces in front of me, I quickly found boundless energy and we had 2 hours of soccer instruction and games, including some education on health and fitness. Highlights from the game included watching a family of cows parade through the center of the pitch without a care, listening to the quiet laughter of these children enjoy a special day, and lastly, appreciating the refereeing by the children of their game without any whining.
When I finally hit the pillow under my lovely mosquito net, and I stopped my brain from frantically recalling math lessons from my days at Juniper Hill, Walsh, FNHS, and with GU's Prof. Bobo, I truly felt the Ham had represented itself quite well for the day.

Wikend jami,
Christian


PS - So that these wonderful students would always remember The Ham, I donated two soccer balls that had been brought over to Africa by my father on his wonderful recent visit with my mother. [See Schmoopies to the left...] I presented the two soccer balls in honor of two loved ones - Aunt Grace and Joel B. The school, and Joe M., appreciated the gift immensely.