A Little Reminder

As we were watching the Superbowl on Sunday I saw a couple of players get into a small brawl – that seemed to happen a lot throughout the game – and I thought about Seuri K., one of our students in Tanzania.

During one of our last weekends at Orkeeswa, Allison and I traveled with the boys’ soccer team to Arusha to watch them play. At one point during the match, Seuri and one of the boys on the opposing team kind of fell on top of each other as they were both running to the ball, just one of those physical moments between players that happens all the time during soccer. After they got up, Seuri put on a big smile and tried to put his arm around his opponent but the boy threw off Seuri’s arm and ran away. Having witnessed this interaction, I watched closely for Seuri’s reaction. There seemed to be none; Seuri was completely unfazed by how his gesture of sportsmanship was received. He just continued playing.

I just hope that moment didn’t change Seuri. During athletic competitions, which were the core backbone to the culture of extracurricular activities at Orkeeswa, our students often had to face little injustices that we hoped wouldn’t affect their overall attitude towards sports. Of course, these injustices paled in comparison to the lifelong battles they fought every day of their lives – against poverty, against inequality, oftentimes against their culture.

It was a warm, humbling thought to be reminded of Seuri K. – of his big smile, his attempt at reconciliation, and my gratitude for having even met him – during the Superbowl.