Learning in Community at The James Place
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17
Community is perhaps the greatest resource we can have as human beings. At HEAL the sense of community thrives. In America, community is a beautiful but rare gift. However, at The James Place you can feel it the moment you walk through the gate. It welcomes you.
I came to Jinja in the hopes of sharing my art knowledge and experience in a meaningful way, and was blown away by how much there is for me to learn here. As Barbara & I do crafts with the children, they teach me how to live every day in joy. The pottery department shows me how to crush raw clay & blacken the finished pottery with smoke. The sewing department let’s me attempt sewing with their manual machines on scraps of colorful fabric. While at jewelry, I learn the best way to hollow out holes in seeds & coffee beans. My favorite is basket weaving when Aunt Florence & Mama Susan teach me to twist raffia & banana fronds into beautiful patterns.
Jinja Heartbeat
Calloused hands comb through
the dark shine of woven hair.
Hands, as strong and gentle
as the baskets they weave.
Endless patterns, plaits & knot
entangled together by tireless hands.
Each one lays as a crown of beauty
Needle & thread in hand,
stitching light together like fabric,
seamlessly creating a world of living color.
A constant hum of pedaled machine
mimic the blanket of nighttime insects
A peaceful sound full of life and giving,
folded & offered with outstretched hands
Waves of laughter & clay streaked palms
bring the River shore to land.
Chunks of clay crash to dust against the rocks
then, like the tide, are spun into timeless forms
The felicity overflows every bowl in sight
while giggling floats above the mugs & plates
painting each one in joy & friendship
The most fragile materials made strong
Beaded cord on the throats of women
who have taken charge of their voice.
They breathe in time to their work,
count each Pearl of paper, seed & bean
like every moment they will not waste defeated.
Words, like gems, falling from their mouths
Here I stand, hot cup in my hand,
hot cup in my mzungu hand.
And I cannot believe I’m here;
tasting the sweet chai spices
that keep me awake
as the insects sing their music to me.
I am so blessed to exist in this moment
Standing under big open skies
I can feel the rain on my skin,
And see the braided hair of my friends
swaying in the wind.
I stand here, in a world like no other,
And I am eternally grateful
to be in it
