Hopes and Dreams

there were many thoughts that went through my head while in Niger. one of the recurring themes was hopes and dreams. i headed to Niger for many reasons, but one of them was to learn more about my dreams and my future. after a day or two there, i started to think about the Nigerien kids....do they have hopes and dreams?

i volunteer at a free clinic in Houston. when i see kids, i always ask them what they want to be when they grow up. if they don't have an answer, i'll leave the room for a minute or two and then ask the question again. i won't let them leave until they have an answer. i just think that children need to use their imaginations and hope. it doesn't matter if they don't become a policeman or a jedi, but they need to "want to be something".

what happens to children that don't have people in society to look up to? what happens when you are malnourished? can you even hope for the future? is their hope to go to school? to have a lot of children? to become a good cook so that the family can survive? or is it to venture to the capital and break the cycle of poverty?

i wish i had answers for these things. i have noticed that malnourished children don't smile. education is a dream for most children. the cost of public education is 6 cFa (about $13 a year). if i were somewhere longer, i would probably interview a lot of children to get a better idea about how children think. i know that they are creative in their play, but do they dread getting older? do they know anything different? do all little girls desire to have large families?