Maxim Kamara contacted me through FB some months ago. June of 2020 had a lot going on and I was all manners of energy going on and a young man from Sierra Leone came out of the digital blue. It seemed a sign to pay attention to. Maxim has since checked on me an my people nearly everyday. His mother, Annmarie, does as well.
It was actually just before my 40th birthday, Maxim asked for some money because his sister was ill. It took some doing, my license expired that day and Western Union needs a bonafide ID. Fortunately, Jasmine had made sure we all had passports a couple of years ago and so I could help Maxim and feel decent about enjoying the rest of the day best as I could. Firstly, I rearranged my front room to snap up.
Maxim is all about IT and I have paid for a few computer classes. They have been pretty basic so far. I looked into sending some old laptops to them. Shipping to the city of Bo is super expensive and so that problem has yet to be addressed. For now, he takes those courses when regular school is not in session.
His birth mother passed when he was young. Annmarie is technically his stepmother but she refers to him as her son (unless she is cross with him and then he is “your friend”). She works at the market selling ginger beer and other such things when the weather permits. There were fierce rains this summer. Much flooding and such. She asked for help getting onions and rice to sell because it is better business in bad weather. I very much want to try the ginger beer, though. We are trying to get it so I can follow her recipe. She dropped the phone she was using to record some of it in some ginger beer. That part of the story will just have to wait.
I asked Annmarie if she would tell me something of herself.
“Am a Mende by tribe born in Sierra Leone lost my parents during the rebel war my education ended.”
Her formal education may have ended but she can read at a highest level and has deep wisdom.
In November, she asked me who I voted for I explained the last president was “a lie, a cheat, and hateful man who uses power to abuse everyone around him.”
“Any one who has that kind of behaviour is not a human being.” She responded. We left it that.
I asked Maxim about his father.
“My Dad started his small scale of business since last year. Loaning small amount from a micro finance organization. Every month he pay a bite of the money. And he takes care of almost 11 people. Each day we eat one or two times a day. It not easy but we are trying our best to make things ok.”
“Y’all are good people. I am glad we met.”
“Yah you are very kind person. You are the one who is started changing our life. You are my brother now trust me. You have done a lot for us which most of our family has never done for us.”
I really haven’t done much but offer a the smallest bit of help while their energies have done much for me.
Nice Story