There’s a nice review of the book over on The Daily Beast. It recounts how a woman who had recently lost her godmother to cancer found hope in Nyaka and encouraged fellow students to raise funds for a basketball court for the kids. She felt uplifted, but not fulfilled. It was only a basketball court, a very tiny accomplishment against the backdrop of millions of AIDS deaths and thousands of orphans struggling to survive.
Jackson Kaguri with Allan in Nyaka, Feb 2010
Recently, I received an email from a man who is producing a documentary about the Nyaka School. He wrote that the basketball court that I raised money to build is one of the only flat surfaces in the Nyaka community and has been a lifesaver for a crippled boy named Allan. The basketball court is the only place where Allan can use his walker and keep up his necessary physical therapy. Last month, I went to see Kaguri while he was in Boston on a book tour. At his reading, he handed out beautiful new brochures for Nyaka, and a photograph of the basketball court was prominently displayed. Jackson told me that all of the big school events, including graduation and school parties, take place on the basketball court.
“Only” is such a deceptive little word. Sometimes it holds us back from doing what we feel we should, but human kindness is never an “only”. Never.
