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Dear John,
During college, one of my saving funds was an envelope I kept in my desk called "do something good in the world." In December 2013, I decided to use those funds to travel to Accra, Ghana and stay at an orphanage during my winter break. As I was interested in the medical field, I split my time between working at the orphanage and working at a local women's health organization with midwives.
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On Christmas Eve, Gifty (in the photo above) came over to the room I was staying in. Blackouts are frequent in Ghana as they don't have enough power to fuel the whole grid at all times, so we had to find ways to entertain ourselves without any power. I happened to have nail polish in my toiletries bag that Gifty found when she was going through my things. This news caught wind with the rest of the orphanage and although painting nails isn't a particularly big skill of mine, I soon had an assembly line of girls (and a few boys) in my room wanting their fingernails and toenails painted red. I asked them all what to expect on Christmas Day and if Santa would come to visit them. They explained that Santa would come to visit and while he didn't bring them any presents, he would bring enough food for them to eat until their bellies were full. Their excitement for the next day mirrored the same excitement I used to feel going to bed on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day, as soon as the sun came up, the children were up, sweeping and clearing a gathering area in the middle of the orphanage. Then the music began. All day, even in the midday Ghanian heat, the adults and children danced to the music. There was no blackout that day, which I attributed to Christmas magic. Local churches poured into the orphanage with trays and trays of food. A Black Santa showed up and danced with the children. After the children went to bed, I stayed up with the adults and drank some spirit that I could barely choke down and danced deep into the night. The music didn't stop until early morning the next day and I finally went to bed with an extremely full heart.
When I think of the magic of Christmas, I think of this Christmas and how it wasn't presents or trees or stockings that made it magical, but food and laughter and non-stop dancing.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. I hope you find little bits of Christmas magic throughout your day.
In Solidarity,
Alexandra M. Hunt Candidate for Congress, PA-3 |
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