Missing Contributions

Yesterday, June 16th, was Day of the African Child. Below is some background on the day of remembrance:
In Soweto, South Africa, thousands of black school children took to the streets in 1976, in a march more than half a mile long, to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down; and in the two weeks of protest that followed, more than a hundred people were killed and more than a thousand were injured.
Source: UNICEF, Right to Education Project

This is a day not only remembered in South Africa but also in Sierra Leone. The past two years I would have already been in Sierra Leone, and in Banta, for several days. I would have gone to the celebration they cancel school for each year. I would have enjoyed the dancing from the children and their skits. And I would have endured the contributions. Contributions are a lovely invention whereby anyone who wants to share, talk, sing, pray, etc. may at a public event. They bring the community together, and they teach the Americans patience. And they last a really long time (see patience).

However, on my way home yesterday I was listening to NPR where they were discussing the day, and I found myself missing the contributions that had been shared earlier that morning an ocean away. I try not to think too much about how I am not returning to Sierra Leone this year. It just makes me sad and impatient to return. (Apparently I still need to listen to some more contributions!) My hope is to return to Sierra Leone next summer, but this still seems so far away. I will have missed a year of growth in all of the children's lives. I will have missed some teachers and friends who may move on. I will miss Aunty Chris's beautiful smile and her delicious food. I will miss Aminata's laugh. I will miss so much. I do miss so much. I miss this: