Everyone has a story - or two....

Hello friends,
I want to add a component to my previous note about making the effort to look beyond people's exterior. An old friend who spent time with me in Zambia raised a very important point yesterday. It concerned the example I gave of the woman who sells samosas to raise money for school. My friend questioned my representation of her, asking if I had potentially painted her as a 'person working hard for purely noble purposes' when in fact she had also used the same money to purchase a satellite dish and a home theatre system from my partner's business. One of the main reasons that I chose to use this specific, isolated incident as an example in my previous note is that I remember the exact moment when the 'samosa lady' became much more to me. This occurred after taking the time to talk with her and discovering that she had a husband and children and aspired to be a nurse. I remember that she had surprised me and the inspiration of my writing had been people who had surprised me, whether positively or negatively.
In my note, though, I may have painted a romanticized version of this Zambian woman, a mistake too often practiced by our Western society and development organizations. After reading my friend's message, I was both embarrassed and relieved. Embarrassed that I had come across as attempting to simplify a human being down to one dimension of her character - the very thing that I felt I had fought against when telling my stories of Zambia. Relieved that there are people who have the courage and insight to bring this potential misinterpretation of my writing to light. Most of the people I met in Zambia, if given the opportunities, would behave similarily to many of the people I know in Canada. Neither population is inherently more selfless, co-operative, or noble than the other. Mothers worried about their children's health, teenagers worried about the opposite sex, young adults worried about making money and having a vehicle. We really are all human, and after my time in Zambia, this belief was only solidified and my determination to learn about people's motivations and experiences only increased.