“If
you limit your choice only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect
yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.”
Imagine you are a commander of battleship. Your assignment is
to sail the sea and take your army to an island far far away from where you are
now. But, as the ship goes by, you know that your capability to reach the
island is outnumbered by the obstacles you face. And, you have only two
choices, go back to a safer place or keep going.
For Ibu Mora Wula, her life is similar to such an allegory -
which can seem too dramatic for us.
Ibu Mora Wula is one of our Mothers of Light from Hanggaroru
Village, East Sumba. A poor village which inopportunely does not have access to
electricity, located about 10 KM away from the main national road.
Five years ago, on a fine Friday morning Ibu Mora’s life was
torn apart. Her husband got into an accident and passed away while taking 2 of
their children along who were 4 and 8 years old at the time, while en route to
her in-law’s house. Ibu Mora now lives with 6 of her children. The unbearable
pain of losing a husband enveloped her life in a matter of second. One cannot
imagine how devastating it is to lose the source of your comfort and
companionship.
Although, she was grieving, she understood that moping around
and feeling sad did not have a place in her household. The family torch has now
been passed to her. Just like the story of ‘The Commander’, her choices were
either to give up or gain enough spirit to go on living life and chase the
dreams that she and her husband have set before.
Now, Ibu Mora Wula was successfully able to send her eldest
son to earn his Master’s degree (yes, you read that right – a Master’s degree!)
and is now focusing on her other children’s education. Her strength to not only
survive, but live through an adversity while living in a remote village
So, what is more thrilling than seeing one can prove the
adversity of living in a remote village with no electricity is not a problem?
What is more thrilling than seeing one can prove that living in an agony
because of having no husband beside you is not the end of the world?
Well, for some families, affording a proper education might
be common. But, for a family living in poverty and no electricity, there are only
two choices, playing safe or taking risk. It reminded us with a Roman Historian
saying, "The desire for safety
stands against every great and noble enterprise." So, never
let your dream interrupted by anything, like really, anything.
