Can money buy happiness? I would say yes. A designer purse or a nice sweater can feel nice for a while, but does that happiness last. I would say no. True happiness does not come from objects but the significance they hold. I used to be obsessed with American Girl Dolls. They were my favorite childhood toy. When I see these dolls now, I think of all the happy times I had playing with them. I recently took an eye-opening trip to Arusha, Tanzania. The kids I visited had little to nothing, but found happiness in everything. Before I left, my dad and I packed four suitcases full of jackets, stuffed animals, shoes, and backpacks to give to the kids. While a princess doll may light up their world for a few months, they will always remember that feeling when they see the doll. My first few hours in a new continent were taken over by a little nine year old girl named Happyness. Over the next few days, she taught me how to find happiness in anything. Even as a nine year old, her smile illuminates any room she is in. 

Last November, my dad and I set off on a 40 hour travel day. From Newark to Dubai to Doha to Kilaminjaro to Arusha, I visited two new continents in less than two days. I can still feel the humidity dripping down my face as we walked off the plane in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. I will never forget my new experience of actually walking off a plane. We started our three night stay in Arusha by walking on the tarmac to customs while an Edelweiss plane was taxiing next to us. Even though I had printed out our visas (multiple times), I was still worried we would not get let in. I heard various stories of people not having the correct vaccinations or visa and getting sent back to the states. Our suitcases actually got held up at the security checkpoint while trying to leave the airport. My dad and I stuffed four checked suitcases with backpacks, winter-jackets, rain-jackets, stuffed animals, clothing, and toys for the then 32 kids Mesha’s Village sponsors. In broken English, we communicated to our driver that we were going to Sakina, Arusha and were staying with Mama Liz. Somehow, he just knew where she lived!

After arriving at Mama Liz’s home–she rents out rooms in her home to American and European aid workers–,we unpacked our massive suitcases, not sure how we got them through security, and sorted the contents into the piles created by the other Mesha's Village members. Mesha’s Village was created in 2017 by two sisters who, while volunteering at Ebenezer Orphanage, fell in love with one of the kids and wanted to send him to school. This first child, Meshack, was sent to Haradali Primary School where the rest of our kids go now. In Tanzania, access to a quality education is not given to everyone. Families must pay for their children to attend private schools to ensure they are well educated. Underprivileged and orphaned children, such as Mesha, are only able to go to school via sponsorship. As education has been such an important part of my life, I could not imagine Mesha, or any child, not going to school. Mesha’s Village was created to sponsor orphaned and underprivileged children in Tanzania, ensuring that they are provided with the opportunity to learn, grow, and prosper. 

I first found the organization when my dad told me about one of his co-workers taking a trip to Tanzania. I read about Mesha’s Village and spoke to the founders and immediately knew I had to get involved. Education has always been a vital part of my life. Around the same time I got involved by holding small fundraisers in my community, my family started sponsoring a little girl named Myra. She is currently five years old and loves attending Haradali. After the Pandemic, Haradali lost several sponsors and Mesha’s Village has been trying to fill in the gaps. The school will allow a child who lost their sponsor to still attend school in hopes that they find a new one. Myra lost her sponsor and we were so happy to find her. The school has almost 1,000 kids ranging from age 3 to 14 with boarding options. After Class 7, the kids move on to secondary school (similar to our high school) where all the kids board, so they are focused on their education. 

Right after we got to Mama Liz’s home, we were picked up and brought to N’gerasero Village. It was not until then when I really felt the differences. Living in suburban New Jersey and visiting various places around the world, I had never been to Africa or had any experience with people living in abject poverty. As we drove farther into the village we started to see more children running around. There were kids as old as me running around with their baby siblings. The homes are single room huts, with no electricity, kitchens or running water. The women of the village all work together to raise and care for the children collectively, and I have never seen happier, well-behaved, and kind children. Most of our kids live here because we rely on Mama N’gerasero to tell us about kids who are striving in her daycare. We are not actually sure what her real name is, but she is a vital part of our organization. She had a smile on her face each day we drove into the village. 

On our way to the village, we stopped at the school to pick up two of our three boarding students. Patricia (or Patty to her friends), age 12, and Happyness, age 9, board at Haradali, so they rarely get to leave school. Their families are not from N’gerasero, but some of their friends live there. Dressed in their school uniforms, tracksuits for Friday and the weekend, they jumped into the packed van for a long day of backpacks. Giving each of the kids a stuffed backpack has been a long standing tradition. Each kid receives a few outfits, three new pairs of shoes, an outfit for the holidays, and a few toys. One by one, the kids open their backpacks with just the small MV team and their guardian. 

From the time we jumped out of the van outside of Mama N’gerasero’s home to when we left Haradali at the end of the trip, Happyness decided she was going to be my new best friend. Her mom lives over 10 hours from Haradali, so she has boarded for the last few years. This little girl brightened by day by clinging to my side. It was then when I truly saw what happiness is. Happiness is even in poverty always having an amazing spirit and being insanely strong. Happiness is being willing to leave your family for months at a time to go to school. Happiness is seeing dozens of small children wandering around clinging to your fingers just to walk with you. 

Last minute, I decided to pack all of my brothers and my old stuffed animals to give out to the kids. These toys are in perfect condition, so there was no reason they should be collecting dust in our attic. I gave Sharifa an Ariel toy with long red hair. Most of the kids do not have hair as it is difficult to keep their hair clean between lice and no running water. She was enthralled with Ariel’s long hair and thanked me multiple times over the next few days. Sharifa is one of the bravest little girls I have ever met. Last year, she ran up to the team and in perfect English asked if they would sponsor her to go to school. This year, she asked us if we would sponsor her little brother Ismail. Thanks to our generous sponsors, we were able to find him a sponsor by the end of the night. 

These stuffed animals were part of my childhood and I can clearly remember the happiness they brought me. I remember receiving the Ariel doll from my grandma on my sixth birthday. I likely threw the doll back into a pile after a few weeks, but Sharifa will cherish it forever. And when she gets too old for the doll, it will go to her younger siblings or her younger cousins. This doll will light up so many little kids’ lives. Nothing makes me happier than seeing these toys having a second life. I hope to see Sharifa and her younger brothers playing with the doll next trip. As the day went on, we saw overjoyed mothers when their kid(s) received a backpack. Happy, Violeth, Sharifa, and Mariam clinged to my hands while we walked for several hours going home to home. Even the youngest kids followed us around all day. I had never seen kids so content in their lives. They were just happy. I am thrilled to have passed some more happiness onto the kids. I cannot change much in their lives, but I hope these small toys will make them happy. 

On Monday, we finally got to their school, Haradali Primary School. I was amazed by the campus. My dad and I were brought around on a tour by one of their admission heads. As a member of the student-extension of the admissions team at my high school, I have given several tours, and this tour was no different from any I have given. They have several facilities including a few quads, dorms for kids in any of the grades, a building for meals and town halls, a library with several computers, playgrounds for the older and younger kids, and a grass field for sports (mainly football). They love kicking around a ball on Fridays. I think my favorite part of the tour was visiting the baby class. The kids are so cute and scream “Good Morning Teacher” at you. This is the norm for each class. The school places a heavy emphasis on being immersed in English on campus. While in class or with us, the kids spoke mainly English. At home, they speak Swahili with their friends and families. 

By the end of our short trip, I met aspiring doctors, teachers, police officers, soldiers, and more. Sponsoring these kids allows them to dream about their future. I am so happy I joined the MV team. Mesha’s Village started with one little boy in 2014. Now, we have over 50 kids. We see the kids smiling faces in our emails from Haradali. They might get older each November, but their giant smiles never falter. 

So again, I would ask: Can money buy happiness? Yes and no. Happiness extends so much farther than just the moment when you open a toy you had been hoping for. To me, happiness is feeling when you see something that brought you joy, bringing another person happiness. It is a giant smile that a little kid has on her face when she is given an Ariel doll. Store-bought happiness is nothing like true happiness. I would never trade my memories from this trip for anything. They bring me true happiness. I have always considered happiness to be memories of activities or things but not the real reason–the people who made them special.