The first time I met Harrison, our head "librarian," I was convinced he didn't like me. He was shy and didn't speak much English, which made communicating with him challenging. So on the days I went to the library, I would sit quietly and do my work and he would do his job of ensuring that visitors signed in and were well-behaved. Then one day I brought out my laptop. I was instantly surrounded by curious children eager to look at pictures and play games. Harrison, who would often listen to music on his cell phone, asked me if I had any music on my computer. I mistakenly said yes and was soon inundated with requests to hear Lil' Wayne and Kanye West. Sadly lacking rap music on my iTunes, Harrison settled on Beyonce. As soon as I turned on "Single Ladies," this introverted young man became a different person. He grabbed one of his friends and started dancing in the middle of the Reading Room circle. While not exactly library-appropriate behavior, it was vastly entertaining to see his "Thriller-esque" dance. Since our random dance party, Harrison greets me with a huge smile and shouts out "Mapalo is here!" (The kids decided I was in need of a Zambian name so they chose Mapalo, which is the Bemba word for "blessing").
Harrison is one of the most impressive young people I've ever met. He takes his librarian responsibilities seriously, and is always there to open the building at 8am and close it at 6pm. He dutifully ensures that everyone who comes in signs their name and he conducts at least one story time per day. He sweeps, shelves books, and greets visitors. But perhaps the thing I most admire about Harrison is his positive attitude amidst a life of hardship and uncertainty. He is like any other teenage boy, laughing and playing with his friends, making jokes. When this is posted, Harrison probably will have already been "re-integrated" with his family. Knowing that his departure from Fountain of Hope was imminent, I decided to interview him to get his life story before he arrived at the center. It is both incredible and heartbreaking. With the assistance of another Lubuto librarian, Elijah, we have translated my interview with Harrison.
In an attempt to fill the gaps of Harrison's history, I spoke with people at Fountain of Hope. Apparently, Harrison's family in Kabwe (which included an abusive aunt), thought the uncle had sold Harrison and that he had died soon after. The family even held a funeral service for Harrison. It's unclear whether Harrison's integration with his family again will be successful. It has been three years since he's lived with his family, and given the previous pattern of abuse, he may run away from home again.
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