1-9
“I have an idea,” said Pepe’s father. He went
across the clearing to a pochote, or wild kapok
tree, and picked several of the large, ripe fruits.
He gathered the downy cotton from the pods,
and put a soft cushion of kapok onto the top
crosspiece of each crutch. Then he wrapped the
kapok in place with strips of cloth. Pepe tried the
crutches again and found them comfortable.
“Gosh, Dad, you really fixed them great!” cried
the boy, smiling at his father with pride. “Look
how well I can walk now!” He bounded about the
dusty patio on his new crutches.
I’m proud of you, son!” said his father, smiling too.
As the health worker was saddling his mule to leave, the whole family came
to say good-bye.
“I can’t thank you enough,” said
the father. “It’s so wonderful to see
my son able to walk upright. I don’t
know why I never thought of making
crutches before . . .”
“It’s I who must thank you,” said the
health worker. “You have taught me a
great deal.”
As the health worker rode down
the trail he smiled to himself. “How
foolish of me,” he thought, “not to
have asked the father’s advice in
the first place. He knows the trees
better than I do. And he is a better
carpenter.
“But how fortunate it is that the
crutches that I made broke. The idea for
making the crutches was mine, and the
father felt bad for not having thought of
it himself. When my crutches broke, he
made much better ones. That made us
equal again!”
So the health worker learned many things from Pepe’s father—things that he
had never learned in college. He learned what kind of wood is best for making
crutches. But he also learned how important it is to use the skills and knowledge
of the local people—important because a better job can be done, and because it
helps maintain people’s dignity. People feel more equal when each learns from
the other.
It was a lesson the health worker will always remember. I know. I was the
health worker.