In Vietnam Desmond Tutu made an orphanage visit with SAS. He was so touched by what he had seen that he spoke tonight for us (which was his first time as a shipboard event). At 7:30 the whole ship came into the student Union (largest room on the ship). As he came out everyone instantly became quiet and waited for him to start. His speech was only 15 minutes long but it is one I will never forget.
He started off by talking about the children and the interactions between the kids and the students who were at the orphanage. How 5 nuns took care of 50 kids. He talked mostly though about how amazed we were that the students were showing so much compassion and how to be most “Human” we must be “humane”. Which made me really think about how true that was, how we as humans really come out at our best when we are acting humanely toward others. But in his 15 minute speech he touched our hearts the most when he ended with his religious message.
He started to say how god is so saddened by all of the things in the world that are inhumane. How children are abandoned and left hungry. How people fight wars for things not worth dying over. He said that god was crying and is asking the world why, but an angel came and wiped his tears. He said god is thanking us for allowing our voyage to change us, to open our hearts, to help us see how most of the world is living. In a whisper he ended saying thank you 4 times for us being there and showing compassion to those who needed it. He left the podium, the room in tears and we all quickly got up for a standing ovation as he left the room in shock. We didn’t know what to expect or do.
As I sit here, still in the union I am still in shock because of how heartfelt his speech was. Yes he started off a little funny and even danced a bit to make the room laugh hysterically. But in the end he left us all with a new view on our actions.
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