Yebo What?

Let me explain the meaning "Yebo World". When I was 19, I spent 5 weeks in South Africa-Cape Town, The Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal and Durban. I fell in love with Africa; the people I met and the work that I did has guided each step taken since. Here I learned the word Yebo, which means "Yes" in Zulu. It also has the meaning of "Hello" as a reply to Sawubona, which means "greetings" in Zulu.  

"Hi!" - "Yebo"!

"Shall we go?" - "Yebo!" 

I heard my host family say it, high in the hills, early in the morning as the chilly mist that surrounded the roundaval houses cleared, and children called to the women cooking, asking them to bring more water. "Yebo!"-I am coming. I heard it on the streets of Durban, people rushing and pushing, carrying books and chickens and crates of dried goods onto overstuffed taxi vans, shouting into their mobile phones, "Yebo? Ahhh, YEBO!" to greet a friend.

Five Years later I returned to South Africa, and to Kwazulu Natal. This time I returned as a nurse intern, and "Yebo" filled the hospital where I worked. Is the water turned on today? "Yebo!" Can I listen to your lungs little boy, don't be scared, there you go, Yebo! You might remember hearing this word, during last year's World Cup. If a goal was scored in South Africa's name, the whole stadium would vibrate with the sound of "Yaaaay-boh, Yaaaay-boh".

I've worked, visited and been enamored with many other places, in central Africa, Asia and beyond, but this Zulu word will always be a quick reminder for me of all that can happen when you greet and say yes to the world. One other small side note, because of the Bantu language base throughout Africa, I happily found in Rwanda the name for yes to be a familiar sounding, “Yego”.

Yebo has stuck with me over the years and continues to resonate. Its seems that saying yes,and greeting the task at hand is always the right answer.