Grandmother's house is near a baobab tree.

The tree is tall, with a trunk almost as big as Grandmother's hut.

"When I was born 80 years ago, this tree was already as big as it is," Grandmother often said.

This made me curious. "How can a tree live that long?" I always wondered.

One day, a botanist came to our school.

I was excited and asked many questions.

"How long can a baobab tree live?" I started.

"Baobabs can live for over 4,000 years," said the botanist.

"Wow!" All the students expressed surprise.

"Is it true that they store water?" I asked again.

"Yes, they can store up to 120,000 litres of water," replied the botanist.

"Ooooh! Nooo! That is over 6000 buckets," I shouted.

I recalled Grandmother saying that during droughts, baobab trees supplied them with water.

"But how did they do this as if baobabs have taps?" Luso wondered.

"Is it true that the gods planted it upside down to teach it manners?" I asked again.

"No, but there are a lot of myths about baobab trees. That is one of them," said the botanist.

It is known by many names. Some call it bottle tree, the tree of life, upside-down tree or monkey bread tree.

All these names tell a story about how communities look at the baobab tree.

The Baobab is viewed as a symbol of resilience in many communities.

This is because it survives droughts and bushfires and lives long.

When I got home, I stared at the baobab tree.

I caressed the bark as if it were a child.

"You are a symbol of resilience," I told the tree.