4/23/07 -- morning
After breakfast (freshly prepared eggs, rolled pancakes, sausages, fruit and chai tea -- the national drink) we headed out to meet the kids after their first morning session. They get up at about 5, clean up, have a little breakfast and morning devotions, then go to their first class at 9. We rolled in about 9:50 and the younger children were lining up for morning tea, which consisted of a large cup of sweetened milk and tea and a big chunk of bread and butter (3-4inches thick!). Teri and Tom Jakl (our truck driver husband and wife team) joined me and Jackie Grignon in handing out the treat -- to nearly 500 kids! What a job. We went through several huge buckets of hot tea which kept appearing from the kitchen. I really don't have any idea how they did it. The kids didn't look at us much, still shy, but once in a while one would glance up and grin - and then you would see the light, and God's face in the child's eyes...the Jakl's were handing out the buttered bread and got to see first hand what reaction to chronic deprivation looks like. They had extra bread left after everyone had had a piece and when the children realized it, there was a frenzy while the kids nearly pushed them into the wall to get what was left. Teri said afterwards that it scared her a little but she realized that they didn't mean anything by it. The children often still don't know in their hearts where their next meal may come from -- even with sponsorship, which helps a lot, the children are still somewhat underfed (not a chubby one in the lot) and an early experience with chronic hunger is something that creates a need to eat whenever food is available, even if they have already had a good portion. It was sobering and eye-opening.
After everyone had tea, we were to do some home visits. Part of the trip is for the visitors to meet their own sponsored children, and encourage the relatives who take in these orphans. While the sponsorship is a help -- particularly with school fees, medicine and clothing, it cannot pay for everything and the families must do their best to meet the needs of the children. It is vitally important for the relatives to see that the people coming to visit really care about them and their families -- a love gift of corn and wheat flour, beans, corn, cooking oil and other staples is always part of a visit, and is presented with some ceremony, pictures are taken and prayers offered for the visitors, the family and in thanksgiving for the opportunity to share.
Before we left, however, I was able to finally meet Ellen Waila (not Helen -- just the way they pronounce it, with an "h"). Ellen had replied to Laureen and I regarding our "memory book" project with excellent suggestions and I had been looking forward to meeting her since she and I have very similar interests -- I am a social worker who has counseled children and families in the United States' (California) child welfare system for several years, and I know about grief and loss, as many of our children have huge issues with grief, loss and abandonment by their parents, even if they haven't died. These children's parents have mostly died -- they often have nursed them through the illness and now have a certain amount of stigma attached to them as orphans, not unlike our foster children. Ellen has been counseling the Tumaini children for a while now, and I was anxious to hear about her experiences. Meeting her was like finding a long lost sister. I can't remember the last time I had this experience. The picture above says it all. We were instant, and I do mean instant, friends. By the next day we knew we were sisters under the skin -- we have the same heart. (And the same name -- my middle name is Ellen). She decided to come along with us on some visits as she knows most of the children, and actually teaches some of them (her regular job is as a primary teacher, first-third grades).
About a dozen of us headed out with Joseph at the wheel.
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