Beautiful People {Sunday, Feb 22}

Wow, what an incredible week. I never would have imagined getting an opportunity to experience this. I am fascinated by the stories and the people I am meeting. The weather is very hot. I would guess the temperature is in the 80’s and the sun is pretty intense. Today we visited 16 homes. Conditions were very rough, so we spent most of the day documenting.

Here’s some quick observations…
-most orphans live with a “granny” some with an “auntie”
-usually at least one child in the home is “not well” (aka has HIV) -- a lot of the time you can see the sores on their arms, legs, or head
-most homes are brick with 2-3 small rooms (some covered with roof, some not)
-some take pride in a clean house and will joke with you about their home not being clean… although everything inside is polished inside and outside the dirt is raked; other homes are not well kept- they smell, have trash lying around, and clothes/dishes sitting in filthy water
-most families had small sections of crops growing on their property, a barbed fence enclosing their land and a creepy looking guard dog
-most families do not have enough mattresses- youngest children sleep on the cement floor
-none of the homes had regular access to clean water…water is dropped off once a week on Mondays

I usually am given the job of recording stories-- which I LOVE-- because I get to sit down next to the caregiver and hear their story. I love talking with these people. I love to listen to their needs and to show them someone who cares. I love making them smile. I work with the nationals for translation, which is cool. It is fun building relationships with our translators and telling them about my family and friends back home. I always say where I come from it is VERY VERY cold. In the winter, it snows! The land is very flat and we have lots and lots of corn. Their eyes smile and they say “yes…”. Haha I love them.

The story of one particular girl, Nonhlanhla, will always stay with me. She’s sixteen years old, in the 8th grade, and taking care of her 3 younger brothers. They live by themselves in a small one room brick house. They have nothing. I ask her my last question, “Is this a safe place for you?” She shakes her head. They need a new lock and the windows are shattered from a robbery not too long ago. We are led to believe she was raped during the robbery. The translator explains they often sleep across the street at their aunt’s house…. But the Aunt is “not good to them.” She abuses them and makes them sleep on the cement floor. She is taking the orphan grant money given by the government for these children and using it for herself. This 16 year old girl I am talking with has prostitution as her only option to provide for her brothers. It is widely known by the community this situation exists, but law enforcement is basically non-existent and social workers are few and far between. Four children, lost in a world of injustice.

This is just one story of many. It makes me angry and it breaks my heart. I am hopeful, however, that the work our team is doing sheds light. Every story is documented and turned into Rev. Tevey’s ministry to take action. It is not our job to go into these homes and give hand-outs. They need long-lasting solutions that need partnership from locals within the community. And they need our prayers. Please pray with me for these people.

As a sidenote, the nationals have been guiding us through the neighborhoods to ensure our safety. I have never felt threatened in any way in these communities, and we are always in groups.

I’m so thankful for my team. These people are awesome. It’s funny that only a few weeks ago we had never met, and now they’re like family. Everything is going very well. Even though our days are filled with some intense emotionally draining events, we still have pretty normal lives. We make our own dinners at home, have water fights doing the dishes, bake chocolate chip cookies (YAY!!), and play competitive games at night. Still healthy, safe, and thrilled about being here.