The Mamas of Agathos {Monday, March 30}

A thirty year old woman named Lungile (pronounced Loong-ee-lee) greeted us with enthusiasm as we pulled into the Agathos site on Monday afternoon. She is the youngest of 12, and came to Agathos in 2005 after losing all of her eleven brothers and sisters. About half of the 25 children here at the orphanage are her nieces and nephews. By the end of the week her favorite way to greet us was with a big “I looove loving you,” which is taken from the creepiest pop song in South Africa. Someday I will sing it for you.

Another thirty-some year old woman named Thanda (pronounced Taan-duh) also gives us a warm welcome. Although slightly shy and bashful, she usually thanked each of us with hugs at least twice every day for coming to Agathos... almost always followed with an “I love you,” “I love you so much,” or “I love your face.” One day when I was spending time with Thanda I asked her how she became a Christian. She told me about a time when she had applied for university and did not get accepted, and then contracted TB for the first time (she has had it twice) later that same year. She said it was in that time that someone told her about Jesus and she knew He could bring her hope and peace. Thanda also shared briefly a year in her life she “does not like to remember.” Early in 2000 she lost her father in a car accident, and a few months later lost her brother most likely to AIDS. This woman has experienced serious hardships in her life.

One day sitting in her room I learned that Thanda is engaged to be married on April 25th, very soon. It was very interesting talking with her about this as she is very nervous, or “it is making me crazy” as she put it. Her fiancé’s name is Sam and he is albino. It does not sound like she knows him all that well, which is typical for marriages in the Zulu culture. He lives far away and the last time she spoke with him was on her cell phone last week. She doesn’t know if she will talk to him before the wedding because her cell phone is now broken. Wow, I would flip out if that was me.

Thandi (Taan-dee) is another Mama here at Agathos and has two children of her own. The youngest, Kwanele (Kwa-nell-ee), is four years old with full-blown AIDS. He is regularly taking ARV’s, but his immune system is already so low. When we first arrived he had an itchy rash all over his body and was covered head to toe in Calamine lotion. Unfortunately the rash is the least of his problems, as he also has an advanced TB infection. Not only does he have terrible coughs, but you can hear the rasp of his breathing from several feet away. He does not play with the other children, but instead wants to be held all day. He will randomly burst into tears and throw his arms up at you to be picked up and cradled. It makes me want to cry every time. Next year they hope he will be able to attend Kindergarten, but I highly doubt that will happen. From what we can piece together, he was born with HIV from his mother, Thandi, who is also infected (although she does not show sign of infection). Situations like these are very difficult for me to process.

The last Mama of the group is the head cook responsible for preparing all of the meals, the mother of one of my favorite little boys, and has the best name ever…. She is Mama Flo. I’ll probably mention her cooking at some point this week.

These women are the Mamas here at Agathos. They are assigned to look after specific children as they come to the orphanage and given adjoining rooms to their kids. They work extremely hard and will each tell you their job is exhausting. I have a ton of respect for these women.