It has been a long, long time since my last blog... I've had so much to write about, but the internet has not been cooperating lately. Either the network is down, or it's on for a few hours and then stops, or the power is off, or the connection is so slow that I spend an hour just trying to read and send a few emails, and then my patience has worn off!
But today I have some time at the internet cafe, and so I'll try to give you an update on how things have been going.
I made it back from Kampala with all the approval documents I needed to get started. So we went to the Manna Rescue Home and talked to the older children to see if they would be interested. They were all interested in participating, and were very excited about the fact that they would be using cameras. I think they were quite fixated on this, and I don't think they fully grasped the concept of single use or disposable camera's right away... so that was our first sensitive topic to clarify with them all!
Then we went out into the country side to find relatives and family members of the children who still had living relatives to get consent forms signed. I love being out in the rural areas. It is so beautiful, the land dotted with small subsistence farms, animals, green gardens, birds etc...
During our first day out it had not rained for quite some time, so the dust was our main enemy. The dirt roads get very dusty and when larger vehicles drive by, you are enveloped in a cloud. We took motorcycles out to get to the villages, because some of the roads can be so bad, there is no way you could ever get a car or jeep through the narrow paths or mud.
The next few days we had a lot of rain, so we were off battling the mud! That meant a lot of walking for us, when the road was so muddy that the motorcycle couldn't pass. I have some good video and pictures of the roads, but I don't think I can load them all today. I will when I get home in a few weeks.
So we were able to find some extended family for some of the children, but not all. Extended family used to be the social security net of Africa, but because of many things such as war, poverty, disease, HIV/AIDS, extended family is actually becoming more rare for many people. So many people have died, that children and families are really left on their own. Sometimes neighbours will help, but even their ability has been so streatched.
So the last few weeks I have been so greatly privaleged to work with 12 amazing youth. They youngest 2 are 12 and then they range up to 18 and we even have one boy at 22. They have been living at the Manna Rescue Home for about 2 years now. It is a lovely place in a good neighbourhood just out side of Fort Portal town. They have an office, a dormatoriy (one for boys and one for girls), a dining hall and a storage area. There is a temporary mud-brick kitchen out back where they have two cooks that prepare all the meals for the 30 children. And they do an amazing job to give these children adequate nutrition to support their health, as all the children are HIV positive. There are 3 nurses that stay at the home 24/7 in rotation. They are called "matrons", and are like the surrogate mothers of these children. There is also a security guard 24/7 to watch the gate and a few young men that help tend the land. The children are also responsible for chores, cleaning dishes, sweeping up, washing their own clothes ect.. helping to dig in the garden, just as they would be doing and more if they were living in the village. So they try to give them as much of a normal life as possible.
It is heart-wrenching to hear the stories of these children though, and to hear about the incredible losses they have faced - their parents dying, extended family dying. Trying to survive on their own as young children with their brothers and sisters, sometimes stealing food is the only way they survived a harsh life on the streets of the town. And then their health. Living with HIV, but not on treatment, their health was so poor, and they were malnourished, stunted and their already weakened immune systems not able to fight off infections and disease. It is really a miricle that so many of them were able to survive so long on their own.
This reminds me of a young man of 18 who lived on the street with cousin (who had also been abandoned and was HIV positive), and he did everything he could to protect her and keep them alive. When he came to Carol's he was so malnourished and stunted, he looked like a boy of six or seven. Even now he is small for 18, but you can tell that he has grown so much thanks to the medical care, love, food and care he receives at the home.
And then there are 30 more stories like this. And even more children living with HIV, orphaned, vulnerable or abandoned out in the community and rural areas that we don't even know about. So these children are really exceptional to be cared for in this way.
So they have been through a lot. And then they face stigma and teasing/bulling in the community and in school. Their hope for the future is so fragile. But you can see that some of them are adjusting and building their self esteem and confidence. You can see the strength they draw from eachother, and it is so touching to see how they care for eachother.
When ever I go to the home to visit or work on the project, I am always overwhelmed by the sense of love in the place. And it is a place that feels sacred, because you can see God's work, and the strength of the human spirit and the power of kindness and love at work. It is truly a miraculous place.
I think the younger children are adjusting well. I think the losses they have experienced, maybe they were too young to fully understand. But I worry for the older children, because they have lived such hard lives for so long, and now as they are in their adolescence, that can be a tough time. They get group counselling, but I think they have such big issues to work through, it can be hard. And as a teenager, you are trying to find out who you are, and are focused on your future and trying to make sense of the world. I worry that some of the older children have lost some of their hope in the future. They are told that they are dying and worthless by certain people in the community and schools.... I think they may believe this. So that is heart breaking.
But when were are their doing the photo project, they have so much fun, and it is great to see their smiles, and hear their jokes.
We've been out to a river nearby the home for photos, they had a good bye celebration for a German volunteer who had been working there for a year, we took the little kids to a swimming pool at a nice farm/resort the other week... I have so many pictures to show... hopefully I can post them soon...
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