NicolesLetters.org

Imagine if you are even able to, what it would be like to not eat for four days.  This was the reality of a family I spoke with.  Since the father’s death 7 years ago, it was a constant struggle. When would be the next time they would eat? With three boys to feed the mother was worried each day.  Being sick and malnourished she the mother was unable to work.  The neighbors despised them because they were so bad off.  They would rummage at the dump to look for food and would wear rags that others had handed down.  They were invited into the sponsorship program one year ago, the mother states, “Can’t you see we are less boney” and is so pleased that she can offer her boys two meals in a day.  She is also able because she is part of the “feed the family” each month, to have a place to live.  Her old shack was crumbling to the ground.   She now can have a roof over their heads and the children no longer have to labor to support themselves and they can attend school and even study in the evenings.  It is for reasons like these that the program is so important.

This morning Michele and I visited the home of two girls in the program. They are close to the school and we were able to see local living conditions.  It was just awful.  Upon arriving I immediately noticed a shack in the front (the kitchen) and that the roof of the “kitchen” and the home were held down by the weight of old tires and other miscellaneous items, bricks, etc.  The torn fabric doubled as a screen door and there was no glass in the window.  I entered the house and saw an area of two “rooms” where about 8 people sleep.  The front room is only big enough to turn around in and not run into a wall.  There was a teapot hanging on the wall and soccer posters from the 1980’s.  The ground is a mix of concrete, dirt and a small piece of linoleum.  It is dark as there isn’t any electricity, running water or other basic necessities.  Apparently the 15 year-old son that doubles as the main caregiver is a big soccer fan.  The father is almost never around and the mother is gone also.  The story of this family is too sad to tell but I will express the need to find sponsors for children like these and give them hope for a future and a sense of worth.  The hope is that the father will allow the children to live in the boarding section of the school next year.

I spoke with both of the girls before we went to their home as they first arrived at the school and Sylvia told me she wants to be a nurse and Prescovia’s favorite game is “netball” – different from basketball but in the same family of sports.  They are both so grateful for their sponsors to help them go to school and they pray that they will continue to support them.

Today we saw more of the kids in the community to get them their Christmas gifts and handed out more letters from the sponsors. I am going to encourage all of you sponsors out there, if you haven’t already sent a picture of yourself to send it to the address that you have for CHF and it will get to your child when the next person comes here.  They LOVE to see pictures of their sponsors.  I try and come up with any that I have on the computer but they like to keep them to show their families.

Took a tour of the dormitories today during lunch.  The girls are so proud to show me their own space and everything that they own is kept in their trunk. It usually takes about 10 seconds for them to show me everything that is their own.  I climbed to the third bunk three times. It hurts my feet to climb up on the skinny rails but they are so much more agile than me and they carry less weight too so it might not bother them as much. Plus they are just so happy to live in a nice, clean space.

Coreb was sporting his new shirt this afternoon. It’s fits just right!  There were three little ones hanging out having a very important conversation in the schoolyard this afternoon. Once they saw me take their picture it was all over and they were attached to me for a long time.  It was even worse because they followed me to the canteen because I was going to buy a drink and I bought them some cookies to share and they were on to me.  They hung around for the next few hours but they were good they just hung out and laughed and played in the dirt.

Michele saw the “boda-boda” today that was purchased from the sales of all the bead necklaces.  A boda-boda is a motorcycle but they call it a boda-boda because they used motorcycles to transport items from border to border.  The business that was created from the beads has supported the purchase of the boda-boda they in turn hire a driver to drive the taxi, pay him a salary and use the profit to reinvest into the bead/necklace business.

I also saw Winnie (Harty) today. She came to see me and I shared my lunch with her.  She also said that her mother is dead and that she doesn’t know where her father is.  It was a sad reminder of our conversation one year ago for her profile interview.  She told me that she is so grateful for her sponsor and that she is going to be a doctor one day.

I wondered where Michele went; she went to have lunch with Mulenzi and Henry on the bunk bed.  Turns out they used the peanut butter she gave them as gravy with their cornmeal and beans last night. They shared with their friends and used the entire jar of peanut butter in one meal and they loved with their beans and cornmeal?!! Mulenzi said yum it was very good gravy!

I asked Winnie to tell me about school.  She said that she is striving to be number one in her class.  I asked her how she is doing and she said that she is number two!  I couldn’t believe it!  Steve and I were in the office with her and we started clapping and yelling in excitement.  She said that there are 98 kids in her class. There are different clubs at her school and if one is a student that pays school fees then you can participate in the clubs.  She now is able to pay because of her sponsor and she has joined the drama and environmental clubs and participates in the choir and the traditional dance team.  She sang two songs and told me that the environmental club discussed soil erosion and tree planting near each home to prevent the wind from blowing over one’s house.  (I suppose that could be because some of the homes are mud, cardboard and possibly a tin roof.)

I also saw Kasozi Lawrence today and he was very excited to see pictures of the recent wedding of his sponsor.  He also said that he wants to be a doctor, he said that way he will be able to provide for his family and won’t have to wash cars for the rest of his life.  His father currently washes cars and before Lawrence had a sponsor he would have to wash cars with his father on holidays to earn money to pay for his school fees.  Tough times for a 12 year-old.  Now he is happy to be in school and have the dream to do something big with is life.  He said that he loves his sponsor soooooo much!!!!!!!