A couple summers back I spent the summer living and working in an orphanage in Kenya. I miss those kids everyday. I have since been supporting them and working with a non profit to help raise money. But its hard to send money there to help because of their poor money management skills etc. My friend Janet who started the non profit www.right2thrive.org is in Kenya right now visiting Neemaland Kings and Queens Orphanage where she also volunteered the year before I did. I am so jealous that she gets to be there and has the opportunity to hug all those children and show them love that they don't really ever receive. Unfortunately when she arrived she found the orphanage in a really awful state. Since I had been there they had been evicted from their home because it was too expensive and they had to move into something they could afford...which meant smaller and in an even more dangerous part of town. Janet found that all the kids were sleeping in what can only be described as tin huts (often what all the homes in the slums are made out of) and the adults were in the 3 bedroom house. It is winter there now so its usually damp and cold. The mattresses were spread across the cold wet ground, everything was dirty, the septic system was overflowing and most of the kids were sick. When I read this report from her I sobbed for a good two hours trying to hold my heart together, thinking if I pressed my hand hard enough to it it would stay in one piece. I then got my breathing back to normal and wrote Janet back with all the ideas and encouragement I could come up with to help her deal with the situation at hand. And then I cried some more. One can't quite understand how precious these kids are, how resilient and beautiful, until you meet them and see and feel it for yourself. I could listen to them sing all day long and the hugs are always endless and heartfelt. I try not to get upset at myself for feeling like I am not doing enough, because I know that doesn't help anything. I try to do what I can, separating my life and culture from theirs, because if you don't you can beat yourself up over everything you are blessed with knowing so many do without. The one thing I wish I could do was give people a taste of what I experienced with these orphans. I made a video, I have expressed my concern and love for them through letters trying to fundraise and the response is so little. If everyone gave up what it would cost for a single meal and donated it, it could change their world over there. But I know not everyone can see it the way I do because I have this immense love for them, I have read and heard their stories of hardship, I have witnessed their strength. So many of them come from similar situations; death of parents due to aids, separated during the wars between tribes and left homeless. There is this understanding amongst them that, yes, life has dealt them an awful hand but it doesn't do any good to be depressed about it. And so these children who have been through hell and back, beaten, raped, abandoned, parents dead, and so on, smile and thank God for all that they have. They play and laugh and love learning and not one complaint escapes their lips. They are a tremendous example to me. And so I can't help but think that they truly deserve more. They are forever a part of my life and I can't wait to see them all again. I will continue to love and support them, hoping I can someday get them all sponsored and into good schools so that they can have the bright future they deserve. For now the focus is keeping them healthy, providing a warmer, safer place for them to lie their heads down at night and then we will move on from there. I hope that even if people can't help them monetarily that they will keep the Kings and Queens of Neemaland in their prayers. For prayer can do wonders. Some might say I am wasting my time and energy, that these kids will always be in this situation once they run out of funds because they don't know how to provide for themselves. I say its not the children's fault. They haven't been taught. And one wouldn't withhold food and healthcare from their own children because they don't know how to take care of themselves yet, so why would I think it would be any different for these kids and those who are in charge of them? They haven't been taught correctly. There are 60 plus kids and they do what they can to feed and clothe them, but its not enough. It takes time and training and yes, money to get them educated and set up in a situation where they can succeed. So where is my million dollars already?? :)
