Finally!
Blessed are the cracked, for it is they who let in the light.
-Anon
I had arrived at the hospital as usual on Tuesday morning, and started my monotonous routine of packing pills, when suddenly everyone started talking frantically and acting extremely concerned. A member of parliament from the ODM side was assassinated earlier that morning in the wee hours as he was coming back from somewhere. Needless to say, this stirred up more violence during an already touchy situation. This is no longer political; it's revenge now. As I'm wondering what this means for the country as a whole, and also for my personal agenda, Muganzi, one of my program directors, shows up to take me somewhere else. The hospital was no longer a safe place for me to be, as it is situated directly on the main road leading out from the city. I thought he was taking me back home, but alas he was not. Due to the unrest, there was no form of public transportation running in that direction at the time. As we walked outside I saw swarms of people just standing in the streets and out in front of their shops just waiting for something awful or exciting to happen. Where there was content only an hour before, there was now extreme tension standing stagnant among all the locals. The only thing in my mind was just to breathe in, breathe out, and put one foot in front of the other as quickly as I could while following Muganzi. We walked down off the main road and through the back roads for a little while until we came to this orphanage that was rather tucked away from all the commotion. A few other people were taking refuge there too.
So I walked in, and was greeted very warmly by a woman named Grace, who runs the orphanage, which is a small 4-bedroom house that is home to 24 orphan girls ranging from 3-15(ish) yrs. Now, all the Kenyans I've met thus far have been extremely hospitable, but this woman was the first to grab me and give me a huge hug! Then she smiles and says proudly, "Welcome Jennifer. These are my queens!" She named the orphanage "Neemeland Queen & King Palace", although there aren't any Kings there yet. At first they were all very shy and quiet, although they never ceased to smile at me. A few of them left the room, and the next thing I knew all the girls were marching out from their rooms singing to me! They sang several songs, including "The Saints Go Marching In", "Deep & Wide", "Father Abraham", etc, and then they sang a welcome song for me and welcomed me into their home. This went on for a good while and when they were done a few of them lined up to greet me and touch my hand (they don't shake hands here, they just reach out and lightly touch your hand to say "hello". This goes for anyone. ) They all introduced themselves as "Queen So & So". Not only are they queens to Grace, they call themselves that every time they address either themselves or any of the other girls. Grace thought it was appropriate that they feel very important even though they may not have been important to someone else.
So I played with them for a little while and taught them the "Hokey Pokey"...this was a great way to kill time for a while. Genius! Although when I eventually got sick of it, I had to slyly convince them to play something else. Most of their games were in Swahili, so I just tried to mouth the words and pretend like I knew what I was talking about :-) When lunch time came, we gathered around and had prayer time. Prayer time for them is not just a prayer to bless the food and then it's over...oh no. We stand in a circle and sing in Swahili together for a while, they raise their hands and shout, then they walk around aimlessly throughout the room saying their own prayers out loud for a while. We all come back together in a circle and someone prays out loud alone, we sing some more together.....aaaaaand THEN it's done! This lasts for about 20 minutes. Lunch is in the main room where everyone sits on a small stool and eats off their lap. After lunch, the girls go back to class which is held in their bedrooms, where they sit on their beds and write on their laps with pencils smaller than a pair of tweezers. I had the opportunity to teach some of the girls English at that time. It was hard because even though the girls in the group were all the same age, they were all at different levels in their understanding of the language. I did as best I could. After class time, they all got together once more and sang me off, high-fived me, and told me they'd see me tomorrow! So because of the unrest, I landed myself into volunteering at an orphanage...funny how things work out! Things were much more calm when I headed home that afternoon. This is just the way things work now...there can be unrest in an area, but it only lasts for a few hours and then it's over and people go about their own business.
Today I went back there again and was greeted very warmly all over again (although without the singing this time!) I was trying to teach a group of 5 girls very simple math, and two of them either didn't understand my English, or they were trying to take advantage of my Mzungu-ness. So I let them know I meant business when I took away some of their break time because they wouldn't do what I asked! I made one of the girls cry... I felt bad, but I wasn't going to give in and let her think she could take advantage of my niceness. She finally did what I asked her to do, and she eventually forgave me. All's well!
At lunch time, I asked Grace a seemingly simple question: "How long have you been running this orphanage?" She then invited me back to her "office", which was also her bedroom, and we ate our lunch there as we talked. Her story was awful. It took a lot for me to hold my composure as she let her words flow...
She was the 7th girl in her family, and therefore her father despised and rejected her for not being a boy. He was sick of having girls, and she was a major disappointment. He didn't let her go to school, when the other sisters were allowed, and she was beaten severely the whole time she was at home. When I arrived yesterday, someone noticed "Grace you have new teeth!" In 1986, her father shoved her face into a pile of rocks and cracked all her front teeth, some falling out. She lived that way for over 20 years...the pain so bad she would be brought to tears on a regular basis. Just last month, another volunteer was kind enough to pay for all the doctor's fees so she could go get it fixed, and her mouth has been pain-free ever since.
When Grace was 19, she was married. She had three children, two boys and a girl, only to be later rejected by her then-husband. He abandoned her with three children. She tried to go to her brother, her sisters...they all refused to take her in. Rejection to the max. Where do you go? They lived on the streets for a while until a missionary took her in. She stayed in a section of a church with her babies until she could make it on her own. She is a seamstress and she would sew and sew and sew in order to sell her items for cheap so that she could buy food. Eventually she was able to get out and have a place for herself....but this took quite a bit of time. You would think that someone who has been through this much would be full of bitterness and hatred, but as she finished her story, she said "I still love them. I have no idea where any of them are - my father, siblings, ex-husband - but I still love them. They have brought me to where I am today." Because of all the rejection she experienced in her life, she was able to be a light for those who are also rejected, unwanted by anyone, abandoned. She started by just handing out food twice a week to people on the streets who had nowhere to go. One day she found Queen Doricas lying in a trash can. How do you pass that by and not do anything? She picked her up, brought her in, okayed it with the police, and from there sprouted the seed of her orphanage. Queen Doricas is about 7 or so right now, and she is a very happy girl! All of them are actually. I look at them and even though they have nothing material to live for in this world, they all have many hands to hold, many shoulders to cry on. Although when she talks about parents to them, they get upset so she tries to stay away from that topic. But overall, they are very lively girls who have everything spiritual in the world to live for...each other. This is truly proof that out of the darkness always comes the light!
So out of Grace's horrible past sprang a light for people who might not have had hope. She has also taken to evangelism. She gets asked by churches all around the area to come and preach. She is such a hopeful, strong woman! Anyone who can tell a story like that and smile at the end of it has something deep inside them that not many people have. Peace. Understanding. Love of the best kind. She loves every one of those girls like they are her own, and you know she won't ever stop. She wants to build an actual school for them, but she's waiting for the funds to do so at the moment. As of yesterday she was wondering where her next meal for everyone would come from. Well today, without being asked, in walk three guys from the volunteer program with a 20-lb bag of rice and a huge grocery bag full of vegetables! So she is waiting for the right time to open a real school for these girls (and eventually boys...since they're all girls now, she wants to be careful about the boys she brings in) to attend.
All of this happened due to another act of violence. We may not be able to stop the violence, but good will always come out of the bad...something I've learned myself, even though I don't have quite the story that Grace has! She continues to hug me every time she sees me...several times a day even! And I feel like I have finally found a place to fit in as far as volunteering goes.
-Anon
I had arrived at the hospital as usual on Tuesday morning, and started my monotonous routine of packing pills, when suddenly everyone started talking frantically and acting extremely concerned. A member of parliament from the ODM side was assassinated earlier that morning in the wee hours as he was coming back from somewhere. Needless to say, this stirred up more violence during an already touchy situation. This is no longer political; it's revenge now. As I'm wondering what this means for the country as a whole, and also for my personal agenda, Muganzi, one of my program directors, shows up to take me somewhere else. The hospital was no longer a safe place for me to be, as it is situated directly on the main road leading out from the city. I thought he was taking me back home, but alas he was not. Due to the unrest, there was no form of public transportation running in that direction at the time. As we walked outside I saw swarms of people just standing in the streets and out in front of their shops just waiting for something awful or exciting to happen. Where there was content only an hour before, there was now extreme tension standing stagnant among all the locals. The only thing in my mind was just to breathe in, breathe out, and put one foot in front of the other as quickly as I could while following Muganzi. We walked down off the main road and through the back roads for a little while until we came to this orphanage that was rather tucked away from all the commotion. A few other people were taking refuge there too.
So I walked in, and was greeted very warmly by a woman named Grace, who runs the orphanage, which is a small 4-bedroom house that is home to 24 orphan girls ranging from 3-15(ish) yrs. Now, all the Kenyans I've met thus far have been extremely hospitable, but this woman was the first to grab me and give me a huge hug! Then she smiles and says proudly, "Welcome Jennifer. These are my queens!" She named the orphanage "Neemeland Queen & King Palace", although there aren't any Kings there yet. At first they were all very shy and quiet, although they never ceased to smile at me. A few of them left the room, and the next thing I knew all the girls were marching out from their rooms singing to me! They sang several songs, including "The Saints Go Marching In", "Deep & Wide", "Father Abraham", etc, and then they sang a welcome song for me and welcomed me into their home. This went on for a good while and when they were done a few of them lined up to greet me and touch my hand (they don't shake hands here, they just reach out and lightly touch your hand to say "hello". This goes for anyone. ) They all introduced themselves as "Queen So & So". Not only are they queens to Grace, they call themselves that every time they address either themselves or any of the other girls. Grace thought it was appropriate that they feel very important even though they may not have been important to someone else.
So I played with them for a little while and taught them the "Hokey Pokey"...this was a great way to kill time for a while. Genius! Although when I eventually got sick of it, I had to slyly convince them to play something else. Most of their games were in Swahili, so I just tried to mouth the words and pretend like I knew what I was talking about :-) When lunch time came, we gathered around and had prayer time. Prayer time for them is not just a prayer to bless the food and then it's over...oh no. We stand in a circle and sing in Swahili together for a while, they raise their hands and shout, then they walk around aimlessly throughout the room saying their own prayers out loud for a while. We all come back together in a circle and someone prays out loud alone, we sing some more together.....aaaaaand THEN it's done! This lasts for about 20 minutes. Lunch is in the main room where everyone sits on a small stool and eats off their lap. After lunch, the girls go back to class which is held in their bedrooms, where they sit on their beds and write on their laps with pencils smaller than a pair of tweezers. I had the opportunity to teach some of the girls English at that time. It was hard because even though the girls in the group were all the same age, they were all at different levels in their understanding of the language. I did as best I could. After class time, they all got together once more and sang me off, high-fived me, and told me they'd see me tomorrow! So because of the unrest, I landed myself into volunteering at an orphanage...funny how things work out! Things were much more calm when I headed home that afternoon. This is just the way things work now...there can be unrest in an area, but it only lasts for a few hours and then it's over and people go about their own business.
Today I went back there again and was greeted very warmly all over again (although without the singing this time!) I was trying to teach a group of 5 girls very simple math, and two of them either didn't understand my English, or they were trying to take advantage of my Mzungu-ness. So I let them know I meant business when I took away some of their break time because they wouldn't do what I asked! I made one of the girls cry... I felt bad, but I wasn't going to give in and let her think she could take advantage of my niceness. She finally did what I asked her to do, and she eventually forgave me. All's well!
At lunch time, I asked Grace a seemingly simple question: "How long have you been running this orphanage?" She then invited me back to her "office", which was also her bedroom, and we ate our lunch there as we talked. Her story was awful. It took a lot for me to hold my composure as she let her words flow...
She was the 7th girl in her family, and therefore her father despised and rejected her for not being a boy. He was sick of having girls, and she was a major disappointment. He didn't let her go to school, when the other sisters were allowed, and she was beaten severely the whole time she was at home. When I arrived yesterday, someone noticed "Grace you have new teeth!" In 1986, her father shoved her face into a pile of rocks and cracked all her front teeth, some falling out. She lived that way for over 20 years...the pain so bad she would be brought to tears on a regular basis. Just last month, another volunteer was kind enough to pay for all the doctor's fees so she could go get it fixed, and her mouth has been pain-free ever since.
When Grace was 19, she was married. She had three children, two boys and a girl, only to be later rejected by her then-husband. He abandoned her with three children. She tried to go to her brother, her sisters...they all refused to take her in. Rejection to the max. Where do you go? They lived on the streets for a while until a missionary took her in. She stayed in a section of a church with her babies until she could make it on her own. She is a seamstress and she would sew and sew and sew in order to sell her items for cheap so that she could buy food. Eventually she was able to get out and have a place for herself....but this took quite a bit of time. You would think that someone who has been through this much would be full of bitterness and hatred, but as she finished her story, she said "I still love them. I have no idea where any of them are - my father, siblings, ex-husband - but I still love them. They have brought me to where I am today." Because of all the rejection she experienced in her life, she was able to be a light for those who are also rejected, unwanted by anyone, abandoned. She started by just handing out food twice a week to people on the streets who had nowhere to go. One day she found Queen Doricas lying in a trash can. How do you pass that by and not do anything? She picked her up, brought her in, okayed it with the police, and from there sprouted the seed of her orphanage. Queen Doricas is about 7 or so right now, and she is a very happy girl! All of them are actually. I look at them and even though they have nothing material to live for in this world, they all have many hands to hold, many shoulders to cry on. Although when she talks about parents to them, they get upset so she tries to stay away from that topic. But overall, they are very lively girls who have everything spiritual in the world to live for...each other. This is truly proof that out of the darkness always comes the light!
So out of Grace's horrible past sprang a light for people who might not have had hope. She has also taken to evangelism. She gets asked by churches all around the area to come and preach. She is such a hopeful, strong woman! Anyone who can tell a story like that and smile at the end of it has something deep inside them that not many people have. Peace. Understanding. Love of the best kind. She loves every one of those girls like they are her own, and you know she won't ever stop. She wants to build an actual school for them, but she's waiting for the funds to do so at the moment. As of yesterday she was wondering where her next meal for everyone would come from. Well today, without being asked, in walk three guys from the volunteer program with a 20-lb bag of rice and a huge grocery bag full of vegetables! So she is waiting for the right time to open a real school for these girls (and eventually boys...since they're all girls now, she wants to be careful about the boys she brings in) to attend.
All of this happened due to another act of violence. We may not be able to stop the violence, but good will always come out of the bad...something I've learned myself, even though I don't have quite the story that Grace has! She continues to hug me every time she sees me...several times a day even! And I feel like I have finally found a place to fit in as far as volunteering goes.
posted by Jen Foster | Wednesday, January 30, 2008
4 Comments:
What a beautiful and rewarding experience (except for that part about being in danger!!...speaking as a mother!) You now can be that shining light in a much more personal way, and give encouragement and hope to those young women.
We love reading your updates; it's just like listening to you speak, and I can 'see' the emotion you must be feeling.
We love you and continue to pray for your well-being, both physically and spiritually.
Mom
Jen, I was really moved while reading about the woman at the orphanage and what she's doing with the girls there. Its amazing and uplifting to hear of people who have suffered so much hardship and still have the strength to live fully and to love. I told Richie all about it, because I just felt like I had to pass the story on to someone else after reading it. It reminds me also of something I read recently, about the fact that every day we have the opportunity to choose misery, for ourselves and others, or to choose to live and to love, no matter what has happened to us in our lives. I hope you enjoy your time with the lovely people you'll be working with. Grace seems like a very fitting name for the woman you've met. Prayers for everyone! And lots of love, Kim
Jen,
I'm just catching up - what an amazing experience. I feel like I'm reading a novel not real life! I'm glad that the work at the orphanage feels more rewarding and i love that they are called "queens". Grace is such a survivor and an inspiration. There was an article in the Post this week about a teacher in McLean originally from kenya who sponsors a school in kenya and he talked about how worried he is about his family still there and his students.
Stay safe!
Hugs, Jennifer
Here I am feeling irritated that the Patriots coughed up the Super Bowl while you're out there doing great things and making a difference, Jen. What a terrific experience this is shaping out to be. Keep making us proud!
Todd
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