|
Elizabeth Lamarche
I had the privilege of working
as a volunteer at Kasisi from October 2007 until January
2008. Why Zambia, you might ask, and why at 62 would a semi-
retired person want to volunteer?
Listening to Steven Lewis,
reading the newspaper and seeing the news about HIV/AIDS and
the devastation in Africa. I had been sending bits of money
to various relief organizations, like many people do, to
help alleviate both their distress and mine. I had also been
working with a group of women who made little doll angels to
sell in order to send money to various HIV/AIDS orphanages
and hospices in Zambia and South Africa.
At the same time I was taking a course with a book entitled
Dreams Have No Expiry Date on the suggested reading list.
All of a sudden I dared to dream. I wanted to go and share
some energy, time and love. At first, I dreamt big and
thought I would sign up with Volunteer Services Overseas.
Following a meeting with them I was afraid that I might not
have the stamina to do a one or two year assignment, so I
dreamt smaller. “The thousand mile journey starts with one
step.”
It occurred to me that I could offer to help out at one of
the organizations I was already working for indirectly. As I
am a qualified elementary school teacher I took the one
small step and sent a letter to Kasisi offering Sister
Mariola my services for a semester. Likely because they had
some knowledge of our group and my credentials I was invited
to come.
This is what I found.
Love and kindness
First and foremost Kasisi is a place of love and kindness.
The children are well cared for with a system of sisters
(The Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate, a Polish Catholic
order), local house-mothers (mummies) to take care of the
day-to-day operations, and some volunteers. Together they
ensure that the children are well looked after both
physically, spiritually and psychologi-cally.
The children’s home is supported by many benefactors; the
mainstay is a Dutch Foundation which ensures that the
operating expenses are met. In addition, there are many
other donors and benefactors, some local, some
international. It is amazing to see the work the Sisters do
to keep the place running and to ensure that the
contributors continue to make donations. There is always
only one motivator: “Is it good for the children?” And there
are a lot of children; 110 under the age of two and 117
school age children.
Joy
Although the kids have lost one or both parents and although
some kids are very ill with HIV/AIDS, TB or other health
problems, joy is what you see on the children’s faces
despite their situations. On arrival, the guiding principle
I was given to do my work was a simple one that says it all,
“This is the children’s home and we are one big family, so
if you wonder what you should do, in any given circumstance,
just think: how would I deal with this as a good mother?”
With that in mind, I was given free rein with the task of
tutoring the children according to their needs. It was a
wonderful experience to see the moments of understanding
light up their faces as they mastered addition, subtraction
and multiplication. Every day someone would complete a task
with satisfaction. Story time became a necessity! Maps were
drawn, flags made, pictures painted, questions asked, the
best one being “What are we learning today?”
The chapel
There are many things that deserve mention as I write this
testimonial; here are a few. The chapel is one of them: it
is a beautiful children’s chapel with elephants, zebras,
giraffes and trees as well as birds swooping and African
village huts gracing the walls. The children attend mass on
Sunday with singing, drumming and dancing as part of the
ritual. There is so much respect for their culture and
language it makes me happy just thinking about it. Every
time one of the priests speaks to the children he tells them
they are loved, that God loves them and that God is love.
That kind of religion makes a lot of sense to me. Here are
these orphans who could feel deprived and lost, being told
they are loved and being shown love.
The tenacity of the Sisters, nurses and volunteer doctors is
admirable as they ensure that each child gets the right
treatment. The daily routine of providing the antiretroviral
therapy is a big task but it is never left to chance; every
morning and every evening the children line up outside the
dispensary. Sister cajoles them, cuddles them and keeps them
coming without too much fear or trepidation. When a child is
ill the first priority is that child; sometimes that means a
trip to the Coptic hospital in Lusaka where the Sisters have
established a wonderful working relationship. Sometimes it
means getting funds for the surgery or the brace or for
whatever is required.
Food and water are provided with generosity and hard work.
Just keeping the meals going is a tremendous task. Each baby
needs feeding as well as each teenage boy needing seconds.
The routines are well established and the children have a
sense of security knowing what is expected of them.
The doors to the Kasisi compound are opened every morning
and closed when darkness comes. The children come and go
both to the local village school and to the church freely,
walking and riding bikes. The feeling of trust is strong and
a child is only curtailed if necessity dictates it to be so.
Kasisi feels like home
Small things that make Kasisi feel like home: Each child
lives in a particular house with his/her own age group and
an assigned group of mummies. The mummies ensure the
children get out the door everyday to go to school. Sundays
are special with each girl dressed for the occasion, often
with a great hairdo. The boys are dapper in their best pants
and shirts. This enhances their sense of self-esteem. The
older boys are big brothers to the younger boys. The older
girls participate in feeding the babies. The garden is a
much-loved spot; carrots are there for the taking! The
children celebrate their birthdays by being given a bag of
candy to share with their friends. The Sisters speak Nyanja
to the children as well as English. Everyone participates
with the housekeeping chores; the place is kept very clean.
Children dance spontaneously when the rains come. And last
but certainly not least there are always lots of hugs to go
around.
Kasisi is like any family, it has its good days and it has
some difficult days. It is a human place, a place decidedly
doing its very best with the resources it has and doing it
very well. I was blessed to be able to lend a hand. |
