A group of us joined the community volunteers to visit villages. We were visiting vulnerable and orphaned children that are going to be moving into the housing program at Mercy Touch when the building is completed. To get to the villages we walked through dirt paths and crossed a swamp. It was amazing how well the community volunteers knew the area and knew every family home we were going to visit. There were no street signs or directions posted and without our leaders we would surely have been lost.
In the villages there was often a store. There was no comparison to our grocery stores. Instead it was usually a 4 x 6 building with an assortment of a few items which often included; tomatoes, onions, potatoes, seasoning.
As we arrived in the Village and handed the first sweet out word would quickly spread that we were there. Very quickly all the children would gather where we were. The children were so excited to receive a sucker or a bouncy ball.
One of the greatest novelties for the children was viewing the pictures we took of them on our cameras. Many of the children have never seen themselves and have no idea what they look like. The giggles that often followed were very cute.
We came across a woman doing her laundry. She had a great set up, three wash bins were she rinsed soaped and rinsed. She washed next to the well that had been hand dug many metres deep. To get the water she would lower a canister by rope down the hole and then let the canister fill. Once it was full she would pull the bucket up by hand and dump the water into her wash bins.
All the women’s kitchens were a small designated area outside the home. Wood is collected to keep a small fire going that they cook all their meals on. Using charcoal to keep the fire burning is preferable but most of the women do not have the money to afford charcoal.
Preparing meals and general housekeeping fill the women’s days. There is no running water and the comforts that we enjoy in North America in these small villages. There is no air conditioning to combat the heat or running water to help make the preparation of food, bathing and house chores easier.
For most of the families living in the villages though they show great pride in their homes. Often flowers outside the front entrance can be seen planted in disposed of containers, they are often sweeping the dirt floors and entrance to their homes or they try to hang cloth to decorate the exterior.
Most of the men spend their days working on the farms. At this time of year they are beginning to sow their seeds by hand after having ploughed the fields by hand and when possible with the help of animals. Some of the vegetables planted include; maize, tomatoes and onions.
It was an emotionally exhausting day. The homes we say were maybe 10 x 10 if lucky. The roof was made of elephant grass, cardboard or any material that might provide protection from the elements. Most homes included extended family members and often the children of family members that had passed. This meant that it was not unusual to have 8 to 10 people living in one house. Feeding everyone without a stove or a fridge to store food in was difficult to comprehend let alone all sleeping together in the home and having a small area to sit. Add to this the lack of running water and sporadic if any electricity at all. Going to the villages was an eye opening experience and it makes one realize how very privileged we are in Canada.
MT Team
No comments:
Post a Comment