Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Heart Breaking

     I wanted to cry this morning.  Sitting under a shade tree with two of our favorite students during lunch break at one of our primary schools, I noticed one of them was eating her beans and samp with spoon.  This was unusual, because almost everyone here in rural Swaziland eats with fingers.  Just making conversation,  I mentioned that she was eating with a spoon.  Then she showed me her finger tips.  They were raw and bloody.  She said the rats at the camp had bitten her while she was sleeping. 
       
     These girls were our best students in grade 6 last year ... smart, eager, motivated, and just fun, cute girls.  Their families fled Burundi.  One of their mother's is the pre-school teacher at the camp.  Education is a value in her family. Life is hard at the camp:  cramped living spaces, no privacy, limited water and bathroom facilities, very little income, and yet these girls and many others like them make the very best out of so little available to them. The unfairness of life for these young refugees breaks my heart. We will keep trying to give them as much attention and knowledge as we can before August, but I fear it will not be enough.  Some of the refugees like these two young women will find a way to succeed, but many will not.  It just breaks my heart.


                The photo shows refugee girls from several central African countries after performing a dance. 

1 comment:

  1. Like you so eloquently expressed, I am heartbroken as well. Once again your posts share the struggles so many less fortunate endure. I know you will continue to do the best you can, it's all that you can do, but it still is painful. Shedding a light on these inequities in life makes your work all the more important. Hang in there and keep smiling. You may not be able to save all of Africa, but you're making a difference for so many.
    Best,
    Monika
    P.S. No soccer mags yet, but I'm still trying to find something suitable. Wish me luck.

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