This is Chico and his family next to their "house".
Saturday, June 21, 2008
One of our favorite home care volunteers...
I've been trying and trying to add pictures, but with the slow internet here it hasn't cooperated until today. This is Adao teaching a little orphan how to multiply and divide using kernals of corn.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Hope
Last week Dara, Carlos and I went on a two hour road trip to Nhamatanda. This is a new area that Rubatano Home Based Care (who I work with) is planning on expanding to. Carlos had previously preached at a church in Nhamatanda, and the pastor had become very interested in starting home based care in his church to care for the widows, sick, and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC’s) in their area.
We drove out to meet with the pastor and the future volunteers. We arrived at a humble little mud church and met 13 people who were excited to be trained and get working. They had already identified different OVC’s in their area desperate for help. We then traveled to another church ten km away where another 12 volunteers were ready and had identified more OVC’s. I was so touched and encouraged! A community that has gathered 25 volunteers through their own initiative to take care of their poor, sick and orphaned neighbors.
One family that we met really stood out to Dara and myself. We walked far into the community, down little paths, through fields, and came upon a man named Chico and his two children, Luisa 7, and Joao 9. Their mother had died in 2003, and their father was in a work related car accident that left him with pain and limited strength in his right arm- able to lift only a couple kilos. Their house had only three walls, and no roof, so they were living under a small sheet of plastic supported by one wall and a few bamboo poles. Recently someone had stolen the family’s mattress and blanket leaving them with only a sheet to cover themselves with at night. Bleak. We felt terrible leaving them- giving them only our prayers and a little money.
There are so many people here who are just as desperate as they are. AIDS is a very big problem- spreading like crazy, and making orphans of thousands. This is largely because the town is situated on a busy intersection that many truck drivers pass through to get to other countries. These drivers take advantage of desperately poor girls and women who will sell themselves for as little as 40 cents. Bleak.
There are so many heavy, heavy things here that could envelope you if you let it. There is hope though! There are people here that will stand up and take care of their community. 25 new men and women who are so excited to start. Each day when I work with the volunteers I am encouraged and amazed by their love and devotion. They are so kind to their orphans and patients! Yesterday I watched as one of the young volunteers, 24 year old Adao, taught a young orphan how to multiply and divide using pieces of corn. I saw another orphan, one in a family of 6 young kids, run up to him with joy and hug him. The volunteers have been wonderful to us, and have made us feel so welcome here. As long as there is prayer (this is key) and people who will stand up and care for their neighbors, there is hope!
We drove out to meet with the pastor and the future volunteers. We arrived at a humble little mud church and met 13 people who were excited to be trained and get working. They had already identified different OVC’s in their area desperate for help. We then traveled to another church ten km away where another 12 volunteers were ready and had identified more OVC’s. I was so touched and encouraged! A community that has gathered 25 volunteers through their own initiative to take care of their poor, sick and orphaned neighbors.
One family that we met really stood out to Dara and myself. We walked far into the community, down little paths, through fields, and came upon a man named Chico and his two children, Luisa 7, and Joao 9. Their mother had died in 2003, and their father was in a work related car accident that left him with pain and limited strength in his right arm- able to lift only a couple kilos. Their house had only three walls, and no roof, so they were living under a small sheet of plastic supported by one wall and a few bamboo poles. Recently someone had stolen the family’s mattress and blanket leaving them with only a sheet to cover themselves with at night. Bleak. We felt terrible leaving them- giving them only our prayers and a little money.
There are so many people here who are just as desperate as they are. AIDS is a very big problem- spreading like crazy, and making orphans of thousands. This is largely because the town is situated on a busy intersection that many truck drivers pass through to get to other countries. These drivers take advantage of desperately poor girls and women who will sell themselves for as little as 40 cents. Bleak.
There are so many heavy, heavy things here that could envelope you if you let it. There is hope though! There are people here that will stand up and take care of their community. 25 new men and women who are so excited to start. Each day when I work with the volunteers I am encouraged and amazed by their love and devotion. They are so kind to their orphans and patients! Yesterday I watched as one of the young volunteers, 24 year old Adao, taught a young orphan how to multiply and divide using pieces of corn. I saw another orphan, one in a family of 6 young kids, run up to him with joy and hug him. The volunteers have been wonderful to us, and have made us feel so welcome here. As long as there is prayer (this is key) and people who will stand up and care for their neighbors, there is hope!
Friday, June 6, 2008
grammer...
As I was deleting some computer files, I came upon an old blog of mine and read the line “he spoke good English”. Apparently I don’t. I’m sure this was noticed immediately by my Mother and Aunts who see grammatical errors from a mile away. For the record let me just say that “he spoke English very well”…. Sorry for letting you down Mom- you did teach me GOOD.
I’m enjoying my time here in Mozambique so far. We’re settling into the community really well and have met so many nice families and couples that have really made us feel welcome.
Of course there are still a few things that we’re getting used to…
1.The language- although we’re picking it up, it has been a challenge. Even simple things are made tricky. The first time we went into the bakery and proudly used our Portuguese to ask for one bag of 20 buns, we came out with two bags of thirty buns. Another time I came out with a backpack full of buns because they had run out of plastic bags.
2.Snakes- while walking to a patient’s house yesterday the volunteers suddenly stopped and pointed to a big snake laying on the path with is head down a hole. Three men sprung into action throwing rocks and dirt clumps, and beating it with a stick. It turned out it was a spitting cobra. Once it was dead, our patient, an older woman with tuberculosis proudly held it up for a picture.
3.The Food- I am getting quite accustomed to eating a variety of meats and the traditional maize-meal staple of “sadza” or “pap”. Yesterday Dara and I took two 18 y.o. American girls with us out on our home care visit (there is a team of 20 young people here for 10 days). After the visits we usually eat a meal with the volunteers. The girls gave the food a try, but it was obvious that they were struggling. I realized that I was starting to enjoy the food a bit too much when I leaned over to one of the girls and said “are you going to eat your goat?” and finished it for her.
4.The Missionary Garb- Dara and I always have to wear long “missionary” skirts when we are out in the community. At times it’s a bit of a struggle to feel cute here- with the wardrobe requirements, bucket baths, bugs, heat, etc. Yesterday we were out with the above mentioned two girls. Dara and I were feeling pretty good about the long skirts and t-shirts we’d chosen for the day until one of the girls asked, “so do you always dress like this?” Um, ya, we do.
5.Bugs- There is a huge variety of oversized, weird bugs that live with us here. When we were first orientated to the house we found three monstrous spiders in our bathroom. Our host commented “oh those are crack spiders, we don’t kill those”. So Dara and I followed her lead and have been cautiously cohabitating quite nicely with them. I’ve been watching a 2.5 inch spider on the my ceiling the past four nights and am glad to say he’s only moved about a foot. We’ve gotten pretty used to all the geckos on the walls (although I was slightly alarmed to see one on Dara’s back while she was cooking), and don’t mind the mosquito nets. So far the only thing we always kill when we see are the cockroaches. We think we have those under control though…
Of course there are still a few things that we’re getting used to…
1.The language- although we’re picking it up, it has been a challenge. Even simple things are made tricky. The first time we went into the bakery and proudly used our Portuguese to ask for one bag of 20 buns, we came out with two bags of thirty buns. Another time I came out with a backpack full of buns because they had run out of plastic bags.
2.Snakes- while walking to a patient’s house yesterday the volunteers suddenly stopped and pointed to a big snake laying on the path with is head down a hole. Three men sprung into action throwing rocks and dirt clumps, and beating it with a stick. It turned out it was a spitting cobra. Once it was dead, our patient, an older woman with tuberculosis proudly held it up for a picture.
3.The Food- I am getting quite accustomed to eating a variety of meats and the traditional maize-meal staple of “sadza” or “pap”. Yesterday Dara and I took two 18 y.o. American girls with us out on our home care visit (there is a team of 20 young people here for 10 days). After the visits we usually eat a meal with the volunteers. The girls gave the food a try, but it was obvious that they were struggling. I realized that I was starting to enjoy the food a bit too much when I leaned over to one of the girls and said “are you going to eat your goat?” and finished it for her.
4.The Missionary Garb- Dara and I always have to wear long “missionary” skirts when we are out in the community. At times it’s a bit of a struggle to feel cute here- with the wardrobe requirements, bucket baths, bugs, heat, etc. Yesterday we were out with the above mentioned two girls. Dara and I were feeling pretty good about the long skirts and t-shirts we’d chosen for the day until one of the girls asked, “so do you always dress like this?” Um, ya, we do.
5.Bugs- There is a huge variety of oversized, weird bugs that live with us here. When we were first orientated to the house we found three monstrous spiders in our bathroom. Our host commented “oh those are crack spiders, we don’t kill those”. So Dara and I followed her lead and have been cautiously cohabitating quite nicely with them. I’ve been watching a 2.5 inch spider on the my ceiling the past four nights and am glad to say he’s only moved about a foot. We’ve gotten pretty used to all the geckos on the walls (although I was slightly alarmed to see one on Dara’s back while she was cooking), and don’t mind the mosquito nets. So far the only thing we always kill when we see are the cockroaches. We think we have those under control though…
Friday, May 16, 2008
mailing address
Here's my mailing address- just in case someone is inspired to write!
Laura Eliason
Associacao Rubatano
PO Box 454
Manica Chimoio
Mozambique
Laura Eliason
Associacao Rubatano
PO Box 454
Manica Chimoio
Mozambique
a whole different world
We have arrived in Mozambique! We landed in Beira on Sunday afternoon. One of the men from the mission came to pick us up, and drove us to Maforga mission- about a three hour drive seemingly into the middle of no where. We just kept driving and driving- we passed a few little villages, no towns, high grass and rolling hills. Once we got to Maforga (30 min outside of Chimoio) we drove about 3 km down this dirt road through a forest. We were a bit concerned- It barely looked like a road! It was better in daylight. We have a really cute little house that has a lovely veranda.
The area we live on is like a huge farm/saw mill/ school/ village/ church commune/baby clinic. We live right next door to a lady called 'Nana' who is a really cool, old retired RN and has been here most of her life. Every morning at 7:30am on the dot her sheep and cows are herded out of her corral and across our front yard to who knows where. There are also goats, chickens, guinea fowl, mosquitoes (we sleep under mozy nets) and little geckos. The other day Dara was cooking and she didn't know it but had a little lizard on her back- I about screamed!
Today we went out with two of the Rubatono home based care workers (who we will be working with closely). We were very impressed by them. Although their nursing knowledge is limited, they are very committed to their job. We went out with a young man named Adau today. He spoke English very well, and was a great interpreter for us. Every Tuesday and Friday Adau goes out and sees the same13 patients and orphans. It sometimes takes him 7 hours to see them all- walking or riding a bike.
We walked and walked and walked- It is rural here! We walked through little paths in fields of grass that were at least 12 feet tall- visiting little villages that you would picture when you think of Africa. I actually didn’t think these kind of places still existed. They cook over a fire, live in little round huts made of mud or bricks with straw roofs. Babies and kids EVERYWHERE. Little kids with babies on their backs. Lots of the kids have big tummys, have runny noses and wearing dirty clothes that are full of holes. Poorer than poor. I am humbled by some of the orphans that we met today- getting themselves washed and ready to walk to school all on their own. Wearing their cleanest clothes, and often not even having shoes- going to schools that are benches under straw awnings or trees.
It is overwhelming, but we are excited to start working. We’ll be able to give out medications, work with the hospitals and clinics, help with paperwork and different teams that are coming, and lots of other things. We will be busy!
The area we live on is like a huge farm/saw mill/ school/ village/ church commune/baby clinic. We live right next door to a lady called 'Nana' who is a really cool, old retired RN and has been here most of her life. Every morning at 7:30am on the dot her sheep and cows are herded out of her corral and across our front yard to who knows where. There are also goats, chickens, guinea fowl, mosquitoes (we sleep under mozy nets) and little geckos. The other day Dara was cooking and she didn't know it but had a little lizard on her back- I about screamed!
Today we went out with two of the Rubatono home based care workers (who we will be working with closely). We were very impressed by them. Although their nursing knowledge is limited, they are very committed to their job. We went out with a young man named Adau today. He spoke English very well, and was a great interpreter for us. Every Tuesday and Friday Adau goes out and sees the same13 patients and orphans. It sometimes takes him 7 hours to see them all- walking or riding a bike.
We walked and walked and walked- It is rural here! We walked through little paths in fields of grass that were at least 12 feet tall- visiting little villages that you would picture when you think of Africa. I actually didn’t think these kind of places still existed. They cook over a fire, live in little round huts made of mud or bricks with straw roofs. Babies and kids EVERYWHERE. Little kids with babies on their backs. Lots of the kids have big tummys, have runny noses and wearing dirty clothes that are full of holes. Poorer than poor. I am humbled by some of the orphans that we met today- getting themselves washed and ready to walk to school all on their own. Wearing their cleanest clothes, and often not even having shoes- going to schools that are benches under straw awnings or trees.
It is overwhelming, but we are excited to start working. We’ll be able to give out medications, work with the hospitals and clinics, help with paperwork and different teams that are coming, and lots of other things. We will be busy!
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