Hello Everyone!
Love and greetings from Namibia! We are well into summer! Wheeeee! The days are getting warmer and longer! I love it!
I will again apologize for not updating this blog in six
months! I know the whole purpose of a
blog is to give frequent updates and to keep it current, but I ALWAYS want to
give these detailed, all encompassing entries and when I get half way through
and it is four pages long, I just give up! Instead, I will now take my mother’s good, sound advice and just write to
you about specific, wonderful events that have recently taken place! Here goes!
On October 20th, I turned 42 years old. So, to celebrate in fine fashion, I invited all
the children with whom I work, to go to the municipal swimming pool for the
day. There are about 150 kids in the
after school program, and about 500 in the Saturday soccer program, but I was
sure that most of them would not attend. So, I planned on about 300 kids, brought food for them and received
permission from the municipality to bring all the children, and the adult
chaperones into the pool for free. It is
a gorgeous facility, with a 10 lane, 50 meter pool and then an enormous kiddie
pool. There is also a large field for
playing sports, a playground and numerous areas with thatched roofs for sitting
in the shade and lounging.
So, I made all the plans and showed up at the center! How many kids showed up? Take a guess? FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY FIVE!!! Wheee! The fun had begun! We got them all organized and walked over to
the pool, and then lined them up at the entryway. I could never have done it without the 30
adult volunteers who just kept everything under control! The woman behind the counter kept saying,
“YOU CANNOT DO THIS! YOU CANNOT BRING
ALL OF KATUTURA INTO THIS POOL!” and she
was on the phone calling everyone she could to protest, while I kept shuffling
the kids past the security guards. Well,
it was a day I will never forget as long as I live. Those kids had so much fun, they screamed and
squealed with delight and jumped in and out of that pool all day long! There was not a single quarrel or fight,
nobody was rude or misbehaved. They were
so happy! I stood by the side of the
pool and kept my eyes GLUED on the area where it begins to slope down and get
deeper. But nobody ever crossed the
line, they seemed to clearly know where they should and should not be. As 90% of them cannot swim or even tread
water, I was seriously concerned about their safety, but I also had two other professional
lifeguards keeping watch.
At lunchtime, I explained to the kids that we only had food
for 300 and would share. If they were
hungry, they could go home and eat there. Well, no complaints! The
volunteers sliced all the sandwiches and apples in half, and divided it all up
so that everybody got something! A
modern day enactment of the loaves and fishes!
After the food was served, I was presented with a birthday
gift! It was from the Moses Garoeb Youth
Club (about which I will write in my next update). It was a gorgeous, hand sewn traditional
Ovambo dress, a head scarf and necklace. Of course I had to put it on right away, and spent the entire afternoon
at the side of the pool in the dress! I
kept thinking, “I hope I don’t have to jump in to save anybody!” All the kids laughed and called me “Oma”, which
means Grandma! Check out the photos, you
can see for yourself!
We stayed until 5 pm,
when they closed the pool. We were the
last to leave, and we cleaned up the entire place so it was as spotless as when
we arrived. I walked back to the center
with the kids, who were all completely exhausted. Some said it was the happiest day of their
lives, and many asked if we could do it every week. “Well, maybe once a month,” I said, grinning.
I was riding my bicycle home and just thanking God for the
most amazing day, thanking him that nobody got hurt and that all those kids
whose lives are so difficult and strewn with violence and abuse, were able to
spend one day in complete happiness and joy. That is why it was a day I will never forget.
Another marvelous day was just yesterday. I got a call two days ago from Lucy, an
amazing woman from New York who has been
living and working in Namibia
for years. She was actually the Co-foundress
of Catholic Aids Action, and now works for another magnificent NGO helping Aids
Orphans and other vulnerable children. She asked me if I could give a super quick, spur of the moment workshop
for 15 of the adults in her organization who had come from all parts of Namibia for a
week-long conference. She said that
their meetings were heavy and technical, and she wanted to give them a break
from that. She asked if I could give my
workshop on making educational games from rubbish. Now, this is something I delight in doing,
and I have about 20 great games that I make with just cardboard, bottle caps,
scissors and magic markers. The workshop
is usually all day long, I demonstrate the games and then we make them so that
everyone knows how to make and play them. Then they can go share what they have learned with adults and kids all over Namibia. When I asked her how much time she had
available, she said, “One hour.” So, I
stayed up the entire night making the games, and at 8 am, after only having 2.5
hours of sleep, I rode my bike to their center with my backpack stuffed with
goodies! I was charged up, never had I
condensed an 8 hour presentation into one hour! I just didn’t stop! I showed them
all the stuff I had made and gave them a super quick demonstration on how the
kids play the games. They were thrilled
and stunned! They saw all the stuff you
can make with recycled materials and they were IMPRESSED! They were so impressed, in fact, that they
begged me to go to their regions and to teach all the teachers and volunteers
who work with children! And, they asked
if they could come to the BNC, the center where I work every afternoon, to see
the kids in action playing the games!! So, I said, “YES!!!!”
Then, I raced back to meet with Barbara and John. Barbara Butchart is my best friend here. She works at the Polytechnic and is in charge
of international students. She has
arranged for a group of 25 students from Brock University in Canada to come
here for two weeks in May, 2007. The
students will spend two weeks doing volunteer work in a number of non profit
organizations. Most of them will be
places where I have been volunteering and which you have been supporting with
your donations of story books and educational games. John Kaethler is the Professor from Brock who
will be directing the trip. So, the
three of us spent four hours going to
eight different kindergartens, bridging schools and centers where the students
could potentially volunteer. At each
place we were greeted with hugs and kisses from the children, and the adults
were thrilled with the idea of having student volunteers for a few weeks. I kept thinking to myself, “THIS is why I am
here in Namibia!” The whole idea of the trip is to build
personal relationships between the Canadian students and the Namibian
people. It is to bridge the immense gap
between our countries and cultures and to bring us together, not as Africans
and North Americans, but as caring, loving human beings who are determined to
make a difference in this world full of corruption, violence and greed. I became more and more inspired as the day
went on. The fifteen adults from the
morning workshop were already at the center when I returned with Barbara and
John. They spent two hours there playing
and observing the children. Instead of
taking the kids down for tennis lessons, I stayed and supervised, answered
questions from the visitors and just made sure the kids were taken care
of. Again the visitors asked for my
contact information and told me they REALLY wanted me to come to their
communities to teach the educators!! Again, I thought, “This is why I am here in Namibia!” It is imperative for the adults to know
this!! They must realize that children
do not learn from sitting silently and being beaten if they talk! They must see that children will flourish if
you put them in a stimulating, educational environment with positive feedback
and lots and lots of love!! This is what
they were exposed to all afternoon, and they left fully charged and inspired to
carry on the work and begging for more!
It was, without a doubt, the most inspiring day I have had
in a long, long time. From 8 am to 5 pm
I was reaffirmed over and over again. I
saw tremendous hope in these little kindergartens and their teachers doing
everything they could to help the kids. I was inspired by the enthusiasm of the workshop participants to soak up
everything I could give them, and to beg for more. I was touched by the children at the BNC, by
their manners and their hospitality to receive these strangers and to play
games with them all afternoon. I was
overwhelmed with satisfaction, affirmation and felt tremendously
fulfilled. For the past couple of weeks
I have been a bit negative, and have wondered to myself why I am even
here. I wondered if I could ever make a
change. I actually thought of just
giving up because I despaired of ever having any impact on the educational
system here. All my attempts seemed like
an exercise in futility. So, after all
the kids and the visitors had gone home, I just sat down at one of the outside
tables, and thanked God for the day. I
thought, “God knows just when I need a boost. Just when I want to give up, I am inspired beyond my wildest
dreams. I am filled with grace, and have
tremendous hope for the future of Namibia. These are only tiny seeds we are sowing, but
they are seeds of hope. And hope springs
eternal!”
As I sat there in prayer and contemplation, little Salome, who
is absolutely one of my favorite kids at the center, came over and sat down
next to me. “Can I braid your hair?” she
asked. “Yes, Salome. I would love a braid. And there is nobody in all of Namibia who is
better at braiding my hair than you! Thank You!” I have been trying for
two years to get Salome, who is in 4th grade, to read when she is at
the center, and she won’t do it. She is
super clever, and can speak three languages fluently, but will NOT read. I think she tried reading in school and was
publicly humiliated, so she will not try anymore. So, while she was braiding my hair, I received
a text message on my cel phone. I pulled
it out of my pocket and began to read it, and Salome peered over my shoulder
and started reading some of the words!! I almost dropped the phone! I
pulled her into my arms and started hugging her and said, “SALOME, YOU ARE
READING! YOU ARE READING!” She was giggling and laughing and we both
were grinning from ear to ear! “Yes, she
said. May I borrow a book from the
center and bring it home to read to my Granny tonight?”
So Salome and I went back into the big room and she picked
out a book. I put her on the bar of my
bicycle and rode her to her house. She
hopped off and ran straight into the house without looking back, the book
clutched in her hand.
This is why I am in Namibia. Each and every one of you is invited to come
here and to witness this outpouring of love. At times when I feel there is no hope, God gently touches my heart. I welcome you to come here and to experience
it all with your own eyes, and with your own heart. You will be transformed and touched
forever.
Come, come, come. We
await you with open hearts and open arms.
Thank you all for your love and support. Thank you for your donations that allow me to
live here and to be with these children. Thank you for sending over story books, soccer gear and uniforms,
educational toys and games, and everything else you have gathered up and
shipped over. Thank you for your
financial donations so I can buy food and medicine for them, so that I can run a soccer program and treat them
to lunch at the pool. Thank you for
supporting projects which give milk to babies of HIV positive mothers, which
provide bicycle ambulances in rural areas, playgrounds for kindergartens, wells
for orphanages, and the list is endless. Everything you give, out of your hard work and sacrifices, goes right to
the people. I see the rewards of your
generosity. Sometimes my eyes are
closed, but on days like today, my eyes are open.
With love and sincere gratitude,
Xoxoxoxoxoxxo
MaryBeth
PS There is a magnificent organization founded by my friend Nicole,
specifically to support worthy projects in African countries!
Check it out!!!
Just click on: http://www.neia-ev.de/English/index_eng.htm
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