At one of the care points there is a 12 year old girl named Tandy. (Well, that’s what they call her for short.) Tandy is very smart! Yes, she is quite a bit older than the other kids at the care point since most of them are 3, 4 or 5 years old. But Tandy helps the teachers, does her schoolwork, gets water for the other kids to wash their hands before eating, helps the kids get in a line or a circle when needed and helps lead the songs. She’s a great kid. She has quickly become one of the kids that I look forward to seeing the most. Although she’s quiet, she loves attention. (She also loves seeing her picture on a digital camera. She’ll come up to me and say “shoot shoot” when she wants me to take her picture.)
Earlier this week she was wearing a blue dress that was too small for her and had several rips in it. On that same day I found out a little more about Tandy. From what I understand she has no parents – which helps explain why she still goes to school at the care point. School in Swaziland isn’t free so with no parents she wouldn’t be able to afford school.
Tandy is also HIV positive. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around her situation. She’s 12! What happened to her childhood? What’s going to happen to her? You would never know how hard her life is from meeting her though. She comes to school, does her work and helps the teachers always with a smile on her face. But at the end of the day, she goes home to no parents, little to no food and faces a dismal and probably short future. Honestly if I heard her story on TV, I’d probably change the channel. Like a lot of people I hate to see the stories of the children in Africa or the elderly in Russia. It’s easy to turn it off and watch something else. What are the chances that these organizations actually do what they say they will anyway? But, Tandy’s not on one of their ads and her story is real and did I mention she’s a great kid.
Tandy is learning “O lay lay” (which is a silly song with hand motions that she really likes), so every time she wants me to sing it, she helps me lead it. It’s really cool! I’m hoping that when we leave that she’ll be able to lead the kids with this song. So please remember Tandy in your prayers. She’s an awesome kid! But there’s a language barrier so it’s more difficult to talk with her alone to find out what she’s thinking or feeling.
