A 2 year old and a 4 year old are locked in a house with only a couple days worth of food. Their mother never returns. The 4 year old's survival instincts kick into gear as he opens and climbs out a window in search for food. Thankfully he is found, the boys are rescued, and taken to El Shaddai, where they were fed, cared for, and now live. I have had the pleasure of meeting these boys, playing with them, and rocking them to sleep as I worked at El Shaddai all month.
Living and working in Mozambique last month was difficult. I won't lie, I was ready to leave Africa forever. But with one month to go I strapped on my backpack and hoped for the best – not expecting much. We drove past signs that read, "Beware of Hippos." We 4 wheeled up a long, windy, mountain dirt road. We got stuck in a ditch, saw a gigundous crack in the earth which re-routed our drive, saw lots of grass huts, young boys (4-7 years old) shepherding flocks of sheep and herds of cattle around the mountain, and plenty of dust kicking up behind us. Slowly, we inched our way up the mountain and when we got to the top we found our new home.
El Shaddai is an orphanage that rests on top of one of the most beautiful mountains in Swaziland, a mountain that has been abundantly "touched" by King Midas. As I look out from the window where I am staying I am greeted with the most breathtaking view I have ever seen. I gaze pastthe large, protruding rocks and boulders that are gracefully adorned with moss and shrubs, through the purple, white, yellow, and pink wild flowers that are painted among the lush green grasses, past the quilted farmlands which are speckled with sheep, goats, and cattle, to focus on a verdant valley of trees and a meandering river with birds and butterflies floating overhead.
Here on the mountain there is always a gentle breeze blowing, inviting us to come sit on a rock, take in the view, watch the sun set, and appreciate this "Eden" we are living in. The sun is warm but not so intense as to be uncomfortable. This is the rainy season so there are occasional clouds in the sky, but the rays of the sun pierce through and highlight the valley below. The evenings are cool and often bring rain but when the clouds have rolled away we are blessed with a view of billions of stars twinkling and dancing in their glory. Just the other night I watched the moon start high in the sky, then sink low and set behind the mountain. I've seen the sun rise and set plenty of times, but never the moon. We truly are surrounded by beauty. But as I began working with the kids at El Shaddai I began to see a different kind of beauty emerge.
When you first walk through the the chain-link gate and see the children playing on the jungle gym they seem like "regular" kids. They are swinging, running around, jumping in the air, playing with sticks, laughing and smiling. But as soon as they see you you will realize something is different. The moment they fix their precious little eyes upon you they will jump off the swing, climb out of the tire they are using as a fort, put down the stick they are using as a sword, and run. They will run from all corners of the playground. They will run with both arms held high in the air. They will run with full anticipation of you meeting their gaze and gathering them up in your arms. And you will. And when you do, you will realize something very humbling, yet very powerful. You have a gift. YOU have the Midas touch. YOU have the power to bring the same kind of beauty that I saw all around the mountain, to the life of a child. Human contact, a gentle, loving touch is like a calming herb, a soothing bath, a glass of wine, a strong drug. When these children feel the warmth of your touch they will snuggle in, settle down, grow eerily calm, and fall asleep in your arms. There is almost nothing more precious, more beautiful than a child sleeping soundly in your arms.
That's right about when your gut will turn inside of you. You will experience the beauty of an innocent child at rest, but as you close your eyes to listen to their breathing you will be assaulted with the reality of their lives. They are just children but they aren't allowed to live the life of a child. They are forced to grow up too fast and live life without the love, acceptance, and warm touch of a family; a mommy and a daddy. And as your head starts spinning a little bit your eyes begin darting around. You see these kids are wearing clothes that are full of holes, don't match, don't fit, and don't stay zipped. They have created toys out of a couple old boards that still have screws sticking out of them. The play room is dirty and full of mold, and their toys are broken, missing parts, and full of dirt. You're heart will sink, as mine did, and you will probably ask a lot of questions . . . When I did, I got a lot of answers.
First of all, I was told that more than 74% of the population of Swaziland is infected with HIV. If the virus continues to spread as it has, Swaziland will be completely wiped out within 10 years. I'm not sure if that's a fact or not but I do know that HIV has played a large role in producing the staggering number of orphans I have come in contact with over the last 3 months, including the ones I have met here at El Shaddai. There are 46 school-age children living on the premises, as well as 18 babies and toddlers. While a handful of them do have some extended family in the area, the majority of the children are true orphans and have no one but each other to call family. And, while HIV and AIDs have had a profound impact on these children, only 2 of them are infected themselves.
I was saddened to find out that the children here at El Shaddai, or anywhere else in Swaziland, can only be adopted by Swazi residents with the proper paperwork. Because most of the people here were born at home, out in the bush, there is no record of their birth, age, family, etc, so they don't have the records necessary to be able to adopt children. They also do not have the money to be able to care for the children even if they wanted to adopt them. This means that the children will live at El Shaddai until they graduate from high school and go out on their own. It also means that El Shaddai, and other organizations like them have a heavy load to carry. Every time someone from the government calls to say they have another child who has been orphaned, El Shaddai takes them in. They provide everything the child needs to survive, including a place to live, food, clothing, and education. In fact, El Shaddai offers the ONLY free public school in the entire country. More than 200 students from the surrounding area attend the primary school.
The government depends on El Shaddai to care for the orphans, but Swaziland is the poorest country in the world. The government is bankrupt and offers El Shaddai no financial support whatsoever. If it weren't for El Shaddai, the orphans would be sent out to the streets to fend for themselves – no matter what their age. I'm sure you can imagine their chances for survival. In fact, twenty-six thousand children die of starvation and preventable disease everyday. Because of government rules and regulations, many of these children cannot be adopted and taken to the states where we can care for them ourselves (Sorry Katie). Instead we must leave them in the loving and capable hands of the volunteers who run organizations like El Shaddai. But you can help. In fact, they NEED our help.
They need time and resources and services. They need people who are willing to come and hold babies. It's the easiest, and one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. These precious little children sleep in a room with rows of beds and they eat their meals in shifts. They live out their days vying for the attention of 2 caretakers, never knowing their parents, never experiencing what unconditional love is like. They don't own a teddy bear or a baby doll of their own. The highlight of their day is looking into the eyes of someone smiling back at them, climbing into the lap of someone willing to read to them, receiving the gentle touch of a volunteer willing to hug them, snuggling up and falling asleep next to someone willing to simply sit still, or holding hands on the way to the play ground. That "someone" could be you.
Please check out El Shaddai's website
http://www.elshaddaiswaziland.org/about-us.html
to find out what you can do to help.
