Many of the boys here at Beacon of Hope
come from what is called “the bush.” I have to be honest, when I started this
journey I thought that I would be living in ‘bush’like places for these 11
months. While that has not been the case, I am grateful to have had the
opportunity to take a glimpse into bush life.
A few days ago our teams and the students
here got up early to head out to the bush. We all got in the chapa (local
transportation) and started the 3 ish hour journey. We knew that we had to take
a ferry at some point but what I didn’t expect was for our bus to drive onto
the ferry, much less with all of us still inside. When we got to the other side
of the bay we drove off and spent over an hour on all single lane dirt roads.
It was hot so the windows were open and because the roads were so narrow, the
‘bush’ would make frequent appearances in our faces. Eventually we did arrive
at our destination, the school.
At the school we were welcomed and
introduced to the head master who was happy to have us and gave us full
permission and free reign over the class. The students there were 6th
and 7th graders all who had walked a few to several miles to be
there. The schoolhouse appeared, from the outside, to be one large room that
was not fully enclosed. Shortly after we arrived the students carried their
desks from the schoolhouse to a shaded area under some trees. There we had a
small program for them.
The boys from Beacon of Hope sang some
worship songs in Portuguese and then we were asked to teach some English songs.
We taught them several songs with motions like Father Abraham. After, the song
would be translated and explained. They loved it! Then we were asked to perform
the Lifehouse drama. We didn’t know that we would be doing it before this
moment, so we quickly pulled together half of our team and half of the other
team and preformed (our sound system was Kayla’s ipod). It wasn’t exactly
Broadway worthy but the kids loved it and through it they heard the gospel! Then
the boys did a skit they had prepared, it was funny but I still don’t know
exactly what it was about. The amazing part to me was to see these boys, some
of them from this very community, taking what they have learned here at Beacon
of Hope home. When the program was over we prayed for the kids and said our
goodbyes.
We then began the walk to David’s house.
David is one of the new boys at Beacon of Hope. It is his first year here and
he came from the bush. Angie wanted to give us the opportunity to see and
experience some of what life is like out there. This meant that we walked about
2 miles in the sand and the heat to David’s home.
To us in the US we would say that David and
his family live on a campsite, and a bad one at that. While it is beautiful and
breezy, it is not only an hour walk to school, but also an hour walk to the
nearest fresh water. They build their own houses, which we would call huts, and
their bathroom is the great outdoors. David’s dad works with Angie and her son
Popu making coal for some income, other than that the bush community also works
on a bartering system; your goat for my chicken kind of thing.
Upon our arrival we were welcomed with open
arms, given chairs to sit in, and indigenous fruit to eat. We sat around and
talked, asking questions about life in the bush. One of the most interesting
topics to me was real estate in the bush (thank you Excalibur Home Management).
Basically what I learned was that the land that is claimed has been passed down
from generation to generation and it is marked by the trees. There is one male
in the family who is responsible (typically the namesake of the previous real
estate agent, if you will) for dividing up the land between family members.
Then if someone new comes to claim land, the current residents will tell them
where unclaimed land is available. No loans, no contracts, nothing.
During our visit we watched, fascinated, at
the goats and chickens roaming freely. At one point 2 of the men went over and
caught one of the goats, tying a rope around its neck. As they began to haul it
away from the other goats we thought they were going to kill it right there.
Fortunately, or maybe not, they did not kill the goat but rather it was Popu’s
goat and he was going to take it home now. So we said our goodbyes and thank
yous and headed back to the bus. They carried the goat and put it in the trunk
of the chapa/bus, (don’t tell PETA) and we headed back.
Thus ended our day in the bush.
Many blessings,
Kim
