Orphan for a Day

I never expected to be walking along the busy streets of
Orange County with 8 girls dressed in rags lugging gallons of river water, but
that’s how my Thanksgiving weekend went down.
Drivers slowed down to stare as we awkwardly trekked through
suburbia.  As the girls struggled with
their oppressive loads my mind wondered back to the beginning….

 

I stood in front of around 100 women.  The conference organizers had offered me an
invaluable opportunity to talk about what God was doing in Swaziland.  As I shared Mumu’s story, the room was thick
with palpable tension and the women leaned in to listen.  

 

Afterwards, Cheri and I started talking and we hit it off
instantly.   She had a vision, but didn’t
know how to complete it.  Turns out we
fit together like puzzle pieces.  Cheri
wanted to set up a day where her daughters and their friends could learn a
little bit of what it’s like to be part of an orphan headed household.  As we talked our first “Orphan for a Day,”
project started to come alive.  The date
was set, activities were planned and 9 girls were onboard. 

 

1 out of 10 homes in
Swaziland are led by children under the age of 11!  I can’t get over how crazy that fact is!  Because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic kids are left
to fend for themselves. 

 

 

The day was amazing!  As
the girls arrived we traded their normal American clothing for raggedy shirts from
Africa (thanks YOUME.)  Breakfast was a
dehydrated rice meal from “Kids Against Hunger.”  When my roommates and I sampled the cuisine
we didn’t think the girls would make it through, but they surprised me and
chowed down.  That was the moment I knew
it was going to be a great day. 

 

After eating it was time to share stories and facts about
Swaziland.  Then we immediately launched
into an experiential learning game that helped the girls understand resource
sharing in a way much deeper than any lecture could teach.  At the end they were able to draw parallels
between the game and how different nations interact. 

 

Once the game wrapped up, we set out on what we thought
would be a quick water hike.  Each
“orphan family” was given three 1-gallon jugs and 9 pieces of clothing to
wash.  The hike down to the river was
simple enough, but the walk back with wet clothing and heavy water was
rough.  The struggle left an indelible
mark on the girls, at the end of the day they wanted to raise funds to dig
wells.

 

In the afternoon we talked about how education in Swaziland
costs around $100 per student per year for primary school.  That’s outrageous considering 70% of Swazis
live on less than $1 per day and the average orphan headed household has 1/3
the resources of a regular household. 

 

So the girls had an opportunity to, “earn their
education.”  They made Christmas cards
and sold them door-to-door, earning $64 to donate towards school fees for an
orphan in Swaziland.  At the end of the day they set the goal of
raising $800 through out the year to send 8 kids to school. 

 

After peddling the goods we started in on dinner prep.  By this point we were hungry.  The girls couldn’t believe that many kids in
Swaziland only get one meal every day. 
While the flat bread was resting we did a Bible Study and I read them a
fictional story I’m writing about an orphan. 
Finally, we got to enjoy flat bread cooked over the fire and beans.  We ate baked beans, which they don’t exactly
have in Swaziland, but the idea was there =).

 

At the end of the day, each girl got to trade her holey rags
for a brand new YOUME shirt (all purchases benefit projects in Africa.)  I was amazed at the impact this event had on
each of the girls.  They really got
it!  Each student was excited to find
more ways to get involved and help! 

 

One of the Dad’s e-mailed
me a few days later and said, “my daughter was
definitely moved and touched in a profound way by the whole experience.  Last Sunday, she jumped in at the end of
dinnertime prayer, for the first time ever, to say a prayer for the Swaziland
Orphans.  I was deeply moved to see this
come out of her.  Her sincerity and
demeanor told me that she is truly changed by this experience!”

I’m in the process of scheduling more “Orphan for a Day” events next
year.  My hope is to take this idea to
youth groups, small groups, school’s, etc.  I believe American students should have the opportunity to understand
the challenges orphans in Swaziland face every day.