Zambia, Africa.
Mothers Without Borders Expedition
Playing parachute. 
Learning how to work together
Teaching a dance 
David is a great artist. 
Dear Friends and Family-
As I return home from my trip to Africa I wanted to share my experiences with you. I do not know where to begin as there is so much to tell and so many feelings to express. This experience was very special and spiritual for me as I headed out the country I did not know what to expect. I was nervous and scared of the un-known as anyone would be. Traveling half way across the country to a place that is known for disease, death, and violence was a scary thought. Many people misjudge Africa for what it is. What you do not know is that Africa is a country of many contrasts. From the depths of darkness to the most beautiful scenery and love Africa has so much to offer any human being.
As I started my travels the first thing that I misjudged was the flight. Thinking it would only take about 12 hrs to get to Africa was a big mistake. Not knowing that I would have three stops, 3 layovers about 2 hrs each and 3 different flights to get on and off. Little did I know I arrived in Zambia, Africa 24 hrs later! I flew by myself all the way to Johannesburg where I soon met the rest of the Mother’s without Borders team. There was 21 people on our team, all girls with the exception of one Doctor and 3 other younger boys. We had two team leaders and a head director whose name is Kathy Headley-Miner (founder of MWB) who ran everything we did in Africa.
The cycle of life starts with birth as we come into this world we are born as a baby. Babies need to be nurtured and cared for, they need to be loved!!! Walking into the Lusaka hospital I saw many young girls caring for pre-mature babies who may not make it, too small to survive, and too many complications to recover. Watching these young mothers 13,14,15,16 years of age trying to feed their babies out of a cup, touching their fingers, toes or hands to get some kind of reaction out of them I realized how precious life is. These mothers do not know how long they have with their little one, and they embrace every moment they can have. Anything can happen at any time and as Kathy would say “What we don’t know, we don’t know”. One young mother who gave birth to triplets was standing there full of tears as she watched one of them pass. They have no incubators and no major resources to help these babies stay alive. The doctors and nurses do the best they can with what they are given. But it is not enough! The women share wide open rooms, stuffed and packed together with no privacy when breast feeding. As I passed by one of the little premies there was a tag that said “please feed me”. This means that the mother has passed away at birth and can no longer care for the little one. The nurses have to make sure to feed the baby and care for it. The mothers do not stay with their babies. They walk across the street to another building where there are not enough beds for everyone to sleep or rest. After having a baby they walk back and forth a couple times a day to feed the babe and care for them every two hours. I want to emphasize the mothers are not with their babies at all times, the babies are not taken to them. The mothers have to walk to their babies right after giving birth!
Continuing through Zambia we visited many Villages and compounds. A village is in a wide-open space, many mud huts with grass roofs. In the village the people care for each other. They look out for one another and if a mother or father passes and the children have no one to care for them the neighbors will step in. The families eat together and many of the children play together. A compound is more of a city. With many people wandering around, walking dirt paths that look like they go nowhere, mud huts with no doors on them, many animals running everywhere, children wandering about- no parents in sight. There is a main street in which they have a market, families have little stands built of sticks and they sale whatever they can to get some type of money to feed their family. 1 penny means the world to an individual trying to get a meal for the day.
In the compound we visited we went into HIV positive homes, men and women who are struggling and suffering from the severe effects of Aids and Tuberculosis. Laying on beds, or couches helpless with the light taken from their soul as they pray for another day. I was challenged to look them in the eye, to see them for who they are and the special person they are. Those who are sick want to feel loved, they want to feel noticed and like they truly matter. As I saw many of them sick with illness, no money to afford the medications, no water or food to take the medications with it was as if they were withering away by the second. As a group we would sing to them, talk with them and get to know their families. As they were able to share with us their thoughts and feelings I started to cry. Feeling overwhelmed because I am not able to fix the problem. But, for the 5 minutes that we were there they were able to smile, to feel love, to feel important, and like their story mattered. All we did was listen and see. We left each family with a song called “Heavenly Father” As we sang this song I could see the light in their eyes sparkle. Going through this experience I had another realization. The smallest things are the things that matter the most. We did not give them medication to heal them, we didn’t give them a loan to pay for their families the rest of their life all we did was listen, see and love the African people for who they are.
As we entered the village on our little bus packed with Mazoongoo’s (white people) the children started to run out of the huts, running on the roads to follow us to our destination. We came to a stop, got of the bus and immediately I was greeted with smiles, hugs and love from the African children. As I stepped off that bus I did not know what to do, how to react or what to say. When I saw the bright faces full of light I knew all I had to do was love. Show love and give love to these young children. They have no toys or material things to play with. Off the top of my head I am trying to think of what games to play, what songs to sing, or even what dances I could teach them. I reflected back to when I was in elementary and all the sudden I pulled out ring around the Rosie, down by the banks, do as I am doing, the conga line, and some dance moves that were easy to teach. Playing with the children for four hours in that day we taught everything we could to keep them busy. As I started the conga line with four little girls we traveled the whole village three or four times. By the end of the conga line I had about twenty kids following along, singing “CHOO CHOO” jumping around and having the time of their life doing the conga line. Luckily someone brought a donation of jump ropes and books. Sitting with the children in silence as I read to them and they look at pictures to the words was a true moment of tenderness. Some of the children are able to read and have been to school. Most of them cannot speak English, read, or write. In those moments it was difficult to connect with that individual. Somehow I was able to connect with their heart through touch, feeling and love when there were no words to be spoken.
I met a little girl about 1.5 years old named Mercy. Mercy was at the House of Moses orphanage. They house children 0-2 years. Mercy was just sitting there on the grass on a blanket. No one was interacting with her. I walked over and picked her up, as I did so immediately she grabbed my arm and held onto it for several minutes. She sat still in my arms with our hearts connected, beating together. I brushed her face, tickled her hands and arms as I held her in my arms. For a moment in time I felt like a mother. I had motherly instincts to care for Mercy and I wanted to take her with me.
The Mothers Without Borders organization has their own Orphanage in which they house 25 children. At the orphanage there is a building where the children sleep, a school, a playground, bathrooms and an amphitheatre. It is on a plot of land of 55 acres where they hope to build a bigger school for 200 children with 18 classrooms, they hope to have gardens for food, trees for shade and animals for food. I got very close with these 25 children. We were with them for about 4 of the 11 days we were in Zambia. Many of these children do not have parents. They have lost them to aids. Three of the children are street kids, which I will describe to you a little later. The orphanage is called the Children’s Resource Center (CRC). I connected with a girl named Alice on the first day we arrived. Alice is 7 years old. Alice was very sick last year. As I met her this year she was smiling, so happy, and full of life. Alice loved to be played with, tickled and held. Alice is a very special girl to the Mothers Without borders organization. I was very lucky to be her friend. I held Alice when she cried, I made her laugh when she was sad. What Alice doesn’t know is that she changed my life forever. She has given me a new way to look at life. To remember how precious it is. Many of these children ache inside for someone to love them. I saw the true hurt they felt at the same time I saw the happiness that lit their face as we were there interacting with them. “Joy and suffering are part of the same whole”. There were two boys that I absolutely loved. Robert and Love more. About ten or twelve years of age these two boys touched my heart each day. Robert is a smart boy, who loves to talk, he gives the best bear hugs in the world and he smiles to the end of the world. Love more is a sweet boy with a little sassy attitude. He is full of love and happiness. I looked into their sweet eyes, I heard their stories, I read to them, they drew me pictures and told me life stories. I was changed forever on how I look at life. Ethel was another sweet girl 16 years of age. She is an amazing singer, amazing leader over all the children, she wants to be a doctor. Ethel goes to a school that is 6 miles away. She used to have to walk and now has a bike to ride. Ethel is very smart and I love her very much. I was weeping as I had to say good bye to Ethel the last day.
The street kids center is a place where the children who live on the street can go during the day. This place is run by donations year to year. The children who come there can get two free meals, a shower, they can wash their clothes and hang out for the day. Street kids have ran from home, been kicked out, or not taken care of. At the age of 4 or so they have lived on the streets. The street kids beg for money, food, or anything they can get. Many of them are sexually molested, abused or beaten. They sleep in the gutters with no blankets, and one pair of clothes that are dirt black. These children look scary and intimidating. As I met with many of them I realized they are special. Each one of them have something to offer to the world. Many of them have high goals in life. They want to go to school to get an education, they want to be doctors, drives, artists, the president and etc… They live on the street because they have no money and they cannot afford to go to school. Can you just imagine what they go through each day and night just to stay alive. Some things that I heard cannot be expressed. All of them have lost a parent and many of other siblings but do not know where they are. My heart breaks for them and all I could tell them was to stay off the streets, to go to school, and that I would pray for them and think of them when I left.
I became very connected to Africa. It is in my heart and apart of me. I learned that in every part of the world we are more alike than we are different. Everywhere we go, everyone we meet take advantage of those moments to get to know them, live in the present and enjoy where you are. I learned that the African people have more strength and courage that we will ever have. They live to survive, they live so simple and they live with HOPE! The African people are the most welcoming and giving people yet they have nothing and they go through the hardest of times and suffer the most pain I cannot bear. I will forever keep Africa in my heart and I will forever remember the people and the children I met. Again, What They don’t realize is that they changed my life forever!
Africa is of many contrasts. Leaving the most desperate of situations and the people I love we traveled to the tourist town to see some of the beauty that Africa portrays. Seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World “Vitoria Falls” in Livingstone, Zambia, to riding an elephant, going on a safari and a river cruise I saw the most beautiful land I have ever seen in my life. I was exposed to wildlife that I have never seen in their habitat. This world has been created with great hands. I cannot believe the power that lies within nature and within the animals of nature. There is beauty in everything around us, we have to take the time to see it , recognize it and appreciate it. I challenge all of us to take a moment and see people for who they are, to see nature for what it is and to live in the present at all times. Do not live in the future or the past as this will take away from the moment in which you are today.
I thank those of you who helped my life long dream come true. I am so grateful for the love and the support that I have been given. I am thankful for your donations financially to help me get to Africa. It truly is an incredible place and I know that this is the first of many adventures in Africa. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!
My friend Chanda 
My friend stephen My friend Love More
1 comments:
I am so glad this adventure turned out to be everything and more that you thought it would be.
May God protect them and send more people like you to show them love.
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