Today was a day that was almost as full as Monday, except
it filled with me joy instead of disappointment in myself.
First, we went to the Legacy Academy school in Bauleni. I
am forbidden to tell you any details because it is a surprise for each week of
Camp LIFE. It is AMAZING. I cried uncontrollable tears of joy to know what
these kids – who live in poverty that we can’t even imagine – will be getting
for their education. As soon as they are sponsored into the school, their lives
do a 180. They are literally transformed. I will share the pictures of Bauleni
either in person or through email/Facebook messaging. Just let me know if you
want to see them!
Then we went into the communities of the children who are
attending the camp. I went to a place called Chuwama. All 10 of my kids are
from there, though they lived in another part of the community from where I
went. I met my kids and my Zambian partners there, and we proceeded into the
community to allow the girls to share the gospel with the members of their
community. They each got a turn to preach to a small group of adults in their
own local language, with some help from my Zambian partners. There were several
people who gave their life to Christ!
My girls did so, so well. They were bold, and several
were actually eager to have a turn to talk. We were followed everywhere by
hoards of children. There are so many children in Zambia, I can’t even explain
or believe it. And for the most part, they are unsupervised. Even two year olds
walk in the streets without adults. Younger babies can sometimes be found tied
to the backs of 5 year olds, who have to take care of them. Babies are taking
care of babies.
Seeing the dirt and trash all over the streets of Chuwama,
and the marketeering in the streets, was eye opening. However, it was the
number of children that truly stunned me. There are over 1 million orphaned
children in Zambia because of disease. Only 5% of all of the children will
graduate grade 12. That’s astonishing, and speaks to why Family Legacy is so
needed here, and why what they are doing is so important. Their focus really is
on education, and their 18 schools reflect that. They have a medical center in
the works, and the children’s village, but really it is all about educating the
kids so that the next generation can take over where Family Legacy leaves off.
The final thing we did today was tour the Tree of Life
Children’s Village, where over 600 children live in homes that are sponsored by
groups or families. Each home costs $110,000 to build and furnish, plus the
cost of each child in the house. The children are sponsored individually once
the house is completed.
I was sent to “Anna’s House”, where a group of 12 girls
of all ages live with 2 house moms. The older girls were able to ask me
questions and answer in English, and when the younger ones didn’t understand,
they translated without much help from their house moms. Two little girls stuck
out to me: Fatima and Veronica. Fatima was the smallest girl, and she had such
a sweet smile. She wanted to hold my hand immediately, so I let her. Veronica
had only been in Tree of Life for 4 weeks, and you could tell. While the other
girls were excited and comfortable, she was withdrawn and shy. So, I took her
in my other hand, and told her a bunch of times that she was welcome in the
Tree of Life!
The girls from Anna’s House also showed me around their
school, which is right next to their houses. They were most excited about their
computer lab, and couldn’t wait to boot up their computers to show me their
typing, graphic designs, and videos. Their computer lab was really cool, and
they were learning terms that I don’t even know. :P This was also true of their
business class!
It was an awesome, full day – even though it was hard to
see so many impoverished, unsupervised, vulnerable children. I was so proud of
my girls, so full of joy from seeing the school, and so amazed at how Family
Legacy has saved over 600 children with the village. They have given those
children new mothers, new brothers and sisters, and completely new lives. Of
course, it is only through the fundraising they have done from people like
those of you who sponsored me to come here to Zambia!
No comments:
Post a Comment