Tangi Unene (Many Thanks to all!!!!!!!!!)

On the Rocks in Fish Hoek, South African
Receiving drawings from the children..... Thank you/goodbye notes for the children.

-The group of women (careteam) from Hakahana Community that works at FHS.we also supplied a lot of them with food hampers and watercards.
-The women lined up to begin the festivities!
-Recieving food hamper (many danced and gave thanks)










-Field Trip day group................ Handicapped Bathroom at hospital... Playground happenings.




-Annie and the kids!
-Recieving our certification of appreciation from abigail.
-Ouma dancing...

- The girls (Annie & Gift, Abigail, Foibe, Mary)









-GROUND BREAKING!!!!!!!

This is our final letter home. We are now in Cape Town relaxing before we make our way home. A wonderful couple donated a week stay on the Indian Ocean for our last week. We are truly blessed! Time to walk on the beach, pray and reflect about our last 5 weeks in Namibia. I am feeling guilty about staying in such a wonderful place but extremely appreciative to have this time to put things in perspective before returning to my life in America.
So I want to update all on our last week in Namibia. Mary and I were constantly being torn between Mt. Sinai and FHS. We both said that next year we should focus on Mt. Sinai- that was Friday night and then Saturday AM we went out to Hakahana (FHS) to distribute food hampers and water cards to the families that we sponsored. When we arrived they had planned a big party for use!! It was so absolutely heart-warming. The children sang and danced for us. They wrote letters of thank you and drew pictures. And as if that wasn’t enough, then the mothers dressed in their traditional Ovambo dress, danced and sang the ‘thank you’ & ‘goodbye’ songs in Oshivambo! They had made beaded gifts for us. Mary and I were both brought to tears- we had not expected this and it was a bit overwhelming. We both joined in with them and danced and it was decided right there and then that we could never just focus on Mt. Sinai because we have out little community at Hakahana as well! I also want to have a 3rd annual Easter egg hunt for the kids. So we left the center after well stocking them with food for all our little starving ones! We even bought porridge so that they can start feeding them breakfast. We have a videotape of the special day and I am exited to share it with you all!
Next is Mt. Sinai. Christa’s dream is still going strong and we will continue to fundraise and it is my hope that with some hard work at both ends we can build next year. We were able to do a ground breaking ceremony and begin to clear the land. As you know the land that was donated by the municipality was a dumping site so clearly the land turned out to be a bigger project than was expected. On the day we broke ground we had invited the press from “The Namibian” newspaper. Hopefully, Mt. Sinai’s story will be in the paper as well as a picture of all of us sitting in the arm of the bulldozer! We also worked very hard in trying to get a container to place on the land. A container holds all the building supplies so that no one can take them while they are in the building process. These containers turned out to be extremely expensive so we did a little networking to see if CAA (catholic Aids Actions) could assist us with the use of one of their containers. Once we are able to build Mt. Sinai, it will be a place that international volunteers can come, work and stay there as well. So lets build it and then you are all invited!! Mary and I talked about how awesome it would be if we could get Habitat for Humanity to come to Namibia and build Mt. Sinai! I wish we could have cone more for Christa, but we did discuss a plan of where we go from here. We got Christa connected to the internet (or she will be- there is a waiting list of about 3 weeks in Namibia) so we can better communicate. We are going to work on resubmitting Mt. Sinai’s proposals to every available organization, NGO and yes Oprah (again). Christa read about a person who spent more than 25 million dollars to go into space and can’t imagine why someone would do that when they could help so many babies and children with that money!! We Americans can be so foolish in our spending!
We were also able to stock Christa with food hampers for the kids on ARV treatment and we built another wall of formula to stock in her kitchen, hallway and dining room! We also helped her some of the financing of her truck. Her truck is so needed to transport the mom’s and kids back to the settlements. Some walk more than 10 miles to her house. The truck is also useful to pick up the food and formula. I really can’t imagine how she was able to transport all of that with out her truck. So the actual building of Mt, Sinai is still a dream but we have faith and hope that it will become a reality within the next year.
My little friend Saki (the boy with the growth on his face in previous pictures) was admitted to Central Hospital and he was seen by the pediatric surgeon. They were keeping him in the hospital until they find out when the German plastic Surgeon will arrive to see if he needed to be put on the list for an operation. I worried about Saki being lonesome and sad in the hospital but after visiting him and talking with the nurses, I realize that he is in a good place- 3 meals a day and a bed to sleep in, other children like him to play with and even a television set! This beautiful child must think he has died and done to heaven! We left one for Saki’s family to use for taxi to the hospital (the walk is over 10 miles).
The most difficult of our trip was saying goodbye. It nearly broke my heart to leave Foibe and Gift. Mary and I both felt sick to our stomachs the last few days because goodbyes here are so painful. Where did all the time go? It was so short how could we leave them? How could we leave Namibia? It is like leaving behind a part of my heart and soul. We will miss it greatly!
As this is one of our last letters from Africa, we want to thank all of you for your support with donations, prayers and love. It was because of all of you that we were able to:
*Feed hundreds upon hundreds of children
*Give families water cards
*Provide formula and food hampers for HIV+ mothers and their negative babies as well as children on ARV meds.
*Host an amazing Easter party for over 200 orphaned and vulnerable children
*Assist families with medical, school, and food expenses
*Provide clothes and shoes for children
*Give children educational experiences
*Amazing memories and so much more!


THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GENEROSITY AND SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE PROCESS!

Just because we are coming home does not mean the work stops. It is a continual process in which we strive for on a daily basis. Only a small number of children could be helped throughout our trip (which we are very grateful for) but there continues to remain millions upon millions of children, more so orphans, that need your support. It is through such programs like Mt. Sinai and Family Hope Sanctuary that we are trying to make a difference, but as many of you may know, there exists many programs out there that need your help as well. So please, continue to become aware of the existing problems that face our world and hopefully one day we can all say that we tried our very best to leave a world where future generations will be cared for no matter their circumstances.

In the City..........

Outside the Museum explaining the rules
Playing after lunch at Zoo Park
Shoes and Ice cream




Up the escalator.......Down the escalator...... more icecream!

Eating Lunch at the Park................Last of the food hampers for families at Family Hope Sanctuary.............. The one and only Remarchell at the BNC

Today was an awesome day! We took our children from Hakahana into town to the museum. These children are all orphan or vulnerable kids who live in the informal settlements. They had never been out of their community so this was a new experience for them. None of these kids are in school, but they are all in the school readiness program at Family Hope Santuary. We hired a truck to bring 20 children to town and Mary and I met them at the museum. We were unable to get a guided tour as the woman was busy so we went on our own, which was better. I was a bit worried about my wild , undisciplined children but really had nothing to worry about. They were angels!! They were so completely enthralled with the museum that I don’t remember ever being that excited myself as a child. They loved every moment and were so quiet and absorbed by every display. The museum had a display on each tribe of Namibia. They would look at the displays behind glass and they thought they were real! Most of our kids were Ovambo, so when we got to the display of Ovambo women preparing the mahungu many of the kids tried to enter the glass to help the (fake) women!!! They would bump their heads on the glass and we had to tell them that they were not real!!! It was quite funny and also very sweet! They sat quietly for 30 minutes watching a video of a Bushman hunting. When we finished, they wanted to go around again!!
We then took them to the park in the center of town and they played at the playground while Mary and made a lunch for them. We knew that this was an experience of a lifetime for them and none of us wanted it to end so we walked through the center of town—down through the mall –and decided to take them through the town square and ride on the escalator. The escalator turned out to be better then Valleyfair!!! They were nervous and a bit afraid but we held their hands and got on and went to the top then turned around and went back down- then repeat-up then down! Such a simple thing and yet I don’t think I will ever be able to ride on an escalator again without remembering this day and the joy of these children.
We then took them to the Pep store and bought each child a pair of shoes. We ended the day with an ice cream cone for each child. The ice cream turned out to be a bit of a disaster as many were unable to eat it fast enough before it melted and they were reluctant to throw it away, so they would hold the melting ice cream in their hands! What a mess! Luckily we had wet ones to wash them up before getting back into the truck for home.
After most of the morning and half of the afternoon was gone; Mary and I had not had our fill of children, so we got into a cab and went across town to play with the kids from the Catholic AIDS Relief center or the BNC (as they call it).
A day filled with children-hugs, kisses, laughter-----it doesn’t get any better then this!

Yesterday is gone, but today is here.....

Handing out formula to a mother and her child

Mother and Child ........ Triplets that Christa has been helping for some time

Mothers Lining up for soap/clothes.....more babies and mothers


Christa Counselling....

FOOOOOOOOD!

MORE FOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!


FORMULA!

Sister and Brother Carrying Water from the pump... Notice the trail of water.. they had to keep walking a little while down and up the hills.

This is a new water meter that has been put in, but has not been turned on. They took out the old one and replaced it with this but the people cannot use it and have to walk to another pump that is a far distance from this one... New but not functional?????????

Today is Sunday, what most people call a day of rest. But to millions of people out there struggling to find food and water for their families it is anything but a day of rest. It becomes another day that is filled with hunger, another day filled with despair and sickness. It is not easy to sit here in my quiet guest house that is only less then 10 miles away from some of the worst poverty that inflicts this world. There is no welfare system here, let alone a viable excuse of why people are living in such conditions especially when you see ministers driving around in Mercedes Benzes and a second state house that could fund an entirely new health care system that would provide basic assistance to the majority of the people living in poverty here. The gold gates that guard such a place are there in vain: they represent the greed and inconsideration of the Namibian government that ignore the many social problems that plague their beautiful country. It is hard to sit here and witness what is actually happening on the ground and try to compromise it with the inactiveness of the government although the promise to try to reduce poverty and all that it entails (access to education, health care, work, water, food etc…) The misinformation rumoring around among the people who should have the exact facts straight in the first place is a travesty especially when it has to do with such life threatening issues such as access to water.
One thing that is hopeful (which is important to include) is how I have met two region council members that have close relationships with both Christa and Abigail. It is nice to know that there are some people that care and the bureaucracies that plague this government have not yet infiltrated everyone. At times, it is important to keep a professional demeanor when one is a government official, but it is also equally important to be able to sympathize with your people. If this cannot be done, one can get wrapped up in the perks that come along with such a job. That is why, I believe, that corruption is many times overlooked in this country (and in general). “I scratch your back you scratch mine.” Well, what happens when I don’t have the fingers to scratch your back?? I suppose you wouldn’t even look my way would you? So what then happens to the fingerless people of this country? They sit there and continue on with what the have, which is very little. And who is the one paying for this? The children who are suppose to have a free education (according the constitution), the mothers who can’t afford to pay the N$40 a month for their ARV treatment as well as the much needed food they need to take such meds and to stay healthy. Christa starts to pay out of pocket to keep her program alive and continues to go further into debt, while the MP drives around in their fancy car with the air conditioning on full blast never having to roll down the window to smell the urine and feces that fill the air when passing the informal settlements (if they even pass them in the first place). So when you have regional council members coming to see what is happening with such programs, it gives me a little flicker of hope that something can happen. It is good to have people on your side that can somehow have a slight influence on the policies decided from above. But, if the policy makers are content with their life then it is hard to get through to them the imperativeness of the situation, unless, if for an instance, they will step out of their comfort zone and maybe, just maybe, roll down their windows so that they can feel the reality of the situation and not continue to go through life comfortably cool.
Last week we did many things. We bought a lot of food for both programs as well as a bunch of formula for Mt. Sinai. The mission is strong and I got to see first hand the effect of Christa’s hard work and determination. The area surrounding the outside of her house was already filling up with mothers when we arrived at just before eight in the morning. Women and their children, babies as well as toddlers, lined up and waited for their files to be passed out to them. After they received their files, the children were weighed and it was recorded by the volunteers as the mothers moved forward to receive soap and clothes. After that another line was formed outside the door that entered in the house and I as well as a few other volunteers sat on Christa’s couches while the mother came, we stamped their membership cards and determined if they needed formula or a food parcel. This is when I wish that I knew all the languages of the world so that I could thoroughly talk with the mothers and see how they are doing. It is very apparent by experiencing this whole process why Christa needs an actual center. Yes it works out of her house, but if there were to be a center to go along with her mission then this wondrous program would have a center where women could go for counseling and what have you, rather than having to wait until the food and formula hand out is done so that there is a space for them and Christa to sit down and chat about any issues they are having. It is going to be a great day when there is finally a center where women can go ANY time for a safe place, for counseling, food, formula and whatever else they deem necessary-even just a place to hang out and chat with other mothers who are going through the same thing.

Today Monday, we will be going out into the settlments to wrap up our family interviews. After that we will determine who needs uniforms and school fees as well as food parcels and water cards (that is if we even get them!!). We will be buying these things this week.

I am very grateful for the continuation of donations pouring in,especially from friends of mine who should be focused on being able to survive themselves in the US when there is no afforable healthcare or benefits out there for recent college graduates! So thank you to those that continue to give, it means a lot not only to me but to the children and families that are benefitting.

we have one week left here and we are going to do as much as possible and everything we have been wanting to do but haven't gotten to yet in terms of places to go.

Cape town is going to be beautiful, but the bus ride there isn't.. hehe.. Hopefully we will get a good spot on the bus so we can rest and be ready to roll!

More to come on the week as it goes by!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the sunshine!

Take care!

Much love to all,

Mary

getting things done

Two white ladies are walking down the street.
One stops and asks where she can get a nice glass of water?
“You have to go to the water pump and pay, then you can have a glass of water”, someone replys, “but you must have a card in order for the water to come out and on that card must be credit, otherwise, you will not get your nice glass of water”
The white lady says that she does not have a card and asks where she can obtain one.
“The municipality of course, but that is a far walk, you can take taxi if you have the money.”
Luckily the white lady has the $N7 to take the taxi to the municipality that is over a couple kilometers away.
When she arrives she sees lines out the door.
“How long have you been waiting?” the white lady asks the crowd.
“I have been here ALLL morning”, exclaims the African woman, “waiting in line. Even when they closed down the office so that the employees could go eat lunch, I waited… I am thirsty from the far walk here and I just want my card so that I can go home, shower and cook a nice meal for my family, but the lines are moving slowly because only two people are working.”
The white lady sits outside thinking about joining the long line so that she can finally get her nice glass of water.
But then she remembers, “I am white. Why am I waiting for this nice glass of water when I can go home, drink a nice glass of water from my tap, take a hot shower to get this dust off of me, and cook some spaghetti?”
She slowly turns around, remembers she another $7 for her taxi ride home and walks to the corner to hail a cab, leaving the crowd of Africans waiting for their water cards so they too, just like her, can enjoy a nice glass of water.

Today we got a lot done with Christa. We bought 60 things of formula and ordered another 360, because we cleared out their stock. We got her a new printer that can copy and fax as well as scan. This helps her immensely for she has to copy the mother and child’s birth certificates/id’s for her books. She also prints out a lot of proposals to pass out and this will help her a lot in alleviating the cost of copies. We also purchased about 45 sippy cups and tomorrow we will be purchasing more food for her hampers that she gives out to mothers and their children who are currently taking ARV’s.
Along the way we decided to stop and try to get our water cards that we will be supplying to mothers both at FHS and Mt. Sinai. When we went to the MAIN municipality offices in downtown Windhoek, they told us that they did not sell any there and to check with other local offices. They were anything but helpful in telling us some places to go so that we could obtain our cards. A water card is a big deal here, especially for people living in the settlements. Not only might they have to travel a distance to fetch a drum of water, they also have to pay each time. If they do not have a water card in the first place, a lot of times they are forced to either go without water, borrow a neighbors card (which sometimes the neighbor will charge a fee), or take from a communal tap that is often times shut off by the municipality due to insufficient community funds (people don’t pay). The card itself, without any credit on it costs around $N100. I have been told to fill a drum is about $N10. It is a lot cheaper to do it this way, than it is to take from a community tap where one if charged monthly. In both cases, it is up to the municipality if they want to shut it off for a day or two. One day as we were walking through Havana I took a picture of a woman filling her drum and another woman walked by yelling at us saying that yesterday the water was shut off and what is she suppose to do when that happens: “I have a family to feed and clothes to wash.” Water is a commodity here, and it is being rationed and limited in the areas where people need it most. It is no wonder HIV/AIDS runs rampant in these communities and people get sick and die so rapidly. Not only can are they trying to survive off of the little food they have each day, they also don’t have unlimited access to the one thing that ever human should and that is clean water.
So, needless to say, we were given the run around when trying to purchase water cards. Christa would have to purchase them, but even so she could only purchase one for herself and no one else. The people we wanted to purchase them for would need to come in, fill out paperwork, present an ID and an erf number (address). Thankfully, we have connections. We went to Phil at the Humans Right’s center right up the block from where we are staying and told him about what happened and showed him the pictures of the lines that we saw outside the Ombili municipality. He got on the phone, made a call to the person in charge of that municipality there, Isis, and demanded that she give us 50 water cards because it is a human right and we are an organization that is trying to give clean water to mothers who are going to feed their babies. The woman said she would get back to him tomorrow. I don’t know if she is going to follow through, but the fact that we had connections both troubles and pleased me all at the same time. What happens to those that don’t have the connections and continue to wait in those lines for their cards? What happens to those people that cannot afford that N$100 to buy a water card? What if someone doesn’t have an ID, or an permanent addresses to show? What would have we done if we didn’t have that connection with Phil? This is a very bureaucratic process for a person to be able to have access to water and I feel that a few profit off of the majority of people’s struggle to be able to live. Hopefully this will be resolved and the fact that we can pose as an organization helping people gain access to water (which is true) will benefit us so that we can actually help out 50 people not worry about how they can get water.
Gratitude List:

A toilet that flushes.
A toilet in my house that isn’t a hole in the ground outside.
Access to clean water that comes out of a tap from my house.
Long Hot Showers
The fact that my toilet water at home is probably cleaner than the water in the settlements here.
Ice.
Washing Machines
Electricity
My good health (knock on wood)
People that watch our backs here, making sure to tell us when to watch our stuff.
TOILET PAPER!!!!!!


Things that need changing:
More access to water
Better access to healthcare- one that is up to standards-update public hospitals.
More access to a good education. ( in theory it is suppose to be free of charge? But in practice???????)
HIV/Aids Education.. Rollout of free ARV’s
More Gov. involvement on the ground (slumber party for the MP’s in the settlements?)
Water Cards for All (free of charge for the card, charge for water?)

Happy Easter from Annie!

Happy Easter Everyone,
It was a quite a long day for us as everything is closed down for the holiday. Mary and I attended church in the morning and then the rest of the day has been free. This is good as we very much needed to rest after our big day yesterday. The Easter egg party at Hakahana was a success! We had a good turn-out, over 200 children came for the celebration. We supplied the food for the lunch that I suspect fed at least 250 if you include adults and volunteers. We had invited a group of nursing students from the Netherlands to help and I don’t know how we would have managed without them. When we arrived at 7:30, there was already a group of children waiting to get in the gates. If you can image we managed to keep them behind the gates until 9:oo!! We paid for a clown and a media system so that we could entertain the kids with music and a few Disney cartoons. The distraction was good as it took many hours to prepare the meal. The adults had fun hiding the plastic eggs outside(thanks Lynn) and the chocolate eggs indoors. Imagine trying to keep all those kids behind a gate for an hour and a half!!! My favorite part is opening the gates and watching them run!! We had the volunteers take the little ones by hand to help them find the eggs, and of course we kept some candy separate for the ones who came later. Hearing the children’s excitement and laughter was sooo wonderful.
The clown was fantastic and she had all the children mesmerized as she performed magic tricks. We were busy getting the lunch ready. We had cabbage salad, rice with soup, chicken, fat cakes, and we made two garbage cans full of Tang with added Vit. C tablets for the many colds that children seem to have. Mary and I had also popped 2 garbage bags full of popcorn! Each child was given a baggie with fruit rings and sweets to take with them.
The serving of the food was a bit chaotic and that’s putting it mildly! Two days before the party someone broke into the community center and took the burner we so desperately needed to prepare the food. We were able to borrow a 2 burner grill the morning of the party. We started cooking and preparing food immediately in the morning so that it would be ready by noon. When you have 200 starving children you don’t want to make them wait when they know that food is coming. It was an assembly line of women preparing and serving the food. We had to try and keep some sort of order otherwise you have children sneaking back for seconds when others have not had any. It reminds me of the movie “Oliver Twist”—‘please sir can I have somemore’! The behavior of hungry children is an experience that I can never forget. It was a shock to the volunteers that had never seen that before. Children act very naughty-they fight and grab for food. It is extremely difficult to maintain any kind of order. Many of these children are orphans and all live in extreme poverty. This was the only meal that they would eat today and they don’t know if there will be food for tomorrow. So they grab food and stuff it in their shirts or pockets so they will have some for later. I tried to explain this to the volunteers as they have not seen how these children are living. They have no manners and there is no please and thank-you’s—it’s just survival. The mothers are not much different as they are busy planning for any leftovers that they may have to feed their children for another day. How can we (Americans- Europeans) even imagine what their lives are like when we have never experienced hunger and starvation? What would any of us as mother’s do to feed our children if they were starving?
So Mary and I are now qualified to work at any soup kitchen in the US!! At the end of the day we shooed the children out of the center and cleaned up the enormous mess. Then we turned on the music, opened the gate and let them back in and we danced for the next 2 hours! Even the Ouma’s (grandmothers) danced!!! It was really a lovely day. Our goal for that day was that children would have full bellies, lots of fun, and a good memory that they could take with them and hopefully never forget!!! Thank you all for making this possible for the children.
God Bless and Happy Easter, Love Annie and Mary

Razz-ma-tazz
Water Station in Settlement
-Waterberg Park

Zebra

Foibe and Family
Assembly Line for feeding Kids
Annie and Family in Okahandja.

-Let em Loose!!!

-Our Hut at Penduka

We are back in the city. The stad.
Today we went to FHS to set up for tomorrow’s party. “Tomorrow is Christmas”, Ouma Cecelia blurted out in her best possible English. One lady stood in the kitchen/store room/office lopping pieces of dough into the boiling pot of oil to make fat cakes, while some ladies lined up to take turns grabbing clothes that a German lady donated. Finally Abigail just started handing things out and at one point threw piles of clothes out in the middle of the floor while they all rushed to grab what wasn’t already claimed. We both forgot our cameras, but it will be a sight that my memory will never forget. Someone’s old, used, raggedy clothes and shoes that were covered in dust were another woman’s new found treasures and fashion accessories. “Lelelelelelele” the women cried while dancing with joy. Little moments like these are what makes me happy for this life and the chance to be here and witness another culture and way of life. It has made me realize that one way of living is no better than the other. It is only what we are use to that makes us look at new ways of living in a strange way. As my father tells me: “you are criticizing, but you don’t know, take the time to know…” It is the concept of the “other”, if you are not familiar with someone or something, it is then a lot easier to dub it strange therefore foreign- this of course has justified a lot of things through history (slavery, wars, racism, sexism etc..) But just because someone goes about doing something another way, doesn’t mean it is wrong. It is just different and I believe that it is very important to keep an open mind through out life. If one is to also judge (which we ALL do), and not take a moment to learn something new, it is a great travesty to the world and for the individual. No matter how far or little one has to step out of their comfort zone to do so, one should take steps towards this whether small or large... Maybe talking to someone new, or learning how to cook a new international dish, or learning a new language or volunteering at a local shelter or immigration center. We all can learn something from one another as opposed to sitting silently in the distance and judging and assuming that this is what something is like. Baby steps to peace. I truly think that you will find out that we all have more in common in this world than one would think.

That is what I continue to learn on a day to day basis. Everyone is just trying to survive; to get a piece of the pie. A taxi driver said to us yesterday “Life is hard, one person is up the other is down, there is rich and poor, nothing will never be fair.” This got me to thinking, because in my idealistic mind, I want there to be a world where everyone has pie and so they can share and not have to hoard. Here is a joke that I read in a book that I thought I should share with you: “What is the only thing that money can’t buy? Poverty.”
I struggle a lot with the fact that my life could house many families who live here-that is my material life thus far. The fact that I have frozen bread in my freezer (I’m sure someone would kill for it) that never gets eaten is the perfect example of the things I take for granted in my life. That is why I am so confused much of the time. Why hoard when there are so many people that need it more? I need to start making a list of resourceful things I can start doing. 1. Do I really NEED this or is it a want? I worked hard, so why shouldn’t I splurge a little?? This is just my thought process.