Modern Day Robin Hood

13/04/10

We got back into Windhoek Sunday night around 7:00pm. We had played Robin Hood during our entire visit to the lodge, stealing food at every meal. It was buffet-style, so they didn’t notice when we walked away with an extra roll or apple hidden in our pockets. At one meal, Annie actually stole half of a French baguette. On the ride home, we handed the food out to hungry kids at every rest stop. We guessed that those kids will never get a chance to stay in one of the fancy lodges, so we brought some of the lodge to them. Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor has never felt so good.

Yesterday we spent getting things ready for our last two and a half days. Linda and Genny went shopping for school supplies to donate to FHS. We bought most of the pencils, erasers, chalk, notebooks, scissors, glue sticks, markers, and colored pencils that the store had. US money goes so far here, due to the exchange rate. We spent about US$200 on school supplies, and it would have cost closer to $500 or so in the US. We brought it all to the school today, and the teachers were ecstatic! They have to keep a close eye on supplies, as they tend to disappear if not watched. Most of the kids will always return the supplies, even if they are left lying out, but there are a few that are so desperate that they would steal supplies to sell on the street. The teachers put the supplies to use right away, using the scissors, markers, and glue sticks in one of the craft activities. We are always amazed how they use everything they can here. We watched the kids make little cardboard houses out of the boxes we had brought the candy in during the Easter party (see pictures!). They had saved the empty boxes for a week and a half, just to use them in this activity.

Nicole and Genny decided to sponsor kids from FHS. FHS’s sponsorship program is truly fantastic. They pick the kids who live in the hardest conditions, and whose families are struggling the most to pay their school fees, and search for sponsors for them. To sponsor a child for one year is $1,700 Namibian dollars (US$240). This money will pay for a uniform, school fees, and hygiene kits for the student. The Namibian government prides itself on its “free” education for all children. However, all schools charge a school fee and all students must have a uniform to attend. Clothing here is cheap - about US$5 for a child’s t-shirt. However, uniforms are very expensive, closer to US$35 for pants and a shirt, and US$20 for a pair of school shoes. So buying everything for the uniform, and paying school fees, is more money than most families can manage. Also, most families have more than one child to put through school. Working at the school has caused us to form an attachment to these kids. Today, I met the child I would be sponsoring. Matheus is 13 years old, but he’s about the height and weight of an 8 year old. He lives with his aunt, two other adult relatives, and 12 other children, in one house. He just started school this year, and was placed in Grade 2. His birthday wish is to have a new pair of pants (he only has one), shoes for school, and a cake (since he’s never had one).

In some ways this is a plea for help - FHS has 150 more children needing sponsors. But beyond that, it is an eye-opener to the vastly different way that children grow up in Namibia. Living in overcrowded, tin shacks in the ghettos of Havana with way too many relatives and not enough food or clothing to go around makes for a very sad childhood. We want to pack these children in our suitcases and bring them home to a better life, but there are children everywhere we look and we couldn’t possibly help them all. So we take the little moments of joy and tuck them away to help us sew up our hearts as they break every time we look at how these kids spend their childhood. We help as many as we can, and pray for those we can’t reach. We also know that Namibians care for their children. Orphans are usually taken in by relatives, rather than thrown on the street. School fees are the first thing most families pay, before food and rent, because they know that their children must get an education to have a better life. Many schools, like FHS, take time to check on the family lives of the children and do their best to help kids who are struggling. Families donate food to soup kitchens that feed orphaned children, even when they do not have enough food for themselves. There is so much hope and so much faith here, that it is impossible to believe that Namibia will not someday strive. We will continue to do everything we can to make that happen, and we thank you for your support as we do this work. Hope is a contagious thing, and it is everywhere we look in Namibia.

~Annie, Linda, Mary, Genny

(If you are interested in sponsoring a child, or learning more about FHS, please e-mail me at gennyclute@gmail.com)