Their first meal

When I wake up every morning to go to Hill Crest, I expect to see what I see every day. The elders holding out a hand to say hello, the kids shouting at me as I pass, dust blowing up behind me with every step, dogs begging for any scraps a passerby may have, motorcycles rushing to deliver the water they’re transporting and women of all ages carrying water on their head or babies on their back. The elders are always missing teeth, kids are so dusty they could be mzungu, ribs are showing on every dog and most women carrying water or babies are actually girls younger than 12. It’s all very sad to see at first, but like anything, when you’re so happy somewhere and everyone is so nice, and you couldn’t imagine going anywhere else every day, you eventually become a bit blind to what’s really happening around you. For the last 4 weeks I’ve become so comfortable with the walk through the village to get to school, I haven’t seen anything that has made me stop and reevaluate my entire take on this experience. A couple weeks ago I learned that if you aren’t sure whether or not to stop looking, always stop. That person crossing the street IS going to get capped by the car, the dog lying there with flies around it IS dead, the thief that thought he would get away IS getting beaten to a pulp, and that child who seems so happy every day IS happy to be at school..because when she goes home all she will have is a bicycle tire to play with and a concrete floor to sleep on. But today I walked past a particular sight with uncertainty. Uncertain whether I should stop, whether everyone else around was seeing the same thing as me..whether the child laying in the dirt was dead or alive. I should have stopped, I know, but at first I didn’t think anything of it until I picked up Junior. I saw the way he was walking and talking and breathing and thought about the kid on the ground, he was just laying there. There are always people laying around here, so I really don’t know if it was just him being tired or actually lying there lifeless, but by the time I could get back to check he was gone. Either he walked away or someone picked him up. I wish I knew what actually happened there, but my gut tells me it wasn’t what I’m hoping. Today was also our first time using the new stovetop we got for Hill Crest. Some new volunteers went and got 25kgs of rice, beans, sugar, flour and potatoes. We went and got some vegetables and made the kids rice and beans and beef. The parents came into school and thanked us, and said they never thought their kids would eat so much. We made each of them big plates of rice, beans and beef and almost all of them went back for seconds and thirds. Some of our kids are 6 years old and had never had a real meal, today was a first for them. The new volunteers ensured that they will be supplying them with enough food before they leave and money for them when they’re gone so that the kids can keep eating. I never thought I would get so emotional watching 24 kids sit on the ground eating in a circle, but I had to hold back the tears the entire time. It was so amazing to know that we are making such a difference...education is so important, but only as important as the health of the kids that allows them to get to school every day. We made a schedule for the food so that we know what to make every day and Isaac said that we will never have an absent student again. Umbeni and Obedi (who previously only got porridge) are now getting beans, meat, rice, pasta, vegetables, and all the extras on the weekends. Yay!! It’s only making me more excited for the future of Hill Crest. Especially seeing what a difference we can make, I can’t say enough that from 2-6 had their First meal today. Not just a scoop of maize when they can afford it, maybe some potatoes every other day. I’m hoping to get the kids some kind of real toys in addition to the deflated rubber balls at school and bicycle tires for home, and I’ll be going to get Umbeni a new sweater this weekend as he wears the same thing every day. I hope to also get them some new shoes, none of their shoes fit or are functional anymore but when you have no other choice, you have to make do with what you have. It’s just opened my eyes so much- like this is my first week again. I can live without the snacks and internet money if it means these kids will benefit in the long run. I wish you could all come see and experience this. Thank you to everyone who has helped so much, and is going to help in the future. I’ll be so excited when we can get new Hill Crest built and we can look forward to being in a real school! :) I love it here so much, the kids, the people, Isaac and Elizabeth..I can’t believe there is only 6 weeks left here.