team 7: dawn

It Takes A Village

Today, amidst playing cards, and watching football, and pumping water, I was reflecting on two simple words that carry deep meaning: “thanks” and “village.”

We asked one of SMK’s expert lettering artists, Petra, to create some thank you cards for the gifts and supplies that friends in the US generously donated and that Team 7 volunteers delivered on this trip. The kiddos were eager to add their names to the cards and take pictures to show their appreciation for gifts of colored pencils, games, soccer uniforms, soaps, cough drops, shoes, toothbrushes, cameras, and many other much-needed items. I could learn some techniques for writing my own thank you notes from the SMK kids.

Emily and I helped Douglas Tony Blair, SMK’s clinic nurse (who grew up at SMK and was sponsored by Change the Truth), unload all of the donated supplies that he will use to treat children for minor illnesses and injuries. Douglas was deeply grateful for the Costco-sized bottles of ibuprofen, ointments, and other clinic medications. He knows that he can relieve the discomfort of sick or injured children for months to come. Think of the last time you opened your medicine cabinet to give your child a Motrin to lower her fever or a dose of cough medicine to help him sleep, and how grateful you were that you had supplies on hand. Now, multiply that by hundreds of times and dozens of sick children. That’s how thankful Douglas is.

When I first visited St. Mary Kevin two years ago, it took me a few days to grasp why the daily scene at the orphanage seemed unusual. Then it hit me: I was an adult walking through a village of children.

During our stay each December, the kids are on holiday from school, which means there are no classes, no teachers, no cooks, and only a very small staff of dormitory matrons and Change the Truth’s amazing coordinator, Melissa Mosher. Can you imagine your neighborhood elementary school being occupied almost exclusively by 180 children, ages 4 to 18, for three months? Sounds chaotic (at best) and terrifying (at worst), right?

But at SMK, neither description is true. The teenagers look out for the older children, who in turn look after the youngest kiddos. The teens referee arguments, set boundaries, and explain projects. The older children do their daily chores and take care of themselves just fine. The youngest ones are accompanied to meals and brought along for games and songs.

It all works because in the richest definition of “village,” everyone is cared for and no one takes more than he or she needs. In the SMK village, Emily and I watched an older child Macgyver a brilliant repair for a 4-year-old boy’s broken sandal. Without that assistance, the little boy would have gone without one shoe until it was his turn to receive a new pair.

I am thankful for each day I get to be here to witness the joy and tenderness of these young friends. When I leave, I remain grateful throughout the year for the eye-opening and heart-opening experience of being a Change the Truth Team member.

- Dawn

photo from dawn

I'm loving the photos members of Team 7 are posting up on their Facebook pages. This one is especially wonderful.

team 7: hope

Team leader and teacher extraordinaire Jennifer conducted a project while she was at SMK. It was all about hope. It is obvious that her thoughtful preparation, her easy way with children, her infectious love of life, her belief in all things good and her sense of hope brought about results that will take these children many miles down the road. Thank you, Jenn, for instilling hope in the kids at SMK and, ultimately, in all of us. What better way to usher in a new year? Here is Jenn's blog post about the project.

Dr. Shane Lopez, a Gallup Senior Scientist and professor at the University of Kansas, has published a new book on the power of Hope. A hopeful person has four core beliefs: the future will be better than the present, I have the power to make it so, there are many paths to my goals, and none of them are free of obstacles. The middle school where I teach is implementing some of Dr. Lopez's strategies with students in an effort to build students' Hope. The research supports Hope is independent of wealth, intelligence, and nationality. 

Would the kids at Saint Mary Kevin support Dr. Lopez's research? 

To find out, the children and I worked on the Hope Camera Project at SMK.  I spent two lessons teaching the basic concepts of Hope and then turned the children loose with digital cameras asking them to take photos of where they find hope in their lives. To be honest, I had no idea what would happen. Would the word translate? Do the concepts apply to the lives of orphans and children who have had obstacles far steeper than that of most American children? And more importantly, can we work to build Hope in the children at Saint Mary Kevin?

Here's what the children taught me about Hope:

I have hope in my friends, and they have hope in me. - Okecha Brian

Computer study gives me hope because my future will be better. - Brian

Saint Mary Kevin gives me Hope because it is one of the best schools that gives the chance to an orphan in order to work hard so they can have a better future. - Kaifa

I took a photo of myself because I have Hope in myself that when I grow up I will be someone important and I will fight for freedom. - Leo

Melissa being here gives me hope in all that I am doing and always makes me to set my goals and encourages me to continue with my hardworking. - Rosette

This drawing by my older brother, Nicky, gives me Hope because it shows how I am loved and cared for by my family at SMK and other people around me. - Issy

Dr. Lopez includes the following quote at the end of his book, Making Hope Happen: Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he send forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. - Robert F. Kennedy, June 6, 1966

The ripples of Hope from Change The Truth to Saint Mary Kevin and back are too numerous to count. Hope is definitely contagious. CTT is an agent of Hope. It provides many pathways for the children to reach their goals. And whatever the obstacles encountered, the children are learning that they can be overcome. 

Hope is alive and well...and growing at Saint Mary Kevin.

final days at smk for team 7

One thing that really stood out to me about SMK was how talented the students were. The art room at the orphanage looked like a professional exhibition, and the marching band of the students was fantastic. These kids just seemed inherently great at anything they put their minds to. It took the CTT team several hours to learn and practice a performance of jingle bells on Boomwackers, while the older kids at SMK flawlessly performed intricate dances for over 20 minutes. These kids are certainly a special group! - Sam

We feel so blessed to be part of an organization that is truly changing the truth for so many children. We are honored to have represented CTT as a part of Team 7. - Jennifer and Jeff

Spirit day was a huge success! We were able to successfully contain the kids' competitive nature and bring out the best in them, and they had great fun. You will see a fun activity called "Hit the Mazungu" which was a sponge toss at Max's head. He was such a good sport. Our good-bye program was quite a big deal with the brass band playing 3 or 4 songs, and gifts were presented to us by Joan Faith, Rosemary and Joseph. Speeches were also made, and letters were handed to us by some of the kids. It was sad to say goodbye, especially for me. - Jane

the gang's all here (there)

Front row: Dawn Emily, Leah, Sam
Middle row: Cynthia, Jane, Josh, Max
Back row: Jennifer, Jeff, Melissa

team 7: dawn and emily arrive!

Dawn and her daughter Emily have made their way to SMK and beautifully round out CTT's Team 7. Though they will overlap with the the majority of team members for only a couple days, I believe Team 7 has come together as one of the best groups to ever make the trip, because the children at the orphanage are so happy to have four young team members - kids who are close to their ages. That is a first, as is the fact that there are four guys!

Check out the fabulous welcome signs that greeted Dawn and Emily.

team 7: josh

Tina, Rita, Josh and Queen

My trip to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage in 2012 was a genuine revelation. Coming to Africa, Uganda, this orphanage for the first time was filled with surprises at so many levels. While blogs, photos and videos prepared me in advance for many aspects of my visit, I wasn’t prepared for the powerful impact these young people would have on me one at a time and what the trip taught me about our universal capacity for emotional connection – for friendship and love.

This year’s trip has been an affirmation, both as I reconnected with my friends at St. Mary Kevin and as I watched my wife and twin sons as they experienced the same sense of discovery of and affinity for these wonderful kids. Coming back a year later also has made my sense of SMK more dynamic. The “snapshot” experience of 2012 was made far richer by reuniting with these children and seeing their emotional growth, academic progress and even learning of their personal challenges in the intervening year. A quick example. When we arrived last year, 10-year-old Queen wrote a touching letter to Leah on our first day, asking to be her friend.  We both spent time with her each day, and at the end of our trip, there was no sadder moment than saying goodbye to Leah’s first friend. Waiting for us when we arrived last week were new letters to each of us from Queen. They were no less touching than the first, but I was amazed, not only by the beauty of the sentiments, but also by the gracefulness and maturity of her writing.

After last year’s immersion, I’ve also been struck by many details I missed last year.  There is a magic about the lives we see at SMK, but that doesn’t come about magically. The security, joy, optimism of and opportunity for these children has been hard-won over nearly 20 years by Rosemary Kavulu and her husband Joseph, the SMK staff, and, more recently, by Gloria Baker Feinstein and Melissa Mosher of Change the Truth and CTT supporters.

Watching the talent show on Christmas Day, and seeing Queen, Nicky, Claire Faith, Joan and others with their energy, pride, grace and genuine talent, I was reminded of what struck me so powerfully when I arrived last year – these kids are so very, very special.

- Josh

team 7: photos from jane

Jane has been so great about passing along photos form Team 7's trip. She has no idea how much it means to me to open up her emails and see these lovely, shining faces! It is so clear Team 7 is bringing much joy to the children at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood.