January 29, 2011

Being in a place of such need on so many levels can be somewhat of an overwhelming thing. I spent most of the morning Saturday walking the streets of downtown Ndola. I had nothing on my agenda other than to observe the people and pray. My heart was burdened. As I walked passed the post office I saw a young girl and boy gathering up the broken pieces of a glass Fanta bottle. They smiled at me as I passed and I saw that they were using a piece of the broken glass as a bowl like cup to gather what sips remained in the broken bottle. I decided to take them to a local bakery and allow them to choose a drink and something to eat. (We picked up a third child on the way J) It took them about 15 minutes to decide what they wanted, I think there were just too many good things to choose from. As we left the bakery they said, “thank you madam..thank you” and they skipped along side me as we headed back in the direction of the post office. These 3 kids are regular beggars on the streets of downtown Ndola. I see them on a regular basis and don’t know much of their story. I do know that it is not required for kids to go to school and it is up to the discretion of the parent or caregiver. I have gathered from observation that at least 2 of the 3 stay with a grandmother who is blind. She sits at a central location near one of the bust stops. She is always sitting in the same place with her hand out waiting for those who pass to assist her. The grandchildren “report” back to her and check on her throughout the day. I am sure these children have mastered the art of knowing whom to target and I try not to be a “sucker” but it’s hard. The street kids will almost always come up to me, for the mere fact that I am white. Here white equals money and I am sure word spreads quickly about the ones that give. One thing that I decided is that I will not give the kids money, they will say, “Madame, I am hungry..can you give me money” Instead of giving them money I will go and buy food and give it to them. That way I am certain that they actually eat. It would be easy to go broke doing this but it is something I do not do every day. I am learning to say no and to be lead by the Spirit in whom to help. Its hard, I will tell you that much. Towards the end of the day I saw an old woman sitting under covering of an entrance to a shop. Near by a young boy was begging from some of the patrons parked near by and an even younger boy sat next to the old woman. As I got closer I realized the woman was blind. I would probably not be wrong in my assumption that these were her grandchildren and that their parents had died. I was actually on my way to get something to eat as I passed them. I was surprised that as I passed not one of them approached me to beg..shocked rather. It was about 3 or 4 pm by this time and I had not eaten anything yet that day but as I passed them my focus shifted from the hunger I felt to the thought of their hunger. How does a blind grandmother care for 2 young boys and how dependant is she upon them to beg for money so that they can all eat? I crossed the street to a corner grocery store and bought a bag of rolls, a large package of bologna, some chips, fruit juice and candy bars for the 3 of them. I had food at home I could make and waiting an hour longer was not that big of a deal. I crossed the road again as a light rain began to fall and put the food at the grandmothers feet without saying a word, then continued walking on my way. I had not gotten very far before I felt a small hand grasping mine. It was the older of the two boys; he kissed my hand and thanked me over and over again..he was about 9. I continued walking as the rain grew heavier, I didn’t bother to even open my umbrella. It was as if I didn’t notice the rain soaking me or maybe I just didn’t care. In the scheme of things and what I had experienced today and seen it just didn’t matter to me. I felt like crying but continued walking not aware of anything around me but only on what I had seen so far, my feet must have been on auto pilot because before I knew it I was boarding a bus for home.