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| With Josefina, the little princess |
When we came back from the orphanage. I was overwhelmed with emotions. The kids were so adorable. A girl named Josefina became really close to me. That morning, when I first saw her while being carried by Saro, I noticed how painfully sad she was. While the rest of the children were smiling at us, she just had a forlorn expression, oblivious of the all the attention.
Later on, as I was playing with other kids, I saw her fighting with
another girl. She was about to throw slippers at her when I took away
them away and told her to stop. She then grabbed me, asked me to carry
her and just hugged me very tightly. We were inseparable since then.
Soon another boy named Beka asked me to carry him so I then had to carry
two kids.
I began swaying the two like I would my own kids when they were that small. I hummed a classic Filipino lullaby Sa Ugoy ng Duyan.
In a matter of minutes, they were sound asleep. They were hugging each
other and hugging me tightly. I whispered to them to take care of each
other for they were brothers and sisters. I prayed that they be free
from suffering and that they may find joy in this life.
My back soon began to ache so I had to give Beka to Radka while
Josefina continued to sleep on my chest while I was sitting down. She
woke up when we were about to have lunch and one of the nuns took her so
I could eat. Right after I ate, she again approached me and she sat on
my lap. The children prepared a program for us and Josefina remained on
my lap watching, clapping, and drinking from the bottle of water she
asked me to get in Swahili.
We went to the orphanage as part of
the CSC program so we could spend one day as a team working for the
community. We spent most of the day doing what the orphans and the nuns
would normally do - cleaning the toilets, polishing shoes, washing the
laundry, cooking lunch, and so on. In the afternoon, the kids treated us
to a presentation of songs and dances.
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| Mama Marta, being the loving mother that she is |
Before we left in the afternoon, the kids introduced themselves.
Someone introduced Josefina as she was too small to speak. She mentioned
that she was found on the road as a baby and that they called her
"Princess." That just broke my heart.
It was very hard to say goodbye to her and to all the beautiful
children we met. Peter cried as he was taken away from me. Somehow, I
felt a bit cruel to show up and give love only for one day. Yet the way
the kids clung to me told me they all would like to be hugged and
touched even for just one day. I thought I could not go home and go back
to my work and not do something about orphans. They are the forgotten,
and the dispossessed and it is for them, the least of his brethren, that
we are called to be Christians.
Those children will sleep at night without a mother and a father.
If they wake up at night because of a nightmare, there is nobody to
comfort them except their fellow orphans. For them to eat and to go to
school, the nuns have to beg for money.
I know she would rather keep it to herself, but my friend Pat did
something beautiful and that is worthy of emulation, and that was to
give hope. She pledged to sponsor the education of one of the girls and
she has just started in her new school, the best private school in
Tanga. Pat is also about to come back to the orphanage
in two weeks to fix the playground and to help with its processes so
that it is able to find a more sound and sustainable financial footing.
We, her worldwide family and friends, are sending contributions in our
own small way.
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| My friend Pat, a shining example |
In the bleakest of circumstances, in a remote town in a poor sub
Saharan country, the nuns of the Casa della Gioia are doing God's work
and we were privileged to see how they have truly built a house of joy.
