Hello again,
It was now time to distribute the goods which had been donated in England. Alex arranged for us to visit villages where his Ambassadors had identified families who were struggling to survive. At one village we were introduced to Andrew who had fallen ill in 2002 and is now semi paralysed in his legs and cannot walk properly. He and his wife have seven children.
Alex explained to him who we were and through Alex, Andrew told us his story. We gave him some bedding, soap and clothes for the family. Later we were able to supply him with some crutches to help him with his mobility. The root vegetable that you can see in the photograph is Cassava which is usually ground down to make flour for porridge, or can be eaten raw - like Alex is enjoying!
The next family that we visited was Tongera and her seven grandchildren, who she looks after since their parents died fom HIV/Aids. One of the children has learning difficulties. None of the children go to school. Living nearby is her son and his wife with two small children. The wife is in ill health. We gave Tongera soap, bedding and clothes.
Tongera was very happy to receive the clothes and bedding, especially the black shawl for herself.
This elderly grandmother also looks after her three grandchildren. The children do not go to school as she cannot afford to buy the uniforms. We came across this situation a number of times, and although a uniform is not compulsary, the children feel "different" if they are not dressed the same as their peers. Pupils also have to supply their own writing materials. Lake Victoria Children's Society do help with these items, but there are far to many disadvantaged children for L.V.C to be able to support them all, due to the lack of funds.
When we gave the grandmother some bedding, she just couldn't stop smiling, although Brenda thought that she was very near to tears!
In another village we were taken to see Jacob and his family. He and his wife have ten children, which are five sets of twins. Only one set of twins go to school. Seven of the children are fostered or looked after by other members of the family.
We gave the family clothes,shoes,soap etc.
Jacob was very happy to receive a new jacket... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... and Mama was delighted with her new trainers
We tried to give the children some teddy bears, but they were not used to toys and in spite of us cuddling the bears to show them not to be afraid, unfortuneately the children were too frightened to hold them. We left the bears sitting on a table and hopefully the children would enjoy them later. It was quite an upsetting experience for us as normally children love a soft toy to cuddle.
Although our help was appreciated, it was clear that we need to do more to help these families and many, many more like them.
We will bring you more stories from the villages next time.
Until then,
Best Wishes,
Diane and Derek
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