African AIDS Angels

A testimonial about my experience at Kasisi Children's Home, a very special place in the heart of Zambia

by Elizabeth Lamarche from Canada

I had the privilege of working as a volunteer in October 2007 until January 2008.

Why Zambia you might ask and why at 62 would a semi- retired person want to volunteer? 

Listening to Steven Lewis, reading the newspaper and seeing the news about HIV Aids and the devastation in Africa I had been sending bits of money to various relief organizations, like many people do, to help alleviate both their distress and mine. I had also been working with a group of women who make little doll angels to sell in order to send money to various HIV Aids orphanages and hospices in Zambia and South Africa.

At the same time, I was taking a course with a book entitled “Dreams Have No Expiry Date” on the suggested reading list. All of a sudden I dared to dream. I wanted to go and share some, energy, time and love. At first, I dreamt big and thought I would sign up with Volunteer Services Overseas.  Following a meeting with them I was afraid that I might not have the stamina to do a one or two year assignment, so I dreamt smaller. “The thousand mile journey starts with one step.”

It occurred to me that I could offer to help out at one of the organizations I was already working for indirectly. As I am a qualified elementary school teacher I took the one small step and sent a letter to Kasisi offering Sister Mariola my services for a semester. Likely because they had some knowledge of our group and my credentials I was invited to come.

This is what I found.

First and foremost Kasisi is a place of love and kindness. The children are well cared for with a system of sisters (The Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate, a Polish Catholic order) and local housemothers (mummies) to take care of the day to day operations and some volunteers. They ensure that the children are well looked after both physically, spiritually and psychologically.

The children’s home is supported by many benefactors; the mainstay is a Dutch Foundation which ensures that the operating expenses are met. In addition, there are many other donors and benefactors some local, some international.  It is amazing to see the work the Sisters do to keep the place running and to ensure that the contributors continue to make donations. There is always only one motivator “Is it good for the children?” and there are a lot of children; 110 under the age of two and 117 school age children.

Some children are very ill with HIV Aids, with TB or other health problems and have lost one or both parents, yet joy is what you see on the children’s faces despite their situations. On arrival, the guiding principle I was given to do my work was a simple one that says it all, “This is the children’s home and we are one big family; so if you wonder what you should do, in any given circumstance, just think how would I deal with this as a good mother?”

With that in mind, I was given free rein with the task of tutoring the children according to their needs. It was a wonderful experience to see the moments of understanding light up their faces as they mastered addition, subtraction and multiplication. Every day someone would complete a task with satisfaction. Story time became a necessity! Maps were drawn, flags made, pictures painted, questions asked, the best one being “What are we learning today?”

There are many things that deserve mention as I write this testimonial; here are a few 

The chapel is one of them, it is a beautiful children’s chapel with elephants, zebras, giraffes and trees as well as birds swooping and African village huts gracing the walls. The children attend mass on Sunday with singing, drumming and dancing as part of the ritual. There is so much respect for their culture and language it makes me happy just thinking about it. Every time one of the priests speaks to the children he tells them they are loved, that God loves them and that God is love. That kind of religion makes a lot of sense to me. Here are these orphans who could feel deprived and lost, being told they are loved and being shown love. 

The tenacity of the Sisters, Nurses and volunteer Doctors is admirable as they ensure that each child gets the right treatment. The daily routine of providing the antiretroviral therapy is a big task but it is never left to chance; every morning and every evening the children line up outside the dispensary. Sister cajoles them, cuddles them and keeps them coming without too much fear or trepidation. When a child is ill, the first priority is that child; sometimes that means a trip to the Coptic hospital in Lusaka where the Sisters have established a wonderful working relationship.  Sometimes it means getting funds for the surgery or the brace or for whatever is required.

Food and water are provided with generosity and hard work. Just keeping the meals going is a tremendous task. Each baby needs feeding as well as each teenage boy needing seconds.

The routines are well established and the children have a sense of security knowing what is expected of them.   

The doors to the Kasisi compound are opened every morning and closed when darkness comes. The children come and go both to the local village school and to the church freely, walking and riding bikes. The feeling of trust is strong and a child is only curtailed if necessity dictates it to be so. 

Small things that make Kasisi fee like home:

Each child lives in a particular house with his /her own age group and an assigned group of mummies. The mummies ensure the children get out the door everyday to go to school. Sundays are special with each girl dressed for the occasion, often with a great hairdo. The boys are dapper in their best pants and shirts. This enhances their sense of self esteem.

The older boys are big brothers to the younger boys.

The older girls participate in feeding the babies.

The garden is a much loved spot; carrots are there for the taking!

The children celebrate their birthdays by being given a bag of candy to share with their friends.

The Sisters speak Nyanja to the children as well as English .

Everyone participates with the housekeeping chores; the place is kept very clean.

Children dance spontaneously when the rains come.

And last but certainly not least there are always lots of hugs to go around.

Kasisi is like any family, it has its good days and it has some difficult days. It is a human place, a place decidedly doing its very best with the resources it has and doing it very well. I was blessed to be able to lend a hand.