This morning we had to do some recovering from the Nile. So we got a couple hours to sleep in! However once we caught up on some sleep we were off to another place to volunteer. It's called Dwelling Places. Their main mission is to rescue children from the street, rehabilitate them, give the kids an education, teach them the necessities for living a sustainable life, and relocate the child's family. The kids range anywhere from a couple years to 18 years old. This organization believes that every child should have an opportunity to grow up with the security of a family and in a loving lifestyle. However when I heard that I questioned the statement. Last year I volunteered with an organization in Israel,Elem, who also saves kids from living on the streets. I learned that most of the time the kids are on the out on their own because their home was more dangerous than the street. Each of the kids situations differed but some may have been sexually abused, beaten, or somehow treated poorly. On the other hand it might have been because the family was unable to bring in enough money to buy food, water, etc. No matter the situation, once a child is exposed to street life it completely changes his/her view on the world and it also challenges them to make life changing decisions. Therefore, when I heard a representative from Dwelling Places say that 90% of the children saved go back to their original home I could only wonder if those children would runaway again or if their parents would continue to harass them.
On a happier note, we went to the center where the kids live and spend most of their time. As soon as we pulled up, all of the children started to scream, jump up for joy, instantly smiled, and said hello 50 times. I'm not sure how often these kids get visitors but it was an amazing feeling to be welcomed into a place like that. I felt like a new born puppy who everyone wants to see, pet, and play with. The moment I stepped out of the car, I had little kids grabbing onto my legs, girls holding my hand, and laughter poking out of every corner. At first I introduced myself to all the kids and they all repeat, "Jes-sica?" Then I got pulled away and asked to play net ball. It's the same thing as basketball minus the dribbling. We quickly divided into teams, in about 10 second, and the game was on! This version was definitely not as intense as my basketball games in gyms. There was something very interesting I observed when we were all playing net ball. Not one person was excluded, everyone shared and passed, and it was more for fun than competition or the satisfaction of winning. I don't even think we kept score at all. In my opinion, I think this is a good model for showing the difference between greed and generosity. America has the reputation of greed worldwide, whether this be true or not, it's still something constantly talked about around the globe. For example, look at the amount of food we consume compared to any other country in the world, or the amount of gas/oil we use, or the amount of consumer goods we import. =These number continue to grow and grow. Compared to any other nation, America tends to consume the most. yet, our population isn't the largest in the world. For instance, China or India both have an enormous population but use less than America. It's shocking to think about this information just by comparing a basketball game from Uganda to America.
I then walked around a little, and found a girl sitting all alone struggling to figure out a crossword puzzle. I sat by her side and asked if she needed some help. She didn't even respond, but I could see that in the back of her eyes she was desperate for some attention. So I proceeded on and asked her if she wanted to talk or if she just wanted some help. Her response was, "I've been staring at this paper for quite some time and I still haven't figured out what to do with it." I explained what a crossword meant and how to do it. Together we began by reading the questions. I soon realized that all the questions had to do with Jesus, God, and sinning. My religion didn't matter that point whether I'm Christian or not, you just got to go with the flow. It's funny, because when we left I told the other kids in my group what I did and they all gave me a funny look. In my head, I was thinking if I couldn't accept this girl for who she is, she wouldn't have learned today. Plus, if she didn't accept me for my background, I would of have had some difficulties teaching her about crosswords and answering different questions. This thought sparked another topic, that people tend to automatically judge a person even before getting to them. For me it wasn't about what she believes in or what she was wearing, the main thing was that I was able to teach her something new. After we completed the entire puzzle, she thanked me and said that she's been wondering how to solve it for a long time. A smile appeared and from that small moment I saw her gain more trust in herself because she was able to accomplish something special to her. This was a shared feeling because it's truly significant to watch someone grow a little baby step in just 20 minutes.
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