Deo and Dad - they had a great time together. |
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Book for Kigutu
I have been amazed at the response to this blog, and I am thrilled to be able to share Burundi and Village Health Works with others. I received an email from a woman named Katherine Leppek who has organized a charity called Books for Kigutu. She has been collecting books to send over to the school in Kigutu, and the video on her website is wonderful and gives a much better sense of the school.
Please take a look: www.booksforkigutu.com.
This is just one example of many women who in their own ways are working to make the world a better place. If we look throughout history, women are behind many of the most powerful social movements, and I see the seeds of women working for change around me every day between pick ups and drop offs, on playdates, at lunches, and in my many conversations about this work and other amazing projects people are working toward.
Even though my trip is over, I will keep posting as we continue on our path to build the women's hospital for Village Health Works and as I learn more about Burundi. For me, this is not just about this one place with so much need; it is also about illustrating how change can happen from the ground up. A hospital or a school are ways to institutionalize change - these are steps in the ripple effect of transforming communities.
Bringing letters to Sacred Heart
Monday, February 25, 2013
And another one
Another Burundian letter
Letters from children in Burundi
Letters from children in New York
A note on my visit to the local school in Kigutu
I am about to post photos from my visit to the local school in Kigutu. My camera died while I was there- I thought I had charged it, but the electricity kept going out, so it did not charge as much as I wanted! My dad took a lot of photos, and I now have hard copies of those.
As I mentioned before, I brought over notes from all of the children in my daughter Charlotte's kindergarten class and my son Oliver's first grade class. Each of them drew a picture or wrote a note to the children in Burundi. I also brought with me the class photos from each class, and when I gave the notes out to the children there, I pointed to the photo of the child who made the picture and explained in French that this child made the picture just for them. You should have seen the Burundian children's eyes as I explained that these notes had come from so far away. Turns out they did not know where New York was, and we were able to get a map over to the school after we left so that they could see better.
I am going to Oliver and Charlotte's classes tomorrow to talk to the children about their notes and to pass out the notes that the Burundian children wrote back. I was so touched by the words the children wrote, and at the heart of it I keep coming back to the idea that in this forgotten place where they are not used to seeing tourists, the idea that they are not alone is so meaningful. These children felt so special that someone from somewhere else, so far away, would think to write to them. They wrote back notes that talked about how God had brought them such a blessing with these notes, and many drew pictures of themselves playing with the other child from New York. The children also asked for things they needed: shoes, uniforms, notebooks (which we were able to buy), pens, and books. Many expressed how hard they are studying, and encouraged the child here to study hard too. They also expressed hope that they would be able to meet the child who wrote to them some day, and they hoped that they could continue writing. And, as I said before, children on each side expressed love for each other. This natural human instinct to love another is clear, and these children without prompting or inhibition wrote this in their letters.
Apparently the children here are excited to see these notes too. I was at Buckley chaperoning a field trip last week, and the boys were asking how the trip was and when they could see their letters. I can't wait to show them these notes from so far away. Thankfully I convinced a few waiters at a local restaurant to help me translate - the letters are written in Kirundi! I spoke to the children in French, and they seemed to understand, but most speak and write in the local language. Pictures to follow in a minute....
As I mentioned before, I brought over notes from all of the children in my daughter Charlotte's kindergarten class and my son Oliver's first grade class. Each of them drew a picture or wrote a note to the children in Burundi. I also brought with me the class photos from each class, and when I gave the notes out to the children there, I pointed to the photo of the child who made the picture and explained in French that this child made the picture just for them. You should have seen the Burundian children's eyes as I explained that these notes had come from so far away. Turns out they did not know where New York was, and we were able to get a map over to the school after we left so that they could see better.
I am going to Oliver and Charlotte's classes tomorrow to talk to the children about their notes and to pass out the notes that the Burundian children wrote back. I was so touched by the words the children wrote, and at the heart of it I keep coming back to the idea that in this forgotten place where they are not used to seeing tourists, the idea that they are not alone is so meaningful. These children felt so special that someone from somewhere else, so far away, would think to write to them. They wrote back notes that talked about how God had brought them such a blessing with these notes, and many drew pictures of themselves playing with the other child from New York. The children also asked for things they needed: shoes, uniforms, notebooks (which we were able to buy), pens, and books. Many expressed how hard they are studying, and encouraged the child here to study hard too. They also expressed hope that they would be able to meet the child who wrote to them some day, and they hoped that they could continue writing. And, as I said before, children on each side expressed love for each other. This natural human instinct to love another is clear, and these children without prompting or inhibition wrote this in their letters.
Apparently the children here are excited to see these notes too. I was at Buckley chaperoning a field trip last week, and the boys were asking how the trip was and when they could see their letters. I can't wait to show them these notes from so far away. Thankfully I convinced a few waiters at a local restaurant to help me translate - the letters are written in Kirundi! I spoke to the children in French, and they seemed to understand, but most speak and write in the local language. Pictures to follow in a minute....
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The public hospital
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This is the maternal ward. There is no ventilation - it was hard to bring myself to enter. |
This is a delivery room. |
Women's Cooperatives, speaking to the people
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Deo and me |
Women carrying bricks |
More women waiting at the clinic |
Measuring a baby with a UNICEF scale donated to VHW |
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These musicians here with Deo played beautiful music for us. They were performing in a concert last Saturday along with the American musicians for the president of Burundi. |
Women's Cooperatives - this is how a road is made
Dziwe and Dad |
A note on giving pajamas
I just have to reiterate again how meaningful it was to give out the pajamas. Dziwe explained to me again how they encourage mothers to keep their babies close to themselves during the day - especially skin to skin contact, to create warmth and to regulate hear beats. At night, although mothers sleep with their babies, that contact is often interrupted, and sick babies can be kept alive through the warmth generated in footed pajamas. In addition to that, I saw a child later outside of the clinic wearing the pajamas with her little flip flops, and the softness and warmth of these pajamas is such a relief from the rags that children wear. Even though the temperature is mild and even quite warm, the coverage and comfort of pajamas is huge - it serves many purposes at once.
When I finished handing out some pajamas and putting them on children, a mother from the back of the pediatric ward started speaking, and Deo translated. She told me that God will bless me for bringing these, and how happy they all were to receive them. She said "You have made us so happy." And then she said, "You will always be in our hearts, and God will bless you." This brought tears to my eyes, and I told her that they are all in my heart and always will be. It was such a special moment, and such a gift to me to be able to help others in such a tangible way thanks to the generosity of all of the amazing women here who have shared their pajamas and their hearts with women and children so far away. It means so much, and now that I have been there I have seen it with my own eyes.
When I finished handing out some pajamas and putting them on children, a mother from the back of the pediatric ward started speaking, and Deo translated. She told me that God will bless me for bringing these, and how happy they all were to receive them. She said "You have made us so happy." And then she said, "You will always be in our hearts, and God will bless you." This brought tears to my eyes, and I told her that they are all in my heart and always will be. It was such a special moment, and such a gift to me to be able to help others in such a tangible way thanks to the generosity of all of the amazing women here who have shared their pajamas and their hearts with women and children so far away. It means so much, and now that I have been there I have seen it with my own eyes.
Pajamas
This little boy did not want to get changed, but once he had the pajamas on, he was so happy. |
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