I can’t believe we don’t eat goat

Its hard to believe I've been in Africa for nearly 2 months! Last night I went to a movie in Nelspruit with a bunch of volunteers – and it felt incredibly awkward. Especially after a week in Mozambique.

The country next door seems like a different world. A week ago last Saturday – Morgan and I began the long journey to Gondola. It meant a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Jo'burg – followed by a night at a guest house (where we watched actual television!) an early morning flight to Maputo – a 6 hour layover, a 2 hour flight to Chimoia and then a drive to the Maforga Mission outside of Gondola.

It was the africa I've always pictured. Gondola is a community the size of Saskatoon – filled with huts and narrow streets. Everyone bicycles – with big piles of wood strapped to the back – and women walk along the roads with huge pails of water or arrangements of fire wood. There are goats everywhere – (which by the way is AMAZING. Seriously – why do we not eat goat ALL the time in Canada? Its like beef but way more tender and yummy. Honestly – I'm on the campaign – vote for goat!) and the people – wow. One word comes to mind: joyful.

A team of hands at work volunteers were in Mozambique. There is Carlos – the man who runs Rubitano Home Based Care and is busy rolling out new projects in two other communities in Moz and a third in Zimbabwe! Dara and Laura – nurses from North America who are helping out for a year. Then – up from South Africa – George the director of Hands at Work, Lynn & Jayme from Calgary, Emily from Zimbabwe and then – Morgan and I.

Morgan and I were a little sick when we got to Moz – in fact I'm still feeling not so hot. A parasite that has been "going around" – not the most fun I've ever had – but also not the worst time either. Moz also meant Malaria medication and mosquito nets at night, bucket baths and gigantic spiders.

But it also meant walking with the volunteers of Rubitano.

Man!

First of all: Hands at work supports "Home based care" – essentially encouraging local churches in the villages throughout africa to rise up and take care of the widows and orphans that this AIDS pandemic has created. It doesn't care what denomination of church – but the churches are all christian. Local volunteers spend their days – visiting the sick and orphaned – doing everything from giving sponge baths to helping kids with homework to intervening in a crisis – (like a sick mom and her little kids who were about to be kicked out of their home – Rubitano Homebased care volunteers stepped up and BOUGHT this family's house so that the kids would have a place to live after their mother died).

In the projects I've visited in SA and Swaziland – all of the volunteers have been women. In Moz – 2/3rds were men. And I'll say it again JOYFUL, JOYFUL men they were.

I spent Monday walking with Mario and Teresa (Teresa has a 6 month old baby who she kept tied to her back … breast feeding as she went!) We visited 12 houses that day – in the hot sun – the volunteers never losing their enthusiasm for a moment.

Mario absolutely filled up my heart with hope about this place. He laughs and laughs exuberantly teaching Dara and I portugese words for everything we passed by. The volunteers start each day singing in harmony and then in prayer – all wearing matching Rubitano shirts – and shoes that are almost all worn through.

And that's the thing… there was joy in the midst of thick, thick poverty. Everywhere we looked people were wearing thread bare, shabby clothes full of holes. Homes were huts – with grass and mud for walls – no aluminum to keep out the rain (and the rain fell in sheets a few days later).

The children were everywhere too… orphans crowding into the yards of the homes we were visiting. From homes all around – it was overwhelming – there were so many.

The home that I remember most vividly from that day belonged to Norah and her sisters. Norah is 15 years old and her sisters are 14 year old twins. They are beautiful, beautiful girls and they live with their Mom! (So exciting to find kids with parents). The thing is – Norah's arms are covered in scabies, she's tiny and she's got a bad cough.

She has HIV.

Afterwards Mario tells us, "so young – it is a big problem. so young – big problem". Dara explained to me that her sisters are not sick… meaning that this young girl has been sexually active – and most likely – it wasn't her choice.

She was so eager to learn english from us and even as we were leaving she ran after us to ask a few more questions. A beautiful girl… so sad – but she has the joyful Mario to check in on her every week. To make sure she stays on the ARV treatments that she's beginning this month.

Are you tired of reading yet? Because I haven't started telling you about Adau! The 24 year old volunteer who absolutely grabbed onto my heart. Adau grew up in an orphanage that Carlos was working with… and a year and a half ago – Carlos asked him to join home based care.

Adau's connection to the orphans he visits – was one of the most beautiful things I have ever, ever seen. At the end of the day we stopped at a home – down a long jungle path where 3 little kids live with an old grandmother. Adau explained that their mother died last September.

The kids were so excited to see him – and after a quick introduction – Adau explained that they hadn't been bathed in 5 days and so we were all going on a trip down the steep hillside to the river. With one of the little ones on his shoulders and the oldest girl carying a basket of soap, towels and clean clothes – the kids went down for their baths. The little boys giggling as Adau sudsed them up – they're tiny black bodies white from the soap. The littlest one eagerly trying to help in the process. Afterwards Adau carried the other boy up on his shoulders – they talked the whole way up – Adau stopping to show the boy things along the way.

It was such an act of love… that it makes me tear up just thinking about it. Adau does this for 27 orphans in his community.

Thats what this organization is about…

I had my video camera on the day we spent with Adau – hopefully you can all see what I'm talking about very soon!