Abaana has designed some resource packs specifically for people who want to fundraise or raise awareness. Whether you want to run a sponsored walk, find sponsors for some children or talk in your local church, school or youth group we can provide you with material to help make your time most effective.
Contact us if you would like a pack and we can get you the right information.
The Dancer
Mary was six years old. She came from a slum in Kenya, but she was a lucky one. She was chosen to be looked after. She was chosen to be given an education. She was chosen to have a future. She wasn’t chosen because of her smile or because she was better than the others, or needed help more. She was chosen simply because there was too many children to take them all.
Mary was given new clothes and fed daily and each Sunday was taken to church. The church was lively, and the Africans liked to dance. One Sunday Mary and the other children were asked, “Have you been to the toilet?” “Yes” they replied, so everyone got on the back of the 4–wheel drive and went to church.During the service, Mary started to jiggle. At first I thought that she was just getting into the music, but when the music stopped Mary carried on jiggling. When the pastor started to pray and Mary was still jiggling, I knew something was wrong. I leaned forward and saw that she was distressed. Thinking that she needed to go to the toilet, I asked an African lady to bring her. She took Mary by the hand and led her out of the church.
I was surprised when Mary didn’t return to the church service. After the service learnt that Mary didn’t return because she couldn’t stop crying. Mary couldn’t stop crying because she was so distressed. Mary was distressed because she didn’t need to go to the toilet. There was four–inch worm crawling about in her underwear.Mary had most likely drunk the eggs of this worm, by drinking from a poor water source. What other choice did she have if there was no clean water? I also learnt that the worms only come out by themselves for one reason. Overcrowding. There were too many worms inside Mary and not enough food. Mary went on a simple medication and within two weeks, all the worms where gone.If Mary had not of been chosen she would be dead. Others not chosen probably are.
A first time mother
Annet held in her arms a three–month–old baby boy. She didn’t have any manuals telling her how to be a mother. She didn’t have a video or TV shows, giving advice of how to best bring up her child. Annet, however, was just excited that she was a mother and she was going to do her best. The baby, however, was sick. Her baby had diarrhoea. She did not know why and there was no medical help nearby to give advice. The Witch Doctor had given her medicine and performed dances and chants. He said the evil spirits were leaving the child and the diarrhoea was proof of that. Annet believed him, but her child seemed to be getting more and more sick.
As the child became more and more sick and wouldn’t stop crying she decided that she needed more help and would walk to the nearest hospital. It would take about a day. Half way through the night the baby stopped crying. Afraid to look she held him close. The next day she arrived, exhausted from walking but desperate for help.
As she drew near the hospital she somehow found enough energy to run the last few yards. She handed over the baby to one of the doctors, who quickly rushed in to see what he could do. A few minutes later he returned with an African nurse. The nurse had a tear running down her face. She translated the doctor’s words. “I am sorry…Your child died from the diarrhoea, he died from dehydration”. A simple salt and water solution would have said the babies’ life, but how was Annet to know, if no one told her. Many babies die in Africa from diarrhoea.
Our Daily Bread
We who live in the West for the most part have no idea, what it means to be without. To have food just for today if we are lucky. In many countries of Africa people only eat one meal a day, if that. Getting that food, finding money for it, if one lives in the city is another story.
Unemployment is high and if you do work you are fortunate to make 50 dollars a month. Rent for your dwelling might be 30 so what you have left is money for a few days of food and the rest, well that means as many a African has told me faith, hope and lots of luck.
Rita, was a woman of 30 some years old, she did not remember exactly when she was born, “what does it matter, I am thankful that I am alive” she said. She was a Muganda with brown skin, a nice shining face, a big smile, the eyes however were surrounded by years of struggle, and yet she could laugh at life. I was walking by her dwelling the way back to my car. She had her charcoal cooker blazing, I could tell she was making matoke (bananas 85% water and then some starch, they are green and are peeled, mashed and steamed under banana leaves inside of a steel or aluminum pot). There were also some red beans that due to the moisture and rain had little white spots on them signifying that some maggots had come and taken residence in them.
I stopped and greeted her; she welcomed me and invited me to eat with them. I declined but engaged in a conversation. Her husband had recently died of AIDS, she was taking care of three children from the marriage and two others that were orphans and had been born to her sister who had died of AIDS.
I asked her what she did to buy things and live here. She told me that she at times worked cleaning house and ironing for a well to do African woman and at times received some food from her mother who lived in Masaka out in the country and had a plot of land on which she could grow maize for posho (a what I call a glue like substance that fills your stomach) and also had some Matoke plants, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, and other things like beans.
All she had tonight was matoke and beans, I saw some bread by the door, that was it. No milk, no meat, just enough to fill for the night. I asked her what she would eat in the morning. She smiled and said something about Chai (tea with milk, she had no milk and sugar). And tomorrow what will you eat during the day. She laughed again, and said something about “God will provide.” My mind was thinking, “How could I go home, take a shower, settle down to a nice meal and even have a sandwich before I went to bed?”
I told her I would be back and back I came after visiting a local supermarket. She looked at me and said with a big smile, “I told you God would provide.” She made me smile…jon Each night many African’s go to bed with the reality that they don’t know where, or how their needs will be met. They pray asking, for God to provide. Will you be his hands. Will you be the answer to their prayer?
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