OCT '09 - Kids & School

Children and School in Africa

We were in country for a couple of weeks of difficult work.  I took time to visit my friends and to check in with a local NGO to get some education assistance started for a couple of children and their families.

The scene below is the river a half-mile from Almas Elementary.  Our first scholar-to-be's mom and the kids had gone to the river to do laundry; I met them there and took some fun photos at the request of the children while mom and I talked.   I'd found a program that provides tuition & fees, uniforms, shoes, tutors, health ed on malaria and HIV/AIDS, in school and in home mentoring, plus some food assistance for the families.   (Note. The two girls, upper right, are our scholarship kids now.  Their folks are friends of mine now after a couple of years visiting there, and they were quite pleased to have their kids join the program.  More candidates are waiting for sponsors.  Donate via crowdrise here to our project for them; it's tax deductible.)

Lower left, mom does the laundry while the girls pretend to help; they're all laughing including momma.  Lower right, a scholar and her mom.   In the center in white, cousins laugh, one is in the process of being pushed into the river.  In  the water, my first African friend swims and watches the horseplay.

The chance to make friends in Africa has been life-altering.  With 10+ trips back to the site, we've had time to get to know one another a bit in spite of the language difficulties.  Little gifts and favors have helped.  I take prints of the previous trip's photos for the kids when I go; they're a lot of fun.  Simple food gifts for mom and the household; a bag of rice, a bottle of table wine, a fish, some palm oil, perhaps cookies.

The pictures here include captioned narratives of visits to the river with our scholar's friends, her home and family, to Ribeira Afonso, and to Pantufo where the artist lives. At Pantufo, like last time, at the kids request, we shot a couple hundred new pictures which I'll print and deliver sometime next year. A few of the best are here.

With a break mid-day from work, I took an associate (California fellow who is in Africa for the first time) with me to Pantufo. I somewhat maliciously let him get out of the truck first, camera in hand. The kids mobbed him while I visited with the adults; great fun. He got dragged around by the hand as the kids inducted him into the 'take my picture' club. He had a ball, of course.

AUG '09 an African home

 

We met this young mother and her friend with their babies in town.  With photos printed and framed as gifts, I tracked down the family some months later ...  

Now after half a dozen trips to the area and a number of visits, grandma insists I come for lunch with the family ... (below, left)

The family is wonderful, well connected and gracious.  I'm instructed by their thoughtful hospitality; when asked if I had tasted and liked the local palm wine, I indicated that it was good.  They sent one of the children to buy some for me.

The children, some of whom are pictured below, are comfortable and generally well mannered. 

They relate well across generational lines and, as an associate remarked, "the kids are definitely not shy!"

They sang songs for me then insisted I sing for them; we danced a bit and played with the camera till lunch was ready.

The slide shows are just a few of the many of pictures they graciously allowed me to take.  I'll print them all, nearly 500 for this trip, and deliver them in October '09.  

JUL '09 Africa & Children

At the breathtaking beach (left) on an outing with teenagers I'd met on an earlier trip, these two youngsters joined the group to see what was going on.  They asked me to photograph them; this pic (right) was among the best taken that afternoon.  Social occasions are wide open, it seems.  Children especially will wander in, join you for awhile, and move on to other things. 


On a holiday outing with friends, I was fed a nice meal by folks who didn't know me.   They seem comfortable making a place for everyone.

At the beach by Angolares on a weekend afternoon, these children (right) play in the shallows.  Simple lives, simple pleasures; they're better at family and community than most developed countries.  Children are more likely to grow up with a healthy self-image, well-developed sense of place in society and community, less exposure to violence.  There remain serious hurdles, though; they need educational resources, health care, clean water sources, balanced diet, public infrastructure.

  In Sao Tome & Principe, this time for several week's work, we had the chance to visit familiar places and people we'd met on previous trips.  Bearing gifts from home, we were graciously received by warm-hearted people.  We hand-carried books for the school from the US and Portugal; it put us over-weight allowance for the flight, but the airlines were helpful.  We brought prints of photos from previous trips.  Everyone enjoyed them.

In the crowd of children who gathered when I returned this year, this is the youngster (right), whom I'd met and photographed a year earlier (June '08). 
Here she is (left) with the photo I'd printed, framed, and brought for her to give her mom; she was pleased.
These parents (bottom, right) asked to be included in the fun.  We were making a bit of a ruckus photographing the kids and the beach.  The adults watched for awhile, and finally waved us over and asked us to include them.  They insist on looking serious for photos, but  I managed to catch them laughing here. 

Pretty well worn out  after long weeks and difficult tasks, it was good to head for home.  At the same time though, it tugs at your heart to leave these gracious people. 

So what are we going to do with what we know?

Tell the rich folks to quit being so full of themselves and so impressed with their own possessions, which are here today and gone tomorrow.  It's not their merit that made them wealthy and others less so. Tell them to go after God who is generous to us all - and tell them to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasure that will last, gaining life that is truly life.

          1 Timothy 6:17-19