Category Archives: Peace Projects

Gifts Multiplied

In the months leading up to our trip, I found myself purging our house of things we did not need. If it was in very good shape, and I believed it could be useful in Lesotho, it went into our Lesotho pile. If not, it was given to St. Vincent De Paul.

I spent one afternoon purging, pens, pencils and markers. How did we ever accumulate so many? I swear they must multiply like rabbits when we are not looking! I filled 2 – 1 gallon size zip lock bags with our excess, and put them in our Lesotho pile. I told my friend Eileen about this and her eyes lit up. She works in the school system and has a closet of school supplies she has accumulated from every good sale she has ever come across. She promised to go through her closet and bring me some things. She brought me over 4 grocery size bags filled to the top with school supplies.

When I wrote to Stephanie, the Peace Corp volunteer at the St. Camillus Center and told her we had school supplies to bring, she responded, “The children will be so excited. These items are not available in Lesotho, and if even if they were, most Besotho children would not be able to afford them.” Not even available? Pencils, pens, glue, lined paper are not even available?!!!

I separated the supplies into 2 piles, one for the St. Camillus Center and one for Mary’s school. When we arrived at Mary’s home and were preparing for our visit to her school, I took out the supplies we had to share. Mary quickly made 4 piles: a pile for her school, one for Sammy”s preschool, one for her Church and one for another school. She wanted to be sure that as many children and teachers benefited from this gift as possible. When I brought out our gifts for the St. Camillus Center, the same thing happened. Rathabile created 3 piles: one for the Center, one for the preschool and one for the elementary school.

I was amazed. Instead of hoarding these supplies that were so hard to come by in their country, they each wanted to share them so that many children would benefit. I stood in awe, humbled by their generosity.

Sr. Julianna

Sr. Julianna is the soul of the St. Camillus Center. For many years, she has been the person that the community turns to, to care for children who have nobody else. Regularly, the police show up at her doorstep with a child in their hands asking her to take them in. Before this new center opened, Sr. Julianna had a much smaller building where all 20 children slept on the floor of one small room. And still she said yes and welcomed each child.

Sister Julianna not only cares for these children, but many others in the community whose parent’s have died or whose parent’s are sick or do not have work and therefore they do not have money for their children’s school fees or food. Stephanie, the Peace Corp volunteer exclaimed, “Every time I think I have a handle on all the different things Sr. Julianna does, I learn of something else that I had no idea that she was doing.

Sr. Julianna lives by faith. She believes that God will provide and she is consistently proven right. When no one else has any idea where the money or resources will come from, Sr. Julianna is grounded in trust and somehow the all that they need arrives. As we work with her, I am moved by Sr. Julianna’s gentle way. I watch as she gets out of her truck at the center and see the children run to her, to be held, to be patted, to be loved. Niko, got it right when he said, “She is a saint. You know that feeling you get when you are in the presence of the Holy? That is the feeling I get around her.”

Sam and Will Teach at Mary’s School

As soon as we were settled in Mary’s home, the first thing she asked Sam and Will was “Are you ready to teach my class tomorrow?” She then gave them her teacher’s manual and told them to go and prepare their lesson plan.

Mary is a high school science teacher. The students in her classroom are between 13 and 18 years of age. Sam and Will took on her challenge with amazing grace and determination.

Niko and I stood in the back of the room as Sam and Will stood before 50 Besotho young people and taught them about heat conduction. As I watched them, I was full of awe and I wondered, how is this experience going to impact their life? How will standing before 5 different classrooms of students today and teaching, impact the way they see their own teachers, or the way they see themselves? Will this plant a seed for them to pursue teaching one day? How does it feel to them to be the minority? There was not another white face in the school, nor had we seen another white person since arriving in Lesotho. This was the first time in their life that they experienced being the minority. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be 16 or 17 and to have such an experience. I was filled with awe at how well they were prepared and at their incredible willingness and spirit of adventure in taking this on.

We spent the day in Johannesburg with our wonderful guide, Agnes, from Feleng Tours. We visited the Apartheid Museum, Nelson Mandela’s Home in Soweto and the Kliptown Youth Program.

Kliptown is one of the oldest residential districts of Soweto. It is the home of over 44,000 people and lacks the most basic needs of schools, sanitation, and electricity. It is Will and Sam’s first experience of witnessing how the world’s poor live. 44,000 people living in small houses made of tin crammed together in a small space, without running water, with electricity stolen from the grid and with sewage and garbage visible on the side of the roads. In the midst of the squalor is an amazing project called the Kliptown Youth Project. KYP’s mission is to “KYP enables children to harness their potential and grow into dynamic and skilled individuals who can give back to society.” They provide tutoring, tuition assistance, Food programs as well as training in cooking, employment networking and technology.

We were each given a ticket which determined whether we went through the museum as a white or as a non-white person.

Zulu Dancers entertained us as we ate lunch.

Will umped in to embrace the culture.

Kliptown: Homes made of tin, one right next to the other

Kliptown

Kliptown Youth Program Computer Lab

Roasted Chicken Feet for Sale

We are in Dubai! We had an amazing flight. I felt like I was back in time 30 years ago to how flying used to be. The flight was long…14 hours, but Emerates is an amazing airlines and they treated us so well that our flight was a lot of fun. As soon as we took off, a flight attendant came around with hot, moist, lemon scented towels for each of us. At our seats we found a little travel case with socks, eye covers for sleeping and a toothbrush.

The food was delicious. They fed us lunch as if we were already on Dubai time to help us restart our inner clocks. It included an appetizer of crackers and dips, a salad of black eyed beans and corn, a main dish of lamb or chicken a delicious dessert of toffee pudding, followed by a cup,of tea and a piece of chocolate. We were also fed a snack of an individual pizza and a breakfast of eggs with various side dishes.

Niko and I watched 3 movies together that we missed seeing at the Grand Cinema: the 2nd Best Grand Budapest Hotel, Woman in Gold and Still Alice. Will learned some Arabic on the plane from a boy, sitting across the aisle form him. He and Sam are having a blast!

>We have a 3 hour layover in the Dubai airport. Sam and Will are off exploring the mall in the airport while Niko and I sit with the bags. Then we will fly another 8 hours on Emerates and arrive in Johannesburg at 9pm, ready to rest at the Blue Mango Lodge.

Airport Excitement

We left our house at 5:30 am overloaded with excitement and 8 checked and 4 carry on suitcases. Will’s mom, Ann, drove our neighbor’s van and his dad, James, drove his car to manage it all. Halfway to the airport we realized that Niko did not have his driver’s license. A moment of quick thinking had us off the freeway, Will and few items of luggage squished into the van with the rest of us, and James on his way to our home to get the license.

As we maneuvered all the baggage through checkin, I prayed that all the bags would meet their expected weight restrictions and that the 2 bags that were each over the size restriction by an inch would go through without notice. As each bag was weighed and thrown onto the conveyor belt without comment, I breathed a little deeper.

The next hurdle was clearing the South African government restrictions for traveling with minors. Just a month ago they instituted new requirements that minors traveling with their parent’s must have both a passport and a stamped birth certificate. Minor’s traveling with anyone but their parent’s must have a signed and notarized affidavit from each parent. The beautiful young woman checked over these items thoroughly. Then she called over her supervisor, who studied each item with scrutiny. They were very clear that if our documents did not meet the requirements, we would not be allowed into S. Africa. Again I found myself holding my breath as the minutes ticked by and still we waited for clearance.

As we waited, I took a deep breath and said a prayer. Immediately, I felt the presence of a very large protective angel standing to my left. I breathed a breath of gratitude and relaxed into the knowing that all would be well. Just as we were cleared and checked in, James arrived with Niko’s license and we were ready!

Preparations

It is almost time for us to leave. These past weeks have been spent packing and repacking the countless donations that have been put Into our care: Soccer balls, clothing, jackets, hats, shoes, socks, school, supplies and books challenge the seams of our suitcases. Meeting the weight and size restrictions challenge our minds. We are each allowed 2-50 lb bags, plus a carry on. Each of our checked bags can measure no more than 59 inches, our carry ons must be under 29 inches. Filling each bag with just enough heavy items with just enough light items so,that the bags fill the space and meet but do not go over the size restrictions has been a giant math puzzle. We finally had our 8 checked bags ready. I looked around the room and still there were so many beautiful items waiting to be packed. I called our airlines and discovered that we could add up to 25 lb per suitcase for an added cost of $50.00 each. Back to the Math problems. Which suitcases have more space to hold additional items? Which suitcases have heavy items that can be exchanged for light items without going over the size restrictions? The shuffling began and many hours later we had 40 additional pounds added for a total of 440lbs of donations ready to be delivered to Lesotho, in the name of our incredible community.

A Message from St. Camillus

Last Sunday, I woke up early motivated to get my self packed for our trip. I gently woke up Niko and said, “Let’s get up and get packed before we go to Church.” As we worked on our personal packing, I was overwhelmed with the amount of donations we still had yet to pack. I would not know how much space we would have available for these donations until we each had our personal items packed. Anxiety began to fill me as I looked at the great feat ahead of me.
As we headed off to Church, Niko was almost all packed and I was well on my way, but the stress of all those donations, still loomed large in my consciousness.
It was Fr. Jim’s last Mass at St. Leo’s. He had been assigned to a new parish. I was grateful to be there to send him off and to infuse myself with the energy of this community as we prepared for our journey to southern Africa in just 6 more days.
To my surprise and delight Fr. Jim’s sermon was about St. Camillus. I have been a Catholic for over 55 years and never before have a heard a talk, a sermon or a story about St. Camillus. I knew nothing about him. And it is the name of the orphanage that we are going to in Lesotho. Coincidence? I think not.
St. Camillus is the patron saint of the sick and of those who care for the sick. He was a friend of St. Ignatius. Fr. Jim shared the story of St. Camillus being overwhelmed by his calling to create an order of religious dedicated for caring for the sick. There was so much that needed to be done. He had no idea how he could possibly do it. In the midst of his overwhelm, he heard the voice of God say, “Why do you worry, don’t you know that this is my plan.”
As Fr. Jim repeated God’s words. “Why do you worry, don’t you know that this is my plan?” I heard God speaking to me. I felt my breath deepen and my shoulders relax. I have known from the beginning that this trip was a calling from God. I knew it was God’s plan, God’s trip, directed by Spirit. My job was to say, “Yes.”, listen to the voice of my spirit, respond to it’s urging and all would be well. All of those donations would get to Lesotho. All I needed to do was trust.

Lesotho Bound

This summer, I will spend 3 weeks in Lesotho, Africa with my husband, Niko, my 16 year old son, Sam and his best friend, Will. Our focus is 3 fold. First, to see our daughter of the heart and to meet her husband and 4 year old son. We were Mary’s host family for a year as she volunteered at L’Arche Tahoma Hope. She walked into our home and immediately was a part of our family. After Mary returned to Lesotho, she married her beloved, Paul and had a baby whom she named after her Tacoma brother, Sam. We are so excited to see Mary again and to meet our extended family in Lesotho. When I told Mary that we were coming to see her, she replied “I have prayed for this for so long. I never knew when it would happen and now it is happening.” Together we wept with joy. Mary has enlisted Sam and Will to teach in her classroom for 2 days that we are with her.

Secondly, we will spend 8 to 10 days at the St. Camillus Center. I was on the board of The Lesotho Connection(TLC), here in Tacoma for 3 years. TLC has recently completed a long time goal of building a new home for the St. Camillus Center. This home houses 20 children orphaned by AIDS. There are over 200,000 children orphaned by AIDS in Lesotho. This is roughly the population of Tacoma. We will spend our time serving in whatever way we can be most helpful to the center. Also, Sam and Will will use their talents in music to write a song with the children that we will record so that it can be used both by The Lesotho Connection and by the St. Camillus Center in their promotional materials.

Thirdly, we will spend 3 to 4 days at a game reserve in South Africa to take in the amazing animals of South Africa and to learn about conservation projects in place. Sam and Will have been animal enthusiasts from the start. Their love of animals has been one of the things that has nourished their deep friendship for the past 16 years.

Sam and Will have committed to paying for their airfare, spending money and time at the game reserves and to help raise funds for playground equipment and a sign for The St. Camillus Center. To fulfill this commitment they have created and are selling cards with their original artwork as well as selling my Umbutu tea. If you would like to support their efforts, you can purchase their items at Sam and Will’s Etsy Shop or you can check out their project updates on their fundraising page at Sam and Will’s You Caring Site

This is a trip of a lifetime, but it is more than that. As parent’s it is an opportunity to offer these young men an opportunity to have their image of themselves and their world expanded. It is an opportunity to allow and encourage them to steadily and faithfully work towards a goal and to bring it to fruition. It is an opportunity for them to share their gifts in a profound way and to have their gifts shaped in new and profound ways by the Lesotho people. This is a trip that will crack all of our hearts open, that will change us in ways we do not yet know, and that will imprint on our souls our place in the family of humanity.

Click the link below to watch this beautiful video about the St. Camillus Center:

About the Lesotho Connection

Global Art for Peace 2012 Peace Club Submission

This is a photo of the piece of art that the Peace Club students at Bryant Montessori created for Global Art for Peace. Today it will be shipped to China as a gift to the Xiamen Haicang School. The Global Art for Peace Projects matches individuals, groups and school with others around the world to exchange art that depicts their dream of peace. Between April 23rd and April 30th, These pieces of art are sent around the world in an art exchange. All these dreams of peace circling our globe…such a beautiful image, isn’t it?

Our students send their piece with excitement. They are proud of the beautiful artwork they have created and the are inspired by the proclamation they wrote. The eagerly await the art from the Xiamen Haicang School.

The roots of the tree are made from the hand prints of 5 of the core students of the club, the fingerprints are from all the students in our middles school. The statement, written to the side of the tree was written by 5 of our middle school students. It reads:

We are Students for Peace.
We are magical.
We appreciate differences.
We honor tolerance, acceptance, intelligence and cooperation.
We do not like war.
We believe everyone deserves basic human rights.
We believe in caring.
We believe in living sustainably and respecting the earth and all its creatures.
We believe that no one should be denied the opportunity to fulfill their potential.
We are agents of Peace.

Body Sacred

Celebrating the Sacred In Ourselves, In Our Relationships and In Our World.