Sr. Juliana
Woman of Compassion
Reaching out in Love
Becoming home to each child in need.
Following her Jesus who says,
“Let the children come to me.”
Her little ones,
Her Jesus,
Call her name and she Responds,
“I am here.”
-Kim Colella
Category Archives: Travel
Bus Driver Niko
Niko has created quite the bond with the pre-school children. Every morning he picks them up and takes them to school and every afternoon he brings them home. Today we went to the Center early to witness this morning ritual. Niko parks next door at the Bishops compound because it is easier then driving down the road full of pot holes to the Center. He then walks around a fence to get to the Center and fetches the little ones. Once they all have their coats and shoes on, together they trudge back to the van. Halfway to the van all 5 children stopped. The four boys unzipped their pants and took a pee, while the little girl, pulled down her tights and hiked up her skirt as she squatted to relieve herself. Right there where they were they just decided now is the time and this is the place. I giggled at their sweetness.
Sweet Goodbyes
Tonight we said our goodbyes. When we come back tomorrow morning all the children, except for the preschoolers and babies, will have left for school. I pray that the time we spent here will be a blessing in some small way on the children and matrons who live here. I pray that our time here will have an impact on Sam and Will. I pray that seeds of compassion and generosity and deep gratitude will take root in their hearts and that as they reenter there lives in the U.S. that they will do so knowing that they are a part of a larger world, a larger reality then their lives in Tacoma. May the spirit of this place go with us.
The Matrons
The matrons have a big job. There are 3 full time matrons who are with the children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are the cooks, cleaners, and mothers to these 20 children.
Before we left Tacoma, the TLC board met with us and asked us if we would be “hygiene and sanitation experts” and do some work to encourage the matrons to use the new washing machine, to shower the kids instead of washing them in buckets and to encourage the children to use the toilets instead of using the ditch outside when they needed to relieve themselves.
After observing the matrons for many days, I sat down to have a meeting with them. Rethabile acted as my interpreter. I asked the women why they did not use the washing machine. They told me that they were just used to doing it by hand and did not want to use the machine. As I reflected on this, a light bulb went on. When the woman are hand washing the laundry it is a break from being with the children. It is a meditative task, a time that gives them a little space to themselves. Using the wash machine does not give this kind of break. You put the clothes in and turn on the knob and then are available to go right back in to caring for the children. As a mother, I know that those breaks are so important for maintaining ones sanity.
When I asked them about the showers, they told me that they wished that they had a bathtub, instead of a shower. The showers were too difficult to use with the small children. Of course they are! If you have 15 young children to shower, you will be completely drenched by the time you are done. Niko came up with a solution to this problem. He suggested that they get a shower head that is on the end of a long hose, so that it can be brought down to shower the little ones as they sit in the plastic bucket. Monies have been set aside and a plumber has been called to put this into place.
Hand Washing
One of the priorities of the Lesotho Connection and the St. Camillus Center is increased hygiene and sanitation practices. Stephanie came up with a wonderful idea. She has been collecting the little mesh bags that lemons or limes come in. Her idea is to put the soap into the bags and then somehow to tie the bags to the outdoor spiggots. There are about 5 different faucets outside for the children to use for washing their hands, getting a glass of water, etc. Niko took on the challenge of figuring out how to get the soap bags tied on securely to the faucet so that the kids can always have access to soap.
Sam and Will wrote a song:
Wash your hands,
Wash your hands
Every time you eat.
Wash your hands,
Wash your hands,
Every Time you poop or pee.
Niko and I added hand and body movement to go with the song.
Today we had the inaugural soap washing and singing. The kids loved it! Perhaps this small but important project is the concrete contribution I have been waiting to see us accomplish.
Grocery Shopping
While we have been here the children have been eating mostly papa, milk and morejo(greens). The pantry is quite bare. Today we took Sr. Juliana shopping for food. We have $1000.00 that was donated by our friends and family for food and formula. It is exciting to be able to provide this gift to the center in the name of our community. Our hope was to spend ½ of the funds today and to leave the other half to replenish the pantry as needed.
Sr. Julianna took us to Fairways Grocery store. Most of the stores in Lesotho are owned by the Chinese. They are cheaper, but the quality of the food is not good. Sr. Julianna is very clear that she does not want to support the Chinese stores. So we went to Fairways. Fairways is bigger than a 7-11 but smaller than most U.S. Grocery stores. Perhaps it is about the size of the Grocery Outlet in Tacoma.The biggest difference is that there may be 2 different brands of a similar product instead of the many different brands that you find in a U.S. grocery store. We were able to buy large quantities of rice, frozen chicken, canned fish, beans, bread, meat, papa, formula, and cleaning supplies at Fairways. From the local stalls outside we bought fruits and vegetables. We loaded it all into the van. As we drove home, I asked Sister Julianna how long these supplies would last. She replied, “2-3 months.” We spent about $600.00. Imagine feeding 20 children and 3 adults on $600.00 for 2-3 months. Amazing!
A Little Too Concrete!
We returned to the center excited to do something to concrete to help the St. Camillus Center. Sam and Will went out to help in the field. They are preparing the ground this week so that they can plant 12,000 cabbages next week. It was hard work. The land is so dry that it was like breaking up concrete. The workers had been at it all day. Sam and Will lasted only an hour or two. Then they came in and Will played soccer with the kids, while Sam, Niko and I took Sr. Julianna grocery shopping.Concert for the Preschool
After the Bishop’s concert , we headed over to the Preschool. This is the school that the children from the St. Camillus Center attend. Being with these precious little ones was a fun way to end the concert series.
To be honest, I am relieved that the concerts are done. The gifts of this experience for Sam and Will are tremendous. I am grateful for all the time and energy that was put in to give them this experience and I am ready to be at the Center without the scheduled pressure of another concert. I am ready to have time to just live the life of and to be of service to the St. Camillus Center. 5 concerts in 4 days has really limited the time we have had to be at the Center. Of course, all the children, except for the babies and for the oldest, Slindle, were at school all day. So there would not have been much for us to do, except perhaps work on projects. I am ready to do something concrete for the St. Camilllus Center.
Concert for the Bishop
This morning we met outside in the Bishops Compound with the Bishop. He needed to meet with us very early because he had a meeting in Pretoria, which is north of Johannesburg, that afternoon. Sam and Will played about 4 songs for the Bishop and his staff. He was so appreciative and he clapped along with the music. He gave us each a beautiful key chain, and tried out Sam’s drum pad.
As the Bishop talked to Niko and I about our work, he became very excited. He really wanted to meet with us again, and was disappointed that he had not met us sooner.
Concert at the Center
It was fun to watch Sam and WIll play for the kids at the orphanage and their neighbors today. What was even more fun was to watch the performances of the children for us. Everywhere that Sam and Will have performed their music, the people have responded by singing a few Besotho songs for them.
After the concert, Rethabile and her cousin took the stage. They were fabulous! Their singing and harmonies blew me away. The children performed with singing and dancing. Stephanie got up and led the children in a funny rhyme that got their bodies moving. That sparked a memory in Niko and he got up and brought out an oldie from his youth ministry days, “Hello, my name is Joe. I work in a button factory…” This is a very silly rhyme that eventually includes all body parts moving in total silliness. It was such a delight to play together, to be silly together and to laugh together.