15.07.2011
Last night almost everyone in the house went to Via Via. It is a local bar in Arusha. There was great Bongo Flavor music playing. It was their tenth anniversary so it was very packed. I had a ton of fun and got a chance to mingle with the other volunteers living in home stay placements. There was also a lot of break dancers who were really, really good. I didn’t bring my camera because I didn’t want to risk it getting stolen. Kiko and James met up with us, and it was good to see them again.
A volunteer from home stay was telling me about an orphanage here that she was placed at and how corrupt it is. In fact, they stopped sending volunteers there today. I won’t mention the name but it was one that I had desired to be placed at before. The man who runs it steals money that is donated for the children and spends it on himself. When items such as mosquito nets are bought for the children, he sells them and uses the money on himself. The children are supposed to get two meals a day and meat at least once a week, and they receive one meal a day and hardly ever get meat. One volunteer wanted to hire a social worker to do in and talk to the children and he was banned from the placement for the suggestion. There are worse stories, unmentionable stories that I hope were fabricated or exaggerated versions of the truth. I feel so blessed for being placed at Kitulizo because there is no corruption. The woman, Mama Anna, who runs it is so caring and compassionate. It would be hard for me to fall in love with the children and know such horrible things were happening to them. Many people who have been placed at this corrupted orphanage have tried different tactics to help the children, but all have failed. There doesn’t seem to be a solid system in this environment that can truly help the children in the orphanage or the way it is run. The best that can be done is to stop sending volunteers and donations to them and let it die. The children will then either be sent to other orphanages or to the streets. I can’t help but be angered that this is all that they say we can do. I am going to try to talk to a few different people from TVE and see if there is anything else we can do.
There is a Native American parable about a boy who travels to the top of a mountain in search of a vision. Atop the mountain he comes across a rattlesnake, and the snake says to him, "I am too cold to move. Please, put me in your shirt where it is warm, and carry me down the mountain." And the boy replies, "But, you're a snake. If I put you in my shirt you'll bite me and I'll surely die." The snake promises the boy that if he will save him from freezing on the mountain he will not bite him. So, the boy picks up the snake, tucks him inside his shirt and carries him down the mountain. As he reaches inside his shirt to remove the snake, it bites him in the chest and he falls to the ground. He says to the snake, "But, you promised if I saved you, you would not bite me!" And, the snake replies with a grin as it slithers away, "But, you knew what I was when you picked me up."
ReplyDeleteThings (animals, people, countries) are what they are and act according to their nature.
Unfortunately, I don't think all of the 'unmentionable' stories you heard are fabricated or exaggerated. Ask (discreetly) what happens to people with albinism where you're at.
Be safe.