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Africa is beautiful.
But behind the beauty there's a lot of suffering. "Life is hard," her people will tell you. And it's true.
The good news, though, is that a lot is being done to make life a little less hard and communities are being transformed. They've still got a long way to go however, and my visit to Paskazia reminded me of this.
One of my first thoughts on meeting her was how tiny she was for an almost-9-year-old - skinny except for that sticking-out stomach you so often see on pictures of African children. She's got a very long way to walk to school each day, and it's made all the harder by the fact that she has to walk home in the middle of the day, in the African heat. When I commented to her parents that she must be ingovu sana - very strong - to be able to walk all that way to school, they told me yes, that's why they have to wait until their children are older than the usual to start school - to ensure they're strong enough to hack the distance.
Nevertheless, she's doing well at school: ranking seventeenth out of the 100 or so kids in her class. Her favourite subject's English, and she shyly showed us how she could count to 30. All the desks at her government-run primary school were provided by World Vision, and for three years the school had a feeding programme funded by the New Zealand government, phased out in line with a move to encourage and enable parents to feed their children at home.
Rozimeri, her mother, is gorgeous, with high cheekbones and a warm smile, but her face is aged beyond her 30-odd years, and shows the hardships she's faced, raising her 5 children. Her father, older, has the look of one of those wise old African men; a natural leader, he's very involved in the community group which World Vision works with.
Paskazia came with us as we visited Rachel and the cow she has been given by World Vision. When she milks the cow, she gets to keep a litre of milk and sells the other litre. Rachel is the leader of a group of 10 women who will share the calves; there are a lot of women in leadership in the Budekwa community - they tend to be organised, and good at it. The groups are one of the structures the World Vision staff have implemented to ensure the community in involved and empowered, and will be able to continue developing independently once World Vision has left the area in four years or so; it's just one of the many ways the organisation ensures the community feels like they "own" the projects.
Reverend Joseph was another incredible community member: an older man who cares for about 150 orphans and vulnerable children; World Vision lends him roosters to ensure his chickens reproduce. We also met an onion farmer who has been trained in agricultural techniques so that he in turn can train other community members; he's also been trained in how to care for sick livestock, a crucial service in a community where the animals are so precious, and so vital for life.
Paskazia's dear family had prepared lunch for us - myself and six or so staff - but we decided to eat at the office first so we didn't consume too much of their precious food. Paskazia loaded her plate up with so much food - plantain, noodles, chicken, beef, pineapple - I was sure she wouldn't be able to eat it all; surely her eyes were bigger than her [little] stomach. But no, she ate it all and then ate more at home. When we asked her which soft drink she wanted, she asked for "the black one," quite possibly making her the first 8-year-old I've come across who doesn't know the word "Coke." It was a strange feeling though, sitting in her mud hut, eating goat and rice... and drinking Coke. How far their marketing has permeated.
Her family were really pleased to have me visit, "all the way from New Zealand"; I felt humbled at how grateful they were for the little I give them - and it really is so little. At the same time though, it was exciting to see how lives have been changed for the better in her community, a community funded by sponsorship from New Zealanders.
So on her behalf, I'd like to say thank-you to all you generous Kiwis who do sponsor. And to those who have been thinking about doing so - please, for her sake and the sake of kids like her, do it.
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