Action for Children

Part of my Zambian volunteer experience has been committed to an NGO (non-governmental organization) called Action for Children. The objective is to “empower orphans with skills so they can be integrated back into the community and have a positive influence.”

Since the program is in its infancy (started in September by a generous American who has depleted her savings and is headed back to the States to seek funding), volunteers conduct regular events to get to know the kids from an orphanage (ages range from 10-22) so to be able to advise on the needs/skill development of each kid. Once the needs are determined, the kids will go to a transitional center (being built now) where they will develop the skills and mindset to help them succeed in the community.

One event that I have been involved with is the Sunday Session. For three hours we interact with the youths by playing basketball, football (soccer or “footy” as they call it), or drawing. At the end of the session, we provide food for the kids. Feeding time is the most physical part. Word has gotten around among the street orphans (not part of the program) about the Sunday Session and often they come stealing the food from the orphans (from the orphanage for whom the program is for).

Photo: Footy

The street orphans are hungry and usually have not eaten since work in the city cut off on Friday, so they become very aggressive and try to intimidate orphans who have two slices of bread and a sugary drink (yes, that’s all the program can afford for the 70 orphans). I’ve noticed the volunteers are pretty deft at getting physical, but not reckless in keeping order. Honestly, I still have trouble telling the difference between who’s street and who’s from the orphanage. So I usually hang back and just make sure no one gets too roughed up. The goal of the Sunday Session is to interact with the kids, build trust, and thus help them help themselves when they go to the transitional center. All the orphans I’ve talked to say the session is the highlight of their week.

Photo: Treats after a hard session of Footy

The kids have always been very respectful, kind, and thankful to all the volunteers. They have taken a particular interest in me because I am the only Asian volunteer. Often they pinch my skin (I guess to see if it’s really yellow), ask me if I know Kung Fu, and if Singapore is in China. Seems like stereotypes don’t change regardless if you are talking to an orphan in Zambia or an American teen. I often draw the orphans’ maps and point to countries and capital cities around the world so they get a sense of where Africa is in relation to Singapore and the U.S. They all want to come back with me to the States and claim they will be the next 50 cent. Most of them can break dance like Michael –they just can’t afford the white glove. Finally, I tell them I don’t do Kung Fu. Little do they know I am a grandmaster of the school of Two-Fisted Fiery Dragon.

HeeYa! (Insert Kung Fu kick here)

An eye-opening experience was when a kid was admiring my beat-up Timex Ironman watch. He was touching it like he wanted to take it. Most of these orphans are on the streets during part of the day after classes at the orphanage and return at night (they are considered the lucky ones, the street kids sleep on the sidewalks). Anyways, being the paranoid expatriate about pickpockets, I was watching the kid. When he asked me where I got the watch, I told him it was a gift from my mother. He then looked very serious and disarmed me with his reply: “You parents alive? Must be nicing. You are blessed.”

In making up a white lie to protect my watch and seem too poor to buy one myself, he made me realize the inherent richness of my life. Moments like this are why I keep coming back to the sessions.

During the sessions usually I play a little footy (I suck) but always find myself wrapping things up at the basketball court. One of the more disturbing experiences happened off the court. Last week, I was playing basketball with some kids when there were two 12 year olds wrestling behind a dumpster. Another volunteer and I went to break it up when we realized someone was really getting hurt. The one that ran away was carrying a water bottle with him. At first I was confused why the volunteer was yelling at the kid to drop the bottle. Things became clearer when the volunteer explained it was petrol mixed with glue in the bottle, and the kids were fighting to get high. Since then, I’ve noticed many kids on the street sniffing from the water bottles (and yes, I’ve had to sample it so I could write about it). The odor is quite addictive (really does smell good, almost like petrol at the gas station), but the physical reaction to inhalation is similar to a deep breath of bleach –it suffocates your nasal passage, scrunches your eyes, and strangles your throat. Now, as an educated volunteer I’m constantly on patrol at the Sunday Sessions to confiscate water bottles from the orphans participating in the games. I don’t think they are aware of the physical consequences of their habit. It’s a tiresome attempt to remove another threat so they can live longer than their parents did.

All the orphans have lost their parents to unnatural causes: about 60% of the orphans have lost their parents to AIDS. Malaria, cholera, typhoid, and TB make up the remaining mix. It’s sad when you think about it, aside from HIV, almost all of the unnatural causes of death could be eradicated with decent medical care and prevention like we have in the west.

AIDS is another story. A whole generation is being wiped out by AIDS (grandparents and kids are left). The national average is a third of Zambians have HIV. So to look at it conservatively, about a third of all people’s hands I shake here have HIV. In the cities it’s higher, for example, in the National University of Zambia where we take our language classes, HIV is carried by 70% of the student body. Obviously, everyone in the developed world knows the dangers of HIV and AIDS and is aware that Africa has the highest infection rate of any continent. Politicians, entertainers, and concerts like Live 8 remind us of that, but living here makes it so much more real. Seeing just the tip of the HIV/AIDS iceberg here makes me realize what a joke the Bush administration is concerning its Aid for Africa initiative. For a government or NGO to qualify for the funds, they have to preach abstinence rather than condom use. Now tell me how’s that for stupid and realistic. It cries “Bush Born Again Christian.” And speaking of Christian, Zambia is big on that and has qualified for a lot of funding –as long as they promised to preach abstinence among the youth (who laugh at that initiative). Good luck telling a sexually charged teen, 20, or 30 year old to be intimate with God and not another human being that’s not their life partner.

For their sake, I hope they choose latex vs. an early Amen.

11/17/2005