Arriving in Matamba
Finally - after many days of travel we arrived in the village of Matamba. It was mid-afternoon when we finally arrived. Matamba is in the high lands and it took us about 40 minutes to get up the mountain via a series of very sharp switchbacks. The road was not paved (as was true of most of the roads we travelled) and I can't imagine what it would be like in the wintertime when the rainy season starts. After we went up the mountain there was a short drive across the plateau to the village.
When we arrived at the gate the children, the priests, the sisters, the teachers were waiting for us and led us the final short distance to the parish grounds.
It was a time of great excitement and welcome. I have to say I was very moved by the welcome we received. The children clung to us and almost dragged us along. It was great to see their enthusiasm.
When we arrived at the parish grounds we were seated at a specially decorated table and the parish priests and the school head teacher welcomed us formally. The children were all gathered around.
They danced, did a short skit (in Kiswahili, so I didn't understand it although the kids thought it was hilarious!), and thanked us for coming and for supporting their school. That evening we had a bit of a break with dinner and visiting with the priests and Antonia Becker, the med student who was helping out in the hospital.
The next morning we had Mass in the parish church. They celebrated the Feast of All Saints since it is too difficult for the people to come more than once a week. Many travel from a great distance and I didn't see any cars in the parking lot. Most people walk wherever they need to go. The choir was wonderful and the children danced during most of the songs. Each dance was very choreographed. The procession with the gifts was also done in a simple danced movement. As the gifts were brought forward we received a live chicken. Fr. Mbiche handed it to me. I looked at it, wondering what I shoudl do with it. Luckily there was a server next to me who took it and put it in its proper place. I took a short part of the Eucharistic Prayer which Fr. Mbiche taught me in Kiswahili. After Mass, Fr. Albert spoke to the community about our presence and what we have been helping them do.
Then we went to the school hall to give uniforms to the orphans from the surrounding villages. Uniforms are a necessity if a child is to go to school. Fr. Mbiche has been working to settle some of the orphans with relatives and give them a small stipend for room and board. The orphans were there with their guardians and as their names were called we gave each one a uniform. We also have provided books for the students since that is a cost they also have to bear.
We then heard a report from Valentine, the head teacher, about the progress the school has been making. He spoke about the devestation that AIDS has caused in that part of the country. There are 18,000 orphans in that region. About 4,000 live near Matamba. The school helps between 1,000 and 2,000 of them. The government helps with the rest. We gave uniforms to about 60 orphans. They will begin school with the new term in January.
The village leaders and parents then presented us with gifts. We received a small bag of eggs from each village and a live chicken from each. I'm glad I grew up around poultry so I don' have any problems handling chickens. The one at Mass and one we received from the villages were very docile and sedate. The one you see in my hands here was quite excitable on the other hand. Again, I was glad for someone to help put them to the side. Many have asked if we brought them back to the States. The answer is, "NO!" Already the agricultural customs agents weren't to pleased that we did not wash our clothes before we came back. Actually, they were quite nice about the whole thing. They many not have been if we were arriving with chickens. I am sure they became lunch along the way.
After this we had lunch with the priests and Antonia.
The afternoon was given over to a tour of the school and then an assembly with the St. Monica students.
Again there was singing, dancing and speeches. We handed out gifts for the children and the teachers. Before we left we collected some things to take along. We had some ditty bags for personal items as well as some tee-shirts that had the names of both parishes on them. We had lots of little toys and some frisbees. I almost caused a riot throwing them out into the crowd. Ooops. The teachers quickly got the children back under control. For each child we also had a rosary. As you can see most of them wore them around their necks for the rest of the assembly. We also saw many of them wearing them the next day when we visted the classrooms.
The sign outside the school assembly hall which is also used by the school and parish as a rental hall for events and meetings. It lists those who helped finance it. It would be wonderful to have a large screen and projector in the hall for meetings but also so they could show the children occasional movies on the long dark nights.
After the program we went back for a little rest. I needed it after all of the excitement. So, I took a little nap to get ready for the dinner and program that the teachers were preparing that night.
We had a wonderful meal of chicken stew, vegetables, rice and other treats. When dinner was done Valentine was an MC for some stories, jokes and talks by some of the local dignitaries who joined us. We had representatives of the local park which is a plant park as opposed to the animal preserve that we had visited. Denny and Tammy had time to go there on their visit six years ago but we did not have time this year. Then the teachers gave us gifts. They lined up and did a kind of dance (like a Conga line) and gave us gifts. We received beautiful comforters and pillow covers as well as woven hearts. They wrapped us up in the comforters. Afterwards, as the evening wound down we took pictures with the visitors and some of the teachers. It was a long but fulfilling day. And we felt very blessed by the reception we received and the seriousness with which they took the partnership, wanting us to see what they had accomplished with our help.
Here we are with one of the representatives of the nature park and a man from the local police. It was interesting that they all really wanted their picture with us. Someone said it shows that they are making connections outside the village and can be good for their career.
Here we are with some of the teachers and staff as well as another of the representatives of the nature park.
In this picture you will see (L to R) Fr. Mbiche, Denny Werner, myself, Antonia Becker and Fr. Albert (the parish pastor and builder of the hospital) at the end of the evening.
When we arrived at the gate the children, the priests, the sisters, the teachers were waiting for us and led us the final short distance to the parish grounds.
It was a time of great excitement and welcome. I have to say I was very moved by the welcome we received. The children clung to us and almost dragged us along. It was great to see their enthusiasm.
When we arrived at the parish grounds we were seated at a specially decorated table and the parish priests and the school head teacher welcomed us formally. The children were all gathered around.
They danced, did a short skit (in Kiswahili, so I didn't understand it although the kids thought it was hilarious!), and thanked us for coming and for supporting their school. That evening we had a bit of a break with dinner and visiting with the priests and Antonia Becker, the med student who was helping out in the hospital. The next morning we had Mass in the parish church. They celebrated the Feast of All Saints since it is too difficult for the people to come more than once a week. Many travel from a great distance and I didn't see any cars in the parking lot. Most people walk wherever they need to go. The choir was wonderful and the children danced during most of the songs. Each dance was very choreographed. The procession with the gifts was also done in a simple danced movement. As the gifts were brought forward we received a live chicken. Fr. Mbiche handed it to me. I looked at it, wondering what I shoudl do with it. Luckily there was a server next to me who took it and put it in its proper place. I took a short part of the Eucharistic Prayer which Fr. Mbiche taught me in Kiswahili. After Mass, Fr. Albert spoke to the community about our presence and what we have been helping them do.
Then we went to the school hall to give uniforms to the orphans from the surrounding villages. Uniforms are a necessity if a child is to go to school. Fr. Mbiche has been working to settle some of the orphans with relatives and give them a small stipend for room and board. The orphans were there with their guardians and as their names were called we gave each one a uniform. We also have provided books for the students since that is a cost they also have to bear.
We then heard a report from Valentine, the head teacher, about the progress the school has been making. He spoke about the devestation that AIDS has caused in that part of the country. There are 18,000 orphans in that region. About 4,000 live near Matamba. The school helps between 1,000 and 2,000 of them. The government helps with the rest. We gave uniforms to about 60 orphans. They will begin school with the new term in January.The village leaders and parents then presented us with gifts. We received a small bag of eggs from each village and a live chicken from each. I'm glad I grew up around poultry so I don' have any problems handling chickens. The one at Mass and one we received from the villages were very docile and sedate. The one you see in my hands here was quite excitable on the other hand. Again, I was glad for someone to help put them to the side. Many have asked if we brought them back to the States. The answer is, "NO!" Already the agricultural customs agents weren't to pleased that we did not wash our clothes before we came back. Actually, they were quite nice about the whole thing. They many not have been if we were arriving with chickens. I am sure they became lunch along the way.After this we had lunch with the priests and Antonia.
The afternoon was given over to a tour of the school and then an assembly with the St. Monica students.
Again there was singing, dancing and speeches. We handed out gifts for the children and the teachers. Before we left we collected some things to take along. We had some ditty bags for personal items as well as some tee-shirts that had the names of both parishes on them. We had lots of little toys and some frisbees. I almost caused a riot throwing them out into the crowd. Ooops. The teachers quickly got the children back under control. For each child we also had a rosary. As you can see most of them wore them around their necks for the rest of the assembly. We also saw many of them wearing them the next day when we visted the classrooms. The sign outside the school assembly hall which is also used by the school and parish as a rental hall for events and meetings. It lists those who helped finance it. It would be wonderful to have a large screen and projector in the hall for meetings but also so they could show the children occasional movies on the long dark nights.
After the program we went back for a little rest. I needed it after all of the excitement. So, I took a little nap to get ready for the dinner and program that the teachers were preparing that night.
We had a wonderful meal of chicken stew, vegetables, rice and other treats. When dinner was done Valentine was an MC for some stories, jokes and talks by some of the local dignitaries who joined us. We had representatives of the local park which is a plant park as opposed to the animal preserve that we had visited. Denny and Tammy had time to go there on their visit six years ago but we did not have time this year. Then the teachers gave us gifts. They lined up and did a kind of dance (like a Conga line) and gave us gifts. We received beautiful comforters and pillow covers as well as woven hearts. They wrapped us up in the comforters. Afterwards, as the evening wound down we took pictures with the visitors and some of the teachers. It was a long but fulfilling day. And we felt very blessed by the reception we received and the seriousness with which they took the partnership, wanting us to see what they had accomplished with our help.In this picture you will see (L to R) Fr. Mbiche, Denny Werner, myself, Antonia Becker and Fr. Albert (the parish pastor and builder of the hospital) at the end of the evening.
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