OVC in Mwandi--Ari

Ari Day #61

May 16, 2022

Simba House, Mwandi, Zambia

When Lawrence was driving us to Mwandi 2 days ago and we asked him what he thought about Mwandi, he said it has its own vibe, but otherwise did not give us more information as he wanted us to experience the vibe for ourselves. I now understand that vibe—quite unique and special.

Today was our first day of volunteering in Mwandi. Lawrence took me and Cris to the hospital first thing in the morning at which time they were having their daily Christian service which starts the day. The singing was loud and melodious, and despite Cris and I being as far from devout Christians as possible, it was a spiritual experience. The mini sermon was about having a mission statement for your life, something which is probably good advice for anyone. We then proceeded to the hospital, Cris in her scrubs and me completely unprepared in my shorts, t-shirt, and running shoes. The hospital consists of 4 wards: maternity, women, men, and children. 3 wards are part of one open room, and the wards are divided by half walls, the maternity ward is separated by a door. There are 2 operating rooms. The only imaging they have is an ultrasound machine, no x-ray machine. There is 1 MD (general practitioner) who does everything: medicine, surgery, and delivers babies. The catchment area is about ~50,000 people. Quite daunting to say the least. Cris stayed at the hospital as her services are definitely needed, and Asher, Linden and I headed to the OVC (orphaned and vulnerable children).

After being sent back to the house twice from the OVC as they were not expecting us and the kids did not arrive until noon, we arrived for the third time at 12:45 to help feed the kids. The OVC provides 1 meal a day for qualifying children and is open between 11:30-3, M-F. There is a fixed number of slots and children are chosen to be candidates by local leaders of 14 subdistricts in Mwandi. When we arrived, there were about 40 children, infants to age 11 (there were 5 people ages 16-22 in addition who were mentally and/or physically disabled who were also fed), and we served a large bowl of the local dish of corn meal, stewed chicken, and collard greens. When I saw that each and every child finished the very large bowl of food, I realized this was likely the only meal they had today.

We then started drawing on recycled pieces of paper with frayed pencils. Most of the children did not speak English, so communication was difficult at first. There is no doubt that the sight of white Americans was a bit scary to the kids, but luckily after ~20 minutes, we all started warming up to each other. Before we knew it, the kids were drawing with us and guessing what we were drawing. What really broke the ice was when Asher and Linden began making paper airplanes—this is when the relationships began. After lunch, drawing, and paper airplanes, Linden headed out with the girls, Asher with the boys, and 2 games of soccer broke out. Everyone was barefoot other than the pasty Americans. The boys were quite good, and the boys and the girls were resilient as can be, not even flinching when a ball beaned them in the face. After soccer, Linden showed off a couple gymnastics moves and complete mayhem ensued. Once Linden did a cartwheel, everyone joined in. Then she did a handstand and everyone mimicked her, some of the boys doing 1 armed handstands in the sand—quite impressive. Then Linden did a back walkover. It was clear that the boys had never seen this before and within 3 seconds they all tried doing it themselves. No hesitation, and insane skills due to their lithe, strong bodies. This mayhem proceeded into the boys doing running ariels and landing them. This is when we all realized that the innate athleticism of these people far surpasses anything we have seen. This, paired with their true fearlessness and immediate willingness to try anything made for a truly impressive show.

We are now back at the house, and I have the luxury of time to appreciate how lucky I am to see this vulnerable community in such an intimate way. Tomorrow I will be looking at plans for a cancer center here, including radiation oncology and medical oncology, something that I have a hard time believing is even close to realistic. But, as Lawrence has told me multiple times—you have to start somewhere…one step at a time…