Kieran O'Dowd, Sept 2004
Self-sacrifice and community were again the major themes in Rabuor, a picturesque village reminiscent of a movie set. There are 3000 people in the village and 500 passed away in the last five years. Loyce Mbewa, when returning to her native home, was so stunned at the number of people that had died that together with her family, she began to devote much of her time to the Rabuor Village Project that intelligently takes a business-like approach to assistance. The villagers view every visitor as a gift, and they were gathered and singing as I arrived. (Usually with friends and family I get "What took you so long?"). This sentiment was of course partially offset later in the day when a little girl started screaming, hiding her eyes, and running away from me because she had never seen a mzungu (white man) before. It was hilarious.
The Project involves the whole community in raising funds to care for the orphans in the village. They started a nursery school for the younger orphans with a class of over 100 pupils and have been so successful that the nursery school is above the standard of the kindergarten class in the government-run primary school. The pupils are also fed during the day as many of their caretakers cannot afford proper meals for them. The group is also involved in self-sustaining projects like the installation and maintenance of a new well whereby every villager must pay a small amount for each bucket of water. They also acquired five bulls that are being used to plow a community garden that will feed the orphans, and the bulls can be rented for private use. Other programs include poultry and dairy farming with proceeds going to orphan care.
In the village, I met Caxton, a brave 14-year-old boy who has been caring for himself and his two siblings alone since his parents died four years ago. When asked how it felt to be the head of the household at ten years old, he replied that it was hard but now he is used to it. He still finds it difficult to attend school, do the household chores, and at the same time look for food for his brother and sister. Unfortunately, children living on their own is not uncommon. While visiting with Caxton, we saw a young woman panting and convulsing in shock at the news of the death of her three-year-old nephew. Then we visited Shelly, an 81-year-old grandmother who had just spent two months in the hospital due to age-related health problems. She lost three of her seven children and their spouses and is struggling to care for seven grandchildren. When asked how she coped with all the death in her family, she responded that she had to be admitted to the hospital out of shock. Something Shelly didn't lose through was her sweetness and enjoyable sense of humor. I asked if her husband was still alive and she said he was sleeping in the back and then pointed to his grave.
