What if, from the moment you were born, you were only expected to live for 40 years?
I would only have 16 years and 2 months left to live if that were true. My mom would have been gone for 11 years, and my grandparents would be long gone.
That is reality for the people in Swaziland, according to Unicef’s most recent report from 2007 of the state of the country. There is basically no middle generation. It is grandparents raising babies, and when the grandparents pass away it becomes babies raising babies. In 2007 there were 56,ooo children living as orphans because of AIDS. Fifty six thousand. And the estimate for people of all ages living with HIV in 2007 was 190,000. Those are some huge, sad numbers.
It’s overwhelming.
You’re only one person. What can ONE person do for 56,000 children, or for the 190,000 living with HIV? And what can only ONE person do, from across the entire world?
I don’t have every answer. I probably don’t have anything more than suggestions for you, actually. But I know what I am going to do about it.
This July I am spending 2 weeks, with a team of eleven other young adults, in Swaziland, loving on all the kids we can. And giving the Gogos (grandmothers, the ladies who are caring for the kids) a little break.
I feel absolutely blessed to be able to do this, and even more so to be contributing to the Legacy Book project.
Sinethemba. I have hope. The name of a sweet baby boy that our team leader met. His mother, Dudu, was dying of AIDS when Morgan met her, and last we heard she was not doing very well. The Legacy Book project was inspired by Morgan’s encounters and relationship with Dudu, a woman who was heartbroken to be leaving her son. The vision for this project is to give the children who will be losing their parents something to hold on to. Memories, photographs of the parents and children together(a rarity in poor rural areas), family history, advice for their futures, things their parents loved about them. Invaluable gifts to a child whose memories will fade, whose heart will long to remember what his mom’s hugs felt like, what her dad’s voice sounded like, the songs their family has sung for years.
If we can help preserve those things, if we can help the parents leave behind a legacy for generations to come to enjoy, then we have done our part. A small part in showing those children that they are valuable, loved, worthy, and not overlooked; that their parents loved them, that their lives can be healthier and longer, that they too can make a difference in someone’s life. That they are special enough for a group of 12 twentysomething year-olds from California to fly across the world to hang out with them, play soccer, teach them anything we can, write down their stories, capture the special way their mothers smile when they look at their child, and freeze a moment in time where parent and child were enjoying the moments they had.
My focus is to be the photographer who captures these moments, to record a part of the life each family is living, and to give the children these photos to keep forever, even past the time when the picture of their mother’s face is still clear in their minds. I’m honored to be a part of this. I’m preparing to cry, a lot, but I’m honored to be able to use my gift to bless others.
Because one person can make a difference.
{If you would like to be a part of this project by helping me meet my fundraising needs, please follow the instructions in the box up on the sidebar titled “Swazi- July 09″. (My goal is $1,000.00 by June 1st, and a total of $3,00.00 by the end of June, and we leave mid July) Thank you in advance for any donations made! Things like this are not possible without many people coming together and doing what they can to make it work. And if you would like to keep this trip in your prayers, that is also a fantastic contribution, thank you.}
