Sunday, June 17, 2012 Fathers' Day

     Our wonderful hosts, the Dominican Sisters, offered to take us to a mass in Ndola called Holy Trinity to witness a traditional Zambian mass in the Bemba language. Some of the chaperones opted to attend the Fatima girls' mass which started earlier in the morning. We knew the Vis girls should sleep in since they would be tired after winning the dance contest the night before, and because they would be attending mass in town at 10:30 am.

     We were all struck by the incredible sound of music: drumming, harmonizing, and swaying to the rhythm.
After the girls who have fathers on the trip wished them a Happy Father's day we set off to mass.

(Now the girls will take over the blog!)

_____________________________________________________ 


     Hi everyone, it's Elsa!! I have the honor of being the first Vis girl to blog, so here I go! Today, my roommates, Amanda, Kenzie, and I woke up to the beautiful singing of the girls from Fatima Girls School. We started off the day going to church in Ndola where everything was spoken in Bemba - which was incredible! The singing of the choir and the music from the drums was something I have never experienced before and it made it so much more empowering and meaningful to experience it while in Zambia. Everybody was dancing and singing which is so different than back home (but a lot more fun!) Everybody here is so friendly - lining up to shake your hand wherever you go (makes us feel famous - almost!) 
     Next we headed to the girls' orphanage, where the girls, ages six to eighteen, loved to braid our hair and take lots of pictures! I loved seeing how much the girls in the orphanage and Fatima Girls School have in common with the Vis girls. We shares similar tastes in music, celebrities, books, movies, etc. 
     But what was the most interesting to me was visiting the boys' orphanage directly after the girls' where I helped out Dr. Sicoli and Dr. Grutzner. I gathered all the boys together and watched while they were examined, learning about all the different health issues these kids have. Multiple boys need fillings or need to brush more, with one boy needing an extraction. Dr. Sicoli examined a boy with ring worm on his scalp and another with a fungal infection on his scalp. It was so interesting to experience these health issues that I do not see back at home. The boys were so energetic while kicking our butts in soccer (or futbol!) 
     I've been having so many eye-opening experiences this trip and I have loved spending it with these group of girls, chaperones, and the Sisters. Everyone here has been so welcoming since stating on the first day, "Our home is your home!" Happy Father's Day!

____________________________________________________



Hey everybody, Anna here! Maddy and are going to talk about what we did yesterday, Saturday June 16th. 
     We traveled to St. Anthony's orphanage in Ndola. This orphanage was home to children as young as newborns, to children around the age of seven. In addition to this, there was a mentally disabled ward and an elderly housing unit.    As soon as we got off the bus, the children swarmed us. Many ran to our feet, hugging them and asking to be picked up. They would all say, "Hello, it is nice to meet you," and then it was as if you were their best friend in the world.
     I spent the first hour playing with a one and a half year old baby named Juliet. I walked by her crib and she reached out her arms, wanting to be picked up. I scooped her up and twirled her around. Her brown eyes locked on my blue ones and she let out a tiny gasp. She started leaning backwards and forwards as if to make sure they were real. Then she reached out and tried to poke one. 
     After setting down Juliet, I went into a small office to help Dr. Sicoli and Dr.Grutzner with giving check-ups to the children. It was my job to write down each name of the child and the state of their teeth and health after they had been looked at. I struggled with the spelling of the children's names and it was difficult to keep track of them. Many were screaming and crying, terrified of our doctors. It was hard to watch some of them examined, knowing that they had never had proper healthcare before and they have just had to suffer through their afflictions. 
     There was one boy who I thought to be only ten at the  most, and it turned out that he was seventeen. With what little they have, I find it absolutely amazing that they are so happy and good-natured. These children were so grateful to have us there and a few cried when we left at the end of the day. Going to the orphanage broke my heart, but it made me realize how blessed I am.
     Later that night, we all put on our skirts to attend Miss Africa; the pageant the Fatima girls were putting on in the dining hall. The night consisted of a group of girls that modeled their best clothing down a runway, and then were chosen for 4th place, 3rd place, 2nd place, and Miss Africa by a table of judges. In between the outfit changes, groups of girls went up on staged and preform dances. Then the M.C. went up on stage and announced, "Now the Americans will dance." 
     We had nothing prepared but we decided to go for it anyway. We went on stage and did our best rendition of Super Bass by Nikki Minaj. Now, these girls are AMAZING dancers and we were nothing in comparison, but we showed them a good time. We displayed some good old American dance moves that would make all of you at home proud - such as the worm, the corkscrew, and the funky chicken.       Luckily our efforts were rewarded with a scream of applause and encouragement. These girls were so nice that they awarded us first place in the dance competition and a bag of Blow-pops. 
     After the pageant, we met a few of the girls who attended the school. It was extremely surprising to find out that we all had so much in common and apart from the thousands of miles between us, we really were not much different at all. Before we went to bed, we promised to exchange addresses and write to each other when we returned home.
P.S. Happy Father's Day Dad!!!

___________________________________________________


Hello family and friends, It's Maddy! Although Anna and I were both at the same orphanage, we had very different experiences. I spent most of my afternoon in the mentally disabled ward. I found myself having to excuse myself often because what I saw brought me to tears. 
     There were three main rooms and about twenty-five people. As we walked into one of the rooms I remember thinking that these people were merely children with slight disabilities due to their size. Contrary to my belief, these people were suffering with a large spectrum of mild cases of diseases such as cerebral palsy, questionable autism and hydrocephaly, and were as old as forty-eight years old. It was heartbreaking. 
     Because of their disabilities the people were mal- nourished, often soiling themselves, and even had flies crawling on their teeth. Yet despite these problems, they were all very kind and welcoming, shaking all of our hands and even playing with us to some extent. Although we can't fix said issues with a snap of our fingers, we managed to make a difference in these peoples' lives for the time being, and hope to continue to put a smile on their faces. 
     This experience was extremely eye opening. It made me realize how trivial our problems at home are compared to the problems that the people of Zambia face everyday.
     As well as visiting the the orphanage in the afternoon, we also got a tour of the Kavu Health Clinic in the morning. It was very impressive and clean. We met the main doctor who was from Rwanda, and he was very kind. The Sister who runs the clinic showed us the different rooms around the clinic such as the childbirth room, x-ray room, waiting room, dentistry room, and the in-patient area. We also toured the maternity unit where they provided couples' counseling, informing them how to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission from mothers to babies.
     For lunch, Team Mutomo had the pleasure of consuming a traditional Zambian meal, consisting of corn meal, vegetables, rice and sausage. Oh, I forgot to mention, we all ate fried caterpillars. Let's just say they didn't taste quite like  your McDonald's fry.
Happy Father's Day Pops!

____________________________________________________

Happy Fathers' Day to all the dads out there! We miss you but we are doing God's work.

Ann Mattson, Elsa, Anna, and Maddie for Team Mutomo