Don't watch this it's my turn to fight
Just turn around and try to close your eyes
You'll hear people swearing at my name
Don't worry I'll win back this crowd for you
There's nothing I won't do
I'll bring my swords and I'll win this fight for you
I'll bring back gold and I'll pay them off for you
I'll bring you hope and it won't ever die
It's true this war was won for you
This may hurt but something keeps me strong
No one wins, but I'll tear down these walls
You'll be waiting and it'll seem like an eternity
Just look now at the crowd
It's for you it's for you
I'll bring my swords and I'll win this fight for you
I'll bring back gold and I'll pay them off for you
I'll bring you hope and it won't ever die
It's true this war was won for you
You don't have to worry we will never come back to this place
Cos I'm killing all our doubts
Now the horses will carry us away
I'll bring my swords and I'll win this fight for you
I'll bring back gold and I'll pay them off for you
I'll bring you hope and it won't ever die
It's true this war was won for you
~Tim Mahoney
Monday, May 28, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Dawit
Well....it certainly has been a while since I last wrote in here. I suppose because I've been quite busy. There's a lot to say, but one experience has been solidified in my mind since I witnessed it about three weeks ago.
His name is Dawit. If you have viewed the pictures throughout the past months you are familiar with one of his 'sister's,' Elsa. It is a sibling group of three that now resides at the orphanage, including Beatty, their older sister who is 9 years old. I did not know that Beatty and Elsa were siblings until Dawit arrived. I had never seen them together nor had anyone mentioned that Elsa had family within the orphanage or outside. Most of the children's history is a mystery as I do not want to conjure up painful memories of them losing their parents whether they were abandoned at birth or lost them due to death later in life and therefore still have vivid memories of their parents. And even if I am told, it often is incorrect and inconsistent.
Dawit is about 2 years old. He arrived at the orphanage just three weeks ago. I visited the orphanage on a Wednesday to donate some items that had come in the mail and immediately it was brought to my attention that there was a new arrival. 'His name is Dawit and it is Elsa and Beatty's brother.' I was completely amazed at the revelation. How does a child, one of just 2 years old become abandoned and have two other siblings in the same orphanage?
After constant nagging for about half an hour I learned that Dawit lived with his mother until that Tuesday when he was stripped from her arms. The only caregiver he had ever known, he was separated from her. Irregardless of the reason for why it had to be that way, Dawit didn't know the difference, one minute he had a mommy and the next he did not. Stripped from her arms he arrived at Kechene, without knowing anyone in the home he was brought to his 'siblings' who he had never met, Elsa and Beatty. Beatty didn't show any interest in this new addition to the Kechene family but 5 year old Elsa took it upon herself to care for her little brother.
I've never witnessed such grief nor profound love in my life. Nothing but Elsa could calm little Dawit's heart. He cried when he lost eye contact with her. If her 30 lb little body couldn't hold his weight any longer and she was forced to put him down, he sobbed. He just wanted to be hugged. Just imagine a 5 year old trying to hold and pick up a toddler. The imagine itself is heartwrenching. He didn't want food, he didn't want toys, he just wanted someone to love him, someone to comfort his fears in this new place. Elsa was now a mother, at 5 years old. She couldn't eat her lunch without having to comfort him and help him eat. She couldn't run around the orphanage grounds playing tag with the other kids cos Dawit couldn't keep up and would cry if she was more than 5 steps away, Elsa couldn't color with the rest of the kids because Dawit didn't want to sit near the others. Her childhood has been lost, and though I hope that Dawit will soon acclimate into the environment of the orphanage, no child should have to do so nor should any 5 year old have to parent a toddler. But it happens and often in the worst of circumstances. Elsa is considered lucky in most respects, she has the staff and children of the orphanage to help support her. Others her age do not, but live within the community on their own, sometimes discriminated against due to the reason their parents died. First orphaned and left alone and then stigmized against without any protection and felt to fend for themselves. I think of this little boy and Elsa everyday and the impact her trying to hold her little brother in her arms has had on my life.
*I apologize for any mistakes, I've only had 1 hour of sleep in the last 36 hours. I must get to bed.
His name is Dawit. If you have viewed the pictures throughout the past months you are familiar with one of his 'sister's,' Elsa. It is a sibling group of three that now resides at the orphanage, including Beatty, their older sister who is 9 years old. I did not know that Beatty and Elsa were siblings until Dawit arrived. I had never seen them together nor had anyone mentioned that Elsa had family within the orphanage or outside. Most of the children's history is a mystery as I do not want to conjure up painful memories of them losing their parents whether they were abandoned at birth or lost them due to death later in life and therefore still have vivid memories of their parents. And even if I am told, it often is incorrect and inconsistent.
Dawit is about 2 years old. He arrived at the orphanage just three weeks ago. I visited the orphanage on a Wednesday to donate some items that had come in the mail and immediately it was brought to my attention that there was a new arrival. 'His name is Dawit and it is Elsa and Beatty's brother.' I was completely amazed at the revelation. How does a child, one of just 2 years old become abandoned and have two other siblings in the same orphanage?
After constant nagging for about half an hour I learned that Dawit lived with his mother until that Tuesday when he was stripped from her arms. The only caregiver he had ever known, he was separated from her. Irregardless of the reason for why it had to be that way, Dawit didn't know the difference, one minute he had a mommy and the next he did not. Stripped from her arms he arrived at Kechene, without knowing anyone in the home he was brought to his 'siblings' who he had never met, Elsa and Beatty. Beatty didn't show any interest in this new addition to the Kechene family but 5 year old Elsa took it upon herself to care for her little brother.
I've never witnessed such grief nor profound love in my life. Nothing but Elsa could calm little Dawit's heart. He cried when he lost eye contact with her. If her 30 lb little body couldn't hold his weight any longer and she was forced to put him down, he sobbed. He just wanted to be hugged. Just imagine a 5 year old trying to hold and pick up a toddler. The imagine itself is heartwrenching. He didn't want food, he didn't want toys, he just wanted someone to love him, someone to comfort his fears in this new place. Elsa was now a mother, at 5 years old. She couldn't eat her lunch without having to comfort him and help him eat. She couldn't run around the orphanage grounds playing tag with the other kids cos Dawit couldn't keep up and would cry if she was more than 5 steps away, Elsa couldn't color with the rest of the kids because Dawit didn't want to sit near the others. Her childhood has been lost, and though I hope that Dawit will soon acclimate into the environment of the orphanage, no child should have to do so nor should any 5 year old have to parent a toddler. But it happens and often in the worst of circumstances. Elsa is considered lucky in most respects, she has the staff and children of the orphanage to help support her. Others her age do not, but live within the community on their own, sometimes discriminated against due to the reason their parents died. First orphaned and left alone and then stigmized against without any protection and felt to fend for themselves. I think of this little boy and Elsa everyday and the impact her trying to hold her little brother in her arms has had on my life.
*I apologize for any mistakes, I've only had 1 hour of sleep in the last 36 hours. I must get to bed.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Ethiopia's Underground Children
Please visit the following site for photos and captions on Ethiopia's Underground Children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/africa_underground_children/html/1.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/africa_underground_children/html/1.stm
Friday, May 11, 2007
Death
Death. I’ve never really had to give it much thought. I’ve been blessed with a healthy family and group of friends. Today, a little life was lost. His name is Yabsera and his picture is on this homepage. It’s amazing what can be taken for granted. Did I give him a hug when I last left the orphanage on Saturday? Did he know how much he made me smile when he would run as fast as he could into my arms? But more importantly, did anyone else know how much he loved to color? How much just being held meant to him? That he ate like a little pig all the time and I loved him for it? Does his mother or father know that their son has left this world for a better place? Who loved him? Was he loved enough? Did he feel any pain as his little heart beat too fast for his little body and finally gave out? Does he know that someone loved him? And that I have cried for him all day? That, as I write this there is no way to stop my tears. Another angel has left this world, an orphaned angel. And as I think about the other two children still in the hospital right now, I am not taking for granted that they may return to Kechene soon. Children here die everyday. Hundreds in fact, but what I hope is that none have left this world unloved. Yabsera, was certainly loved and will be missed. His crib where I used to pick him up from after his nap is now empty and will probably soon be filled by another orphaned child. However, he will never be forgotten. Goodbye my angel. I love you.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Please visit the following link. It is an example of how the civil war has affected a village in northern Uganda. No family survived in tact. Many killed and abducted. The lucky ones escaped but now they must live with the reality of losing their family, being forced to fight and commit atrocious crimes and killings, and somehow continue to live. Please take the time to read it. It is one of the worst and yet unknown genocide of our time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/629/629/6499065.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/629/629/6499065.stm
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Journal I wrote last night:
Why is it that I never know what to say? Am I too afraid to recognize my own fears? Do I really just have nothing of importance to say? Life is life. I know nothing of it yet I'm expecting myself to understand every hurdle that comes my way and how to best jump over it. Do I ignore it and take the easy way out (what is the easy way?) or do I run through it and meet my fears straight on? It seems like such an easy question to answer: go for it and take a chance, another one among many I have already taken. But what is this chance I'm about to take? There are five ways to run into this hurdle and which am I supposed to leap toward?
Live life as you've always dreamed. What if I'm dreaming of five different lives? What then? Live for yourself they say but life with youself isn't worth living if the ones you love aren't happy as well. I'm at my life's crossroad and though its always been so easy for me to decide before, I'm at a complete loss with what to do with myself. Take the immediate left and I'll be happy. Take the far right turn and I'll be just as happy. But there's one thing I can't leave behind. That I could never be happy without because my life could never be the same again. And though I know what I must do, the battle is ever fierce and without me here will never be completed. And so the question remains: why is it that I never know what to say? Or am I just too afraid to hear the reply?
Why is it that I never know what to say? Am I too afraid to recognize my own fears? Do I really just have nothing of importance to say? Life is life. I know nothing of it yet I'm expecting myself to understand every hurdle that comes my way and how to best jump over it. Do I ignore it and take the easy way out (what is the easy way?) or do I run through it and meet my fears straight on? It seems like such an easy question to answer: go for it and take a chance, another one among many I have already taken. But what is this chance I'm about to take? There are five ways to run into this hurdle and which am I supposed to leap toward?
Live life as you've always dreamed. What if I'm dreaming of five different lives? What then? Live for yourself they say but life with youself isn't worth living if the ones you love aren't happy as well. I'm at my life's crossroad and though its always been so easy for me to decide before, I'm at a complete loss with what to do with myself. Take the immediate left and I'll be happy. Take the far right turn and I'll be just as happy. But there's one thing I can't leave behind. That I could never be happy without because my life could never be the same again. And though I know what I must do, the battle is ever fierce and without me here will never be completed. And so the question remains: why is it that I never know what to say? Or am I just too afraid to hear the reply?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
