The Fine Balance

I recently came across two completely different blogs (I probably found them through alphainventions or condron or something) that addressed the depiction of the poverty and hardship of those living in Africa.  One of the blogs in particular was written by a Kenyan woman, and she conveyed that the “fetishization of Africa’s misery” is offensive to her.

I have been thinking about that, especially since I’m in a position to tell a lot of stories about cases of extreme poverty and injustice.  I recognize that there is a balance to strike when giving voice to someone who might not otherwise be heard, that one must careful not to glamorize these things.  Quite honestly, AIDS work in Africa has gotten so much press and has become almost trendy, I’m often left with some confusing feelings after having casual conversations about what I do with people in the US.  At the same time, the reality of the daily struggles of many of the orphans and adults I see here are almost incomprehensible, and I feel unless their stories are told again and again, those who have the resources to help may be left to allow their compassion to settle in the depths of their hearts like unstirred sediment.

So, I say all of that to communicate that I don’t want to exploit or glamorize the inequity that see on a daily basis.  I just want to share the stories of amazing people who are facing adversity that many us will never comprehend, and I want to give them credit for the valor they display despite the fact that most of them don’t own a house, a car, a degree, insurance, and aren’t well dressed.  They may look worn out and sometimes unbecoming, but they are heroes.

Wow, it’s been awhile since I last posted, and much has been happening.  I thought I’d better get on a good post, especially since several of my teammates are out of the country and blogging is such an efficient way of keeping people up to date.

Daily life has taken a great turn since school let out and our teammates left town.  The girls have spent almost all of their time at home, and I think they’ve really been enjoying it.  Their days are filled with freetime and playing, and I love to see them getting to just be kids and using their imaginations so much.  They have French class each morning from Tuesday through Friday, and they have a few minor chores.  Maddie has to practice piano and Michal practices her Math facts, but other than that they get to play and enjoy the freedom of youth.  Lately, their favorite thing to play is American girl dolls.

During the last week of school Fielden and Janet Allison came from Tanzania to conduct a weeklong marriage retreat.  Their teaching was very much needed and seems to have been somewhat revolutionary in the lives of many of the attendees.  Wednesday afternoon, Kpatcha (young Kpatcha for those of you who know him)  came by to talk about some of the things he and his wife have been discussing since the retreat.  It is really exciting to be able to witness such change in people’s lives.  I asked him why he was such a believer in the teachings, why didn’t he jut dismiss them and say “Those are your ways, not ours.  That’s not how our culture works.”  He said he knew the teaching was good because he knew that their normal ways of handing things don’t work.  He gave several examples and said that he and his wife had been experiencing such frustration but never knew what to do, so when the Allisons came in and explained about communication, about budgeting and making decisions together, parenting together, and helping each other with problems, it made sense to him.  I also spoke with Christianne, another Christian who went to the retreat this morning, and she is very grateful for they were able to learn.

This morning I had my first Kabiye Bible study.  Christianne, a woman from the village of Lassa Tchao, has been studying with Becky Reeves every other week.  This morning I tried to continue with that study even though my Kabiye is very weak.  Christianne was very forbearing of my poor reading skills and much of our discussion was done in French.  Happily, I felt we were able to discuss some of the deeper and more personal ramifications of I Corinthians 9.  As often happens when I spend time with my Kabiye friends, I feel I probably benefitted more from our time together than she did!

The work at the AIDS clinic is going well, too.  I definitely feel challenged by the work I have before me in helping with the meetings for parents and caregivers of orphans.  Please pray that I will be able to face these challenges and that I, together with the others involved, can build this program up.  I am starting to work some with the PMTCT (preventing Mother to Child Transmission) program as well with the goal of being able to help with their meetings.  Once again, I ask your prayers that I will be able to offer some help that is worthwhile.

Another exciting aspect of that work is that the ball is now rolling to connect people from some of the more remote areas with testing and services, if needed.  Several of the churches where we work are very interested in learning more about how to reach out to people who are HIV positive, and this would be a huge step because stigma is a very big problem in those settings.

S0, our plates are full and lives are busy, but pleasantly so.  I’ve been able to work in working out consistently for which I am grateful.  Now, if I can just start blogging regularly again…