#7 Sunday January 27, 2024, Orphanage Visit

This morning had an early start with the English mass at 6:30. It was the parish priest’s last mass before he moved on to a parish in Lusaka. Many words were said on the occasion of his departure and the youth choir was in top form. We left church at 8:45 for a delicious breakfast at the convent.  

The sisters of the Child Jesus have four projects they administer in Kawambwa, the St Mary’s Special School, the Skills Training Centre, the St Mary’s Secondary School for Girls, and the Kachema (Good Shepard) Orphanage. Inverness County Cares works with Chalice to provide for just the two schools, the St Mary’s Special School in Kawambwa and the St Odilia School in Mporokosa. 

After a later lunch we climbed aboard the Chalice/ICC bus and drove to the Kawambwa Kachema orphanage. We don’t financially support this project but still feel for the needs of the darling students at the orphanage.  There are 48 children at the orphanage age 2-18. Many of these children were abandoned in horrific ways. There is a set of twins, triplets and twins who were conjoined at birth, but surgically separated later. The younger students go to school on site and the post-secondary students attend technical or trade programs and return ‘Home” to the orphanage for holidays.

The orphanage is situated on a sprawling piece of land with huge gardens which the children help care for and run free as they play with goats, chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, rabbits and guinea pigs…all a source of food. Two dogs are on site as guard dogs. They have maize, sweet potatoes, beans, groundnuts, casava, squash, canola, orange trees, mango, banana, avocado trees and more. The children are taught how to care for a garden and are proficient in naming many plants and discerning the difference between a weed and a vegetable. They are involved in cooking their meals, cleaning their living space and in general are very self-sufficient. 

They are one big family. We asked a girl if she had any brothers and she gestured to the other children and remarked, “They are all my brothers.” They care for each other and provide love and support. The sisters working there and other caregivers are amazing and are able to provide for the children the best semblance of a happy supportive family possible in their situation. The atmosphere of the complex is of happiness and security. 

We six ICC members were impacted tremendously by these children and their cheerfulness and courage in their situation. The Sisters of the Child Jesus must be commended on their incredible work with these children. The impact of this visit will be long lasting. We need to take stock of our comfortable way of life and appreciate the homes we have, where our children are loved and cared for. 

No more words needed. These are the beautiful children who live permanently at the orphanage.