Merry Christmas to all!  Okay - so I'm late again...  At least I didn't just skip the Urquhart update completely as in years past, and this way, you all have gotten through all your other Christmas and holiday cards and can totally focus on this one :-)

We have had a good year in 2008 and despite the craziness and uncertainty of the last few months, or maybe becuase of it, we are even more grateful to God for how blessed we are and the opportunities, friendships and time we spent together over the past year.  Given that I work in the technology industry - I decided both in the interest of time and money, to take advantage of the "magic of software" (as we say at Microsoft) and communicate to you all electronically.  Besides, this lets me include an obscene amount of family photos from 2008 without (hopefully) boring you for more than 30 seconds...  (Just click the fullscreen option at the bottom right of the collage and then the PLAY arrow on the left)

Our pictoral year in review - a sampling of: time in CA, spring camping, summer camping, soccer, fall activites like soccer, etc, 2 Hawaii trips and Christmas fun...

The kids continue to be very active and Kristen is deep in another year of home schooling.  How is it going everyone asks?  Well, let's just say that there are days when "deep in it" really feels like the accurate description.  :-) I have arrived home to learn that certain students have been sent to the principal's (my) office for gross infractions of decorum.  But, the good outweighs the bad and they are certainly getting a top notch education - even if the teacher finds herself balancing on the edge of sanity from time to time.  To maintain French fluency we have a great tutor twice a week as that is one area outside Kristen's mastery.  As Teacher/wife/mother she has a very, very full schedule and I continue to admire her calm in the storm and how she keeps it all together.  That being said - this 2 year home school experiment will come to a close (as planned) after this year and we are hoping to enroll the kids in a great school near to us.

Now for some individual details:

Ella:  voracious reader (both English and French), recruited into Premier soccer this year, which she loves.  From a parent's perspecitve this translates to: monthly dues, multiple uniforms (even for practice) and equipment, year round season, away (and I mean AWAY) games, and a whole new level of sport.  Yikes.  Ella loves spending time with friends, continues to play piano, and enjoys drawing and art related activities.  She is a great kid.

Weston:  Football fan.  And when I say fan I mean FAN!!!!  I think this 8 year old could join the cast of ESPN and call the games with total confidence.  I'm not sure if Kristen has forgiven me for introducing him to football last fall.  Since that first televised game where I explained the basics, he has been absolutely hooked.  I personally can't recall a conversation that did not come back to football in some way.  He did some fencing, continues to play soccer, legos, and many outdoor activites with friends and family, but he has definitely found a passion...  He is begging for full contact football in the fall.  Kristen is not exactly thrilled, but we'll see.

Ava:  Still the baby of the family and a role and position that she loves.  She turned six in October and has informed us that she does not wish to get any older than this.  She started soccer this fall (with me as coach), and every practice and game was high entertainment.  She tears down the field, occasionally roaring and running with outstretched arms to push obstacles (i.e. other players) out of her path to the ball.  This is a consequence of having an older brother who uses you for football practice.  Ava started piano, joining her siblings in lessons, but has decided to quit ballet.  When asked why she wanted to quit given how much she loves to dance she pondered for a minute and said:  "I love to dance, but not to such "graceful" music."  I can totally relate.

Kristen:  Always on the go - sometimes by choice, often by necessity.... She is managing an incredible load with teaching school, running a household, getting kids to a myriad of practices and activities, attends bible study, volunteers at weekly kid's church group, and somehow makes it all look easy.  Still and always my hero.  (p.s. Yes, that's her jumping off the cliff in the photos..)

Me/Greg:  Still working at Microsoft - it will be 15 years in August and it is still a challenging and lightening fast environment.  I work with great people and feel very fortunate to be at a great company and to feel like I can make a difference.  The travel, hours and associated stress can be a challenge but I am very grateful for how God has provided for me and the family and it doesn't take much when looking at the situation with friends in Zimbabwe and other situation all around to keep a positive perspective for what I and we have.  I thank God daily for his gifts to us!

We wish you all a wonderful 2009 and know that you are in our thoughts and prayers! 

Love,

Greg, Kristen, Ella, Weston & Ava

Based on the interest from many of you on my time and experience in Africa last month, I’ve attempted to pull together some of the photographs I shot while there as well as transcribe from the journal I kept during the trip.  (Note: There are 3 different Africa photo albums posted so you will want to click on the other albums as well to view everything.)  As many of you know, I had the unique opportunity to travel there Aug 5 – 15^th with a close friend, Sean Sheridan, who owns a small media production company (4 Minute Media http://www.4minutemedia.com/fieldreport01.cfm ).  He had been contracted by World Vision to film some of the work being done by the organization in various locations in South Africa and produce a video to drive awareness and support, and I joined him as his production assistant for filming and still photography. (Note: final cut of the two 4 min films is at the end of the blog.) Additionally we volunteered time with Horizon International in Northern Zimbabwe, in and around Harare where Sean had previously visited last November while shooting a short film for Horizon, documenting their projects in various locations in Zimbabwe and Uganda.  Our primary focus there was in collecting documentation and shooting portraits for several hundred orphans in need of sponsorship and financial support. While based in Europe for Microsoft I previously had spent time in Africa and was swept up by the beauty of the country and the people, but also greatly affected by the severe poverty and need due to disease and hunger.  Living in the wealthiest country in the world – it is difficult to comprehend the day to day reality in places like we visited, and I was profoundly impacted by my time there.  I hope I can adequately share and communicate a bit of that with you.  DISCLAIMER: It’s long. J

Some background:

Who is World Vision?  WV is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. They serve the world's poor — regardless of a person's religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. http://www.worldvision.org 

Who is Horizon International?  Horizon is a non-profit Christian relief and development organization dedicated to caring for orphans affected by HIV/AIDS.  They serve these orphans and their communities regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender enabling them to break the cycle of poverty and live free from the bonds of poverty and disease.  http://horizoninternationalinc.com

Facts to Ponder…

·         HIV/AIDS orphans more than 6,000 children every day. Even more children are impacted and left vulnerable

·         Almost 2 million African children younger than 15 are HIV-positive or live with full-blown AIDS — 90 percent of the worldwide total of children directly affected by the pandemic.

·         In countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe, AIDS has increased the infant mortality rate by 25 percent. In addition to those who are HIV-infected, orphaned children are one of the most significant populations in need of support. In Africa, 12 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS; worldwide, that number is estimated at15 million — and by 2010 is expected to reach 25 million (more than 18 million in Africa alone).

·         Roughly 30 million additional children around the world are desperately vulnerable because of AIDS, a number expected to climb to 50 million by 2010. These are children whose parents are sick, whose families have taken in extra children or who live in communities where there is not enough food, teachers or health workers because of AIDS.

·         As a generation of parents is lost to AIDS, grandparents become the guardians often of 10 or more children. If grandparents are gone, older siblings, some of whom are not even in their teens, raise families. These children often must quit school to earn a living.

·         The need is the greatest in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the United Nations, more than 25 million Africans are living with HIV or AIDS, and in some of the hardest-hit countries, more than a quarter of the population carries the virus. The adult rate of infection is 7.4 percent in Africa as compared with a world average of 1.1 percent. The vast majority of countries with the highest HIV and AIDS prevalence rates are in Africa. Within Africa, prevalence varies by country and region. While West Africa's average is 4.5 percent and East Africa is at 6 percent, Southern Africa has an alarming 13 percent infection rate.

·         Of the 40 million people living with AIDS worldwide, over 25 million are African. Of that group, more than 57 percent are women. In part because of cultural limitations on female rights and freedoms, more African women are infected than men. In addition, almost 2 million HIV-positive Africans are younger than 15 years of age. Children are most often infected in utero or during breastfeeding; more than 90 percent of adult infection is through sexual transmission between a man and a woman.

·         Over 12 million children in Africa have been orphaned because of droughts, disasters and diseases including AIDS. They have been left to care for themselves and many have been forced to drop out of school. Without an education, these children, and the generations beyond them, have little hope for a better future.

Journal excerpts

Day 1 – 2  Johannesburg / Soweto / Orlando East, South Africa

Roughly 27 hours of travel from Seattle to Joburg.  It feels good to be here, back in Africa.  As always to become an instant minority is a strange and a bit disconcerting feeling.  But I’m very excited for what this trip holds.  We half-heartedly negotiated w one of the local taxi drivers to get us to our hotel on the edge of northern Joburg not too far from Soweto and the townships – the poorest area in the region.  He represents what I love about Africans, an almost musical laugh, positive attitude, ready smile, all despite circumstances and a past that would tend towards bitterness and skepticism.  He recounted that he was not allowed to go to university under apartheid and that we all would have been fined and/or put on jail for being together back then.  The Afrikaners would beat them with rods during the demonstrations.  He was exactly my age, married w 2 children.  It was a great first meeting in SA.

We visited the World Vision ADP (area development project) in Orlando East (Soweto township) considered the poorest around Joburg.  We met the staff there, working in a tiny building w concrete floor, peeling paint and holes in the walls and ceilings.  They were all constantly smiling and I love the long Zulu handshakes they offer, which changes grips 3 times and ends w a lingering shake.  It made me smile every time.  Our purpose was to shoot B roll (images and footage in support of the short film focused on child headed households resulting from AIDS/HIV) of the area and work. One in four is believed to be HIV positive.  Unemployment is around 40% and transportation limitations alone make jobs impossible for many. We met some of the HIV positive adult members of the HIV support group as well as physically and mentally challenged kids attending school in an old Nazarene church building.  Sean and I felt there was a strange feeling of distrust and unwelcome around that area.  We were watched and regarded with trepidation and many clearly did not want to have our eyes meet.  It felt uncomfortable and was a surprise to Sean based on his many trips to Africa.  I think that apartheid is still just too close, and Soweto was the area and people that took the brunt of the cruelty and associated evil, so white faces still conjure negative feelings for some.  The big exception is the kids.  They swarm around us speaking Zulu and laughing like children everywhere.  To be in that place with tiny shacks w/out water or electricity, filth and dust and torn mis-matched clothes, and yet the kids laugh, smile, dance and shriek with delight.  The have literally nothing – not a single toy – hopefully 1 meal per day, and still they smile and play.

We spent time with two families, mothers and fathers HIV positive and unemployed.  We didn’t see the fathers, one was looking for work and the other had secured a day long project.  Vangile Sibisi, 42 yrs old, 5 children, the first now 29 yrs old, indicating she was 12 to 13 when she had her. Our WV staff guide said that it was likely a rape situation.  The sadness in her eyes, particularly when compared to the smiles and laughter of the children was incredibly sad to witness. This was even more true of the second family mother.  I’ve never seen such a clear sense of hopelessness in someone’s eyes.  It was beyond despair – it was just bare existence with the knowledge that death was coming. He oldest child was at school (9yrs) but her two other children were home with her.  Fikele, a 7 yr old deaf girl, suspiciously sick w flu-like symptoms, and Twoboy, an amazing 4 year old that absolutely loved our company.  I showed all the children a picture of my family and it was interesting to see how each would point to the one of my 3 kids closest to their own age.  It has already been a really rewarding and amazing experience to be here.  The poverty is unbelievable and the contrast between the sorrow and despair on the faces of the mothers vs the smiles and laughter of their children really caught me off guard.  I guess it's the adult view of the reality of their difficulties and the child's beautiful ability to just live and relish every new experience.  It is a totally different world, on the surface without reason for hope, and yet happiness is still there.

Day 3 – 7  Durban / Bergville, South Africa

We flew to Durban (beautiful flight and views of the snow-covered Drakensbergs), were picked up by the World Vision Okhahlamba ADP area director, and made the 3 hour drive to the ADP located in the Kwazulu-Natal in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains – heart of Zululand.  She provided us facts on the area and work there in preparation for our time filming.  WV has 4,681 sponsored children there.  There are many thousand more in need that are not formally sponsored.  Of those sponsored, only 5 are formally known to have HIV.  This is not reality, but the stigma associated with AIDS keeps people from getting tested or admitting when they are sick. Zulu culture is hard on sickness or anything perceived as weakness and there is a lack of trust in bio-medical practices.  40% of pregnant women are HIV positive in the province compared to 15-18% of the general population.  15 – 25 yrs of age is the highest infection rate, with 13 – 15 yrs the age they become first sexually active. The numerous deaths are always associated with other sickness (TB, pneumonia, flu, etc) rather than AIDS – which is the most likely reason. Unemployment increased from 60 to 70% in the past 5 years.  80% of all households rely on the government for main source of income.

Upon arrival we dropped our bags at a small B&B located in Bergville, a small village about 45 min from the area where we would be working and filming over the next few days.  We went to the WV office, also located in Bergville and met the staff.  Again, I was struck by the simplicity and needs associated with the WV offices themselves.  I often get questions about whether funds donated to such organizations really go to the people in need, and I can attest first hand that everything goes to the children and people in need.  87% of every dollar of support contributed goes directly to people.  It was clear that the administrative costs were kept to a minimum.  I have incredible respect for the staff and volunteers with whom we worked.  They are tireless in their efforts and the work is grueling and can seem overwhelming – yet they persevere and brought such clear hope and value to every one we met.  I envied that feeling of doing things that truly help others in a real and tangible way every day.  It also was a strong reminder that I need to do more with the resources I have. 

We spent the first day scouting the area of the child headed household we would be working with, and filming more B roll of the region, and as usual, the people and children are open and smiling, and being out among them was a great experience. On the drive up into the area where the majority of the Zulu lived we passed a man dead on the side of the road.  He had just been shot by a rival taxi owner.  Our Zulu WV staff guide told us that the taxi owners have ongoing territorial disputes over whose taxis cover a given area, and related violence and murders are not uncommon.   Taxis are unmarked and are regular cars utilized as such and completely unregulated.  A typical ride cost is 2 rand (approx 25 cents) and people travel incredible distances on foot to get to work, water, school, etc. as even that cost is prohibitive for most.  On the way back that evening we stopped at a roadside mud house / shop and bought a big bottle of Stony (ginger beer) to share with the kids that were always around.  It was a beautiful evening high in the mountains and as we enjoyed the view and photographed the kids with us an old woman passing by told our guide that she could arrange great wives for Sean and me.  We laughed and said we already had wives and she responded that we could always have more.  We politely declined. J  It is not uncommon to have as many wives as one can afford and the local chief had 8 (so far). 

We spent the next day at the home of Mthokozisi Moluli 18 yrs old and responsible for his 4 brothers and sisters since his mother’s death (from AIDS) in 2001 when he was 13.  His father died of AIDS two years prior.  He talked to us about his sadness on the loss of his parents, sleeping alone, worrying about finding food, walking to get water, and caring for his siblings. We talked about the core needs for him and left money with the staff to buy him 3 chickens and a rooster so that he could breed the chickens for eggs and meat, and also left money to buy a larger jug for carrying water.  He currently had only a small pail for transporting water for all of them – requiring several daily trips to the nearest water source (a fair distance).  They used this same pail for carrying other things and mixing mud to repair the house.

We had a very unique experience one afternoon after filming out among the Zulu farms up in the mountains on a national holiday.  Our two Zulu WV staff guides, Zunela (f) and Sunela (m) asked if we would like to go and see a Zulu dance competition between schools that was being held in a nearby village.  We agreed and drove down into a huge crowd of thousands of Zulu celebrating the holiday. We had to inch the car through the throngs to park and people stared and did double takes seeing two white guys in the middle of their festivities.  I have to admit I was pretty apprehensive and worried that this could turn out to be a bad idea. Sunela jumped out of the car and said he would go check out the situation and see where the dance competition was being held.  He was gone for 25 minutes and Sean and I assumed we might just lose our cameras and equipment when going out.   The crowd was estimated to be about 4000 people and we were the only non-Zulu there.  It was such a great learning experience for me – feeling completely powerless to control the situation if it turned out that we were unwelcome or had overstepped by intruding on their event.  Sunela reappeared and motioned us to join him.  We followed him deeper into the crowd, with people staring at us curiously as we went.  We arrived at the giant dirt circle where the kids would be competing – which was surrounded by more people, about 20 deep all around, and a woman came forward with a huge smile and said loudly in English – Welcome to our South Africa! and proceeded to hug both of us and then pull us through to the judges area and provided chairs for us right behind the judges.  We had been given the best seats in the house which we tried to refuse to no avail.  They brought us juice to drink and over a portable PA system told the crowd that they had judges all the way from America there just to watch them perform – so to do their best!  It was an amazing experience with boys and girls in full Zulu ceremonial dress competing via dance and singing to tribal drums. There was an amazing sunset that night as we left the event several hours later.

The next morning we stopped by the WV office and found that we would not be required to do additional filming and had the rest of the day to ourselves.  The wonderful woman that ran the B&B where we were staying offered us the use of her car which we readily accepted. It was an ancient manual transmission Toyota (driver’s side on the right) with 365,000 kilometers on it, but it worked for us just fine – although it did require a lot of encouraging words when starting or climbing hills.  Based on local recommendations, we headed up to an area called the Amphitheatre for a hike and it was well worth it.  The views were outstanding. We then headed on to a national game reserve for the late afternoon where we paid about $7 US to go horseback through the savannah among rhino, giraffe, springbok, zebra and many other animals whose names I haven’t a clue.  We could go as fast or slow as we liked and it was a thrill to gallop through the grasslands and watch the wildlife run.  The natural protection on a lot of the foliage was petty lethal with 2 inch hard thorns catching you if you got too close. 

The next day Sean and I spent filming and photographing the experience of Gary Smalley, a well known marriage and family counselor and writer, his wife, his son and daughter-in-law with children, as well as a life long friend and wife and 2 children (11 in all) as they met the African children they had been sponsoring for years who lived in the area.  Sponsoring a child involves monthly support of $30 which ensures food, health care, and education opportunities.  We stayed with Gary and his wife as they were taken to the compound of huts where the 9 year old girl they sponsored lived, and it was quite a trek just to hike to where she lived her life.  They were clearly affected by the sight of her small sleeping mat on the floor of a mud brick hut with thatched roof black with smoke from the cook fire burning in the center of the hut.  Again, it is such a stark contrast to even the most severe poverty we have in the U.S.  The poorest of our poor would seem quite well off by comparison.  After spending time at the home we went to a large party attended by 400 orphans in honor of the visit.  It was a great show with Zulu singing, tribal dancing and ended with food for all.  To not insult our hosts we needed to eat some of all that was prepared, which included an opaque gooey substance with the consistency, look and taste of snot.  It was a real feat to smile and say thanks.  I’m ready for Fear Factor. J

The next morning we joined the families for the 4 hour drive back to Joburg (seeing baboons along the road as we went), and arrived at their B&B where Sean and I finished final filming with an interview w Gary Smalley.  The purpose was to complete a separate short film Sean would be producing recounting Gary’s visit to his sponsor child for use in his speeches and conferences to drive awareness and sponsorship of other children.  As soon as we had wrapped Sean and I secured a ride to the airport with the owner of the hotel for our flight to Harare, Zimbabwe.  We had the most bizarre conversation with the owner, himself a white African from Zimbabwe who spouted strange racist theories about why the black Africans could never truly be successful in helping themselves.  It was very disappointing and frustrating to listen to him and we were extremely relieved to be out of his company and on our way.

Day 8 – 10 Harare / Mt Darwin / Eppworth / Hatfield, Zimbabwe

The time spent in Zimbabwe was easily the most impactful of the entire trip, and that’s saying a lot.  The level of poverty increased even more than what we had already experienced.  And the sheer number of those in need was so visible and apparent it was overwhelming just to look out the car windows as you passed a shanty town or stepped out of the car expecting to photograph 300 orphans, but saw 500 to 600 with more coming out of the bush.

We arrived late that night and were greeted at the airport by Tatenda and Lucia Gunguwo, the tireless couple working for Horizon International in Harare and the surrounding area.  It’s difficult to describe how great it felt to be with them and how quickly you could see how much they loved their work and meeting the needs of all the orphans created by AIDS and HIV.  They told us that we would be taken out to an area called Mt Darwin, out in the bush, and that orphans were already walking all night just to arrive where we would be the next day to shoot their portraits for use in the sponsorship packets Horizon would create in the hopes of securing sponsors back in the US.   We spent the night at the Gunguwo’s home, which is a large house donated by Greek man who has another home in the city and supports their work.  It is a former estate with 20 acres associated to it. It is quite run down but they are steadily improving the property and care for 40 orphans there, in addition to their own 3 children.  They have volunteers and staff that work primarily for room and board to help raise the children.  They are supported on $500 a month for everything that they do, and this includes the 4 additional smaller homes scattered around northern Zimbabwe to care for orphans in a home based community environment.  The model is to have 12 to 20 orphans in a house located in their own community and cared for by volunteers and community members through Horizon financial support – to ensure adequate food, clothing, health care and education.  There is no better work being done anywhere and I was humbled by the work ethic and passion they brought to the task.  Tatenda had a heart breaking story from earlier this year, which still troubled him greatly.  A seven year old girl and her 3 year old brother came to the gate of their house in Harare asking to be brought in with the other orphans as they had no parents and nowhere to live. Tatenda was greatly concerned that they were already struggling to be able to feed the 40 they currently had and so was forced to say no.  A week later he was asked to come see if he could identify a body that had been sexually assaulted and left in a water filled ditch in the area.  It was the girl.  About a week later, a neighbor’s dog carried a human hand home and they discovered the little brother’s body in some nearby brush. Tatenda still wrestles with the choice he made that day.  But every day those choices exist and I can’t fathom being forced to face that on an ongoing basis.

We got up at 3:30 am to leave at 4 for the 3 hour drive into the bush (Mt Darwin).  Even that early the police and security checkpoints are everywhere throughout the city and even out on the highways throughout the country.  It is very oppressive and keeps the population in fear and constantly off balance. Over the course of our time in Zimbabwe we were stopped and searched at least 15 – 20 times.  Sometimes this was very cursory and just a nuisance, while at others we were questioned closely about our purpose, why our equipment was needed and whether we had cash or firearms.  One particular official ordered us out of the car and continued to insist that we produce cash.  When we said we had no cash he accused us of using it to buy guns and searched the car.  He asked if we would run if he set the dogs on us and whether we though it would be wrong if he did that. This and other experiences are the disturbing reality of Mugabe and his corrupt government.  Lucia insisted on thanking us for our work by taking us to dinner at one of the only Western hotels still remaining in Harare after Mugabe took power.  We refused to let her pay but agreed to go and gave her dollars to cover the meal as she explained that the exchange rate provided by the hotel would be terrible.  The inflation in the country is staggering – such that the government recently dropped 3 zeros from the currency.  Our buffet style dinner for 3 required two 4 inch thick rubber-banded stacks of 100,000 Zimbabwe Dollar bills (to be clear each bill was a 100,000 dollar bill).  It was like something out of a drug lord movie. One of the images that always comes to my mind when I think of Africa is that of people along all the roads, just walking or sitting and waiting – for what I don’t know.  It’s the same everywhere.  About halfway to our destination we passed one such group sitting under some trees on the side of the road.  Sean recognized a girl, Trinity, that he had seen in the same place 6 months earlier and we turned back to talk with them.  She had been gravely ill when he was last there and he had helped arrange to get some medicines for her.  She was much improved and it was a real highlight for Sean to spend time with her and film her in her improved state.  We continued on to the orphan home in Mt Darwin and arrived to a huge line of hundreds of orphans waiting patiently for us to begin shooting their portraits.  It was a bit overwhelming both emotionally and physically.  We stood in the hot sun shooting portraits for 6 hours straight and it was so difficult to look at these little children and know that they had no parents, little food, and little chance at survival.  I felt and feel a responsibility to do whatever I can to help and support them.  Particularly when meeting children the same age as my own I was struck with how I would feel if my own kids were in a similar state.

We finally wrapped up there and I gave soccer balls (thanks Pat Schlight for the idea) and jump ropes and kids clothes I had brought to the pastor and his wife who ran the orphanage home there and headed back for Harare.  At the same spot where we had stopped on the way to Mt Darwin there were now about 100 people (mainly orphan kids) that had gathered all day waiting for us to pass back by in the hopes that we would take their pictures as well.  Unfortunately, Horizon can only process so many sponsorship packets at a time, and so we did not want to damage Horizon’s reputation in the area by over-extending and failing to meet commitments and expectations.  It was very, very hard to remain in the car and see the disappointment on their faces while Lucia explained to the crowd that we would have to come to that area in the future.  I began reading through the hundreds of forms for the kids we had photographed that day and had to smile.  Some samples from the names that were in English:  Marvellous, Justice, Blessing, Fortunate, Average, Beloved, Patience, Obey (wonder if that would have worked for one of my kids J), and even an Elvis that I was tempted to bring home with me as a brother for my own Weston.

We arrived back in Harare later that evening to find the electricity was out (which happens quite frequently) and so we carried candles with us through the house.  We did have running water, however only cold, so showers were a “grit your teeth” experience – but at least got rid of the coating of red dust which was a constant for our entire trip.  The next day we spent in the Hatfield township, the result of the government bulldozing of the homes in that area and the people creating shelter out of whatever they could.  There are an estimated 100,000 people living there on the edge of Harare with no electricity or sewage, and the only water supplied by UN trucks that must pump it into cisterns placed throughout the maze of dirt tracks that wind through the “homes”. There are graves throughout the area with people buried right next to the shacks and daily life. Just as in South Africa, the smiles and delight of the children, in spite of their circumstances, was very powerful.  We slowly made our way to the middle of the township on terrible dirt tracks that only allowed us to travel about 2 mph and arrived at the spot where the most needy orphans had been gathered.  Again, we were told approx 75 had been gathered for portraits, but word had spread and there were quickly hundreds of children around us with more continuing to arrive as we worked.  We were greeted with the children gathered in groups and singing to Sean and me.  It was fantastic.  My face literally hurt from smiling so much. I did feel badly for a few of the smallest orphans who likely had never seen a white face and clearly didn’t like the look of mine J They cried and were so scared throughout the photo shoot.  It began to get late and yet the line of orphans was never-ending so we were finally forced to stop and go to the car while Lucia calmed the remaining crowd and explained we were through for the day.  She was concerned about getting us safely back out of Hatfield and Sean and I began to get a feeling for her anxiousness as we made our way out of the township passing tough young men who did not look positively on our presence there.  Lucia had us keep our cameras down and out of sight on the way out for fear of them stoning the car.  She explained that many of the young men want to represent themselves as loyal to the government and believe they will be helped or get jobs if they report activity going on there, and are distrustful when they see white “journalists” in the area.  But we made it out without our own “Blackhawk Down” experience J .  That night we did a real tour of the orphan home and took portraits of the 40 orphans there.  The next morning we traveled to another severely impoverished area in Harare called Eppworth.  Once again, the expectation was approx 100 orphans but upon arrival we saw lines of 400 – 500 with more arriving.  Sean and I just looked at each other helplessly and then told Lucia that we would shoot as fast as we could until 11 when we had to leave for the airport.  We proceeded to do that and again I found it very hard to comprehend the plight of these beautiful kids.  I took photos of kids whose smiles and mannerisms reminded me of my own – and it killed me.  We had to stop at 11 and there were still long lines of hopefuls.  Some people became quite upset that we had to leave and we hated to disappoint them.  We went to the nearby community based orphan home supported by Horizon and were given a quick meal of a scrambled egg and beans and then taken to the airport to head back to the states.  Because of the terrorist plot uncovered, my trip back was incredibly long – 40 hours of travel, but Sean and I realized that our BA flight from Heathrow back to the US was one of the likely terrorist targets, so we were quite grateful they had been apprehended in time.

In summary, it was a fantastic experience and I look forward to going back.  There are many things that changed and affected me and how I will live life differently:

1. Wintnessing Severe Poverty first hand:  I commit to providing even more support to others in need - given the enormous need and my own ability to help in whatever ways I can - there is just no real excuse not to.
2. "It could always be worse" is a very true statement:  No matter how badly I think I've been wronged, cheated, or deserve better - I have NOTHING to complain about and should live like it.
3. Watching the staff of the relief organizations in action:  Recognizing and understanding what needs to be done to meet a need, and actually DOING something are not the same thing.
4. Life as an orphan:  Being a parent is a gift and an awesome responsibility - and I want my kids to know daily how loved they are and how seriously I take the job.

If you are interested in learning more and/or helping the children in need, you can do so through the web sites I referenced above.  I can say it is a very rewarding experience that truly will be life saving/changing for the kids on the other end.