June 16th is The International Day of the African Child

“The Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity. It honors those who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 on that day. It also raises awareness of the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children.  In Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976, about ten thousand black school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting the poor quality of their education and demanding their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young students were shot, the most famous of which being Hector Peterson (see image). More than a hundred people were killed in the protests of the following two weeks, and more than a thousand were injured.”  (Source Wikepedia)

Today, I had the privilege of attending the beginning of The International Day of the African Child events being held in Swaziland.  There were 700+ children from eight different Children’s Homes who gathered together to celebrate education and life through song, stories, skits and dance.  Of course our children are still too young to be doing any performance, but I took the opportunity to share with the children in attendance about who El Roi (the God Who Sees) really is and how He has a plan for each of their lives.  It was also decided that I should bring Baby Deborah with me (affectionately known as Baby Debs) to show a real live example of how God really does see things that people may not want seen.

If you have not read Deborah’s story please go to http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2013/02/its-tuesday-night-newborn-dumped-baby.html so that you know who she is.  Needless to say, she “performed” beautifully while sitting on my lap, and just smiled at the audience as they gasped at the horror of her story.  Sadly, each and every child sitting in that room has a story equally horrific to Deborah’s, but there we were, gathered together to celebrate the African child and all of the tragic stories that come with them.  In spite of it all, there was joy in the room and the presence of God was with us.

The problems on this continent are vast and complicated.  Poverty affects the issue of hunger.  Hunger drives people to do things that they wouldn’t otherwise do morally and sexually.  Poor moral and sexual choices bring many layers of health issues and death. Death creates orphans and vulnerable children who are living in poverty and hungry. And the circle begins again.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  So many African children have no chance at an education at all (let alone a GOOD education) so they are forced to turn to other weapons that will kill and destroy - weapons like “hopelessness”. 

As I watched the older children perform today I was thankful for all the people who have supported the other Children’s Homes in Swaziland and on the continent of Africa.  Without international support these homes would not exist and these children would not be breaking the cycle of poverty.

I also became overwhelmed with gratitude to the women from the US Bank who raised the funds to build the Sisekelo Preschool and who are committed to educating children in Swaziland and in Kenya. They understand the importance of education and how it can change the future of a nation, a continent and our Global Village.  They have busy lives and serve in high-level jobs, but they are 100% committed to hosting golf tournaments, selling jewelry or hosting dinner parties to raise awareness and the funds needed to make a difference.  I am grateful to Pam Joseph, Beth Blaisdell and the amazing women at WLA. Thank you friends.

I am a huge Michael Jackson fan and I was listening to his song “Man in the Mirror” the other day. I love the line that says, “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.”  RIP Michael, but may those words of truth live on.  Today I will look in the mirror and make another change, and tomorrow I hope to do the same.  What about you?

As those of us living in Africa count down the next seven days to week to June 16^th to the celebration of The International Day of the African Child, I hope that you will be thinking about these children too.  It may not typically be a day that is celebrated where you live, but it could be this year.

Live from Swaziland … heading to the mirror.

Janine

Nomsa did not get good news ... and other updates.

 When someone asks you if you want the good news or the bad news first, which do you want? This blog will update you on several people whom I have written about in the past few months and  I will start with the bad news so that I leave you with good news.

Nomsa:  www.wednesdayswithnomsa.blogspot.com  We finally got her tests result back and she is POSITIVE still for Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis.  To make things worse she also has a new type of lung infection called MOWT.  I am in South Africa for a couple of days so I heard this by phone yesterday when the nurse called with the test results. Nomsa is devastated as she was sure that she would be leaving the hospital next week, but now she starts new treatment and according to the doctor it is another 6-8 months in hospital.  She was inconsolable yesterday, but I will head in to visit her tomorrow and bring love (and KFC J).  I will write a full report with more details of MOWT in this Wednesday blog.

Nomsa at her bed in the hospital.

Burned baby: http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-burned-baby-has-burned-hole-in-my.html  I have no good news to report on the baby who was burned by his father.  I met with the mother again this week and she is anxious to get back to her other three children who are now living alone.  She lost her job because she has been at the hospital for seven weeks, but at the same time doesn't want to be discharged because she can’t pay her $56 hospital bill.  I assured her that we will help her with the payment when the time comes, but we are still navigating the political waters to try to help this child.  I am hopeful that the situation will be resolved this week and that the child will be moved to a private hospital.

Now for the good news updates!

On Monday we will be receiving a new baby girl!  She is three weeks old and was left with strangers when her mother said she needed to go to the toilet. Imagine that?  “Please hold my baby while I use the toilet” and then the mother disappears. The people took the baby to the police and she is now in the hospital. We will pick her up on Monday.

Yesterday Beth Blaisdell, Elaine Baker and Kim Kennedy arrived in Johannesburg from the US and will be joined by the rest of their team from the US Bank on Monday. These women will be working diligently to assemble furniture and decorate the Sisekelo Preschool in one short week.  I will post photos next week, but I somehow think that this just might be the nicest preschool on the continent J.

Parents who wanted to drop off their babies at Project Canaan: http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2013/03/why-would-husband-and-wife-arrive-at.html  The little baby in this story is doing really well.  He is on Anti-Retro Viral medication for his HIV/AIDS and his lung infection is gone.  He is at home with his mother and his father is working at Project Canaan and goes home on the weekends.  He is a hard worker and we are thankful to have him on the construction team, which is building the Toddler home.  A great ending to a story, which started very badly.

Baby Deborah: http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2013/02/its-tuesday-night-newborn-dumped-baby.html  She is TOO CUTE!  I wish I had a current photo to upload here, but I am in South Africa writing this and don’t have a picture.  She is doing so well and although she is still sleeping in my fathers doll crib she will be moving to a “big girl” bed soon!

Jabu and her twin boys: http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2013/03/do-for-one-person-what-you-wish-you.html  Jabu loves working El Roi and the family has settled in well at Project Canaan.  The boys are very active, fun loving and full of life now that they are eating properly (and regularly) and being stimulated with other children at the Farm Managers Building. We are thankful for Jabu’s care for all the babies at El Roi.

14-year old pregnant girl:  http://janinemaxwell.blogspot.com/2013/03/no-baby-sometimes-things-are-not-as.html  She is still pregnant.  Her due date came and went so we know that the doctor (and ultrasound) were correct, it was not the rape that caused her pregnancy.  There had to have been another “incident”.  We expect her baby by the end of May and will still accept him/her at El Roi.  Then we will see how we can help this young girl share with a Social Worker what really happened.

Live from South Africa … I am going shopping with the girls.

Janine

Father lit his 18-month old baby boy on fire?

Having one foot in “first world” and one foot in “third world” is very disturbing and it is divisive to my soul.

I have been visiting the United States for two weeks and have had two weeks of "extremes".  

I started my travels in “Sin City” Las Vegas where I was invited to be a part of the MedAssets Business Summit with 4,000 other people staying in a hotel that has almost as many rooms (3,309) as we have people in the community surrounding Project Canaan (3,500).  I then got to visit a small town in Texas where the people love Jesus, the Rattlesnakes are waking up and the Tumbleweeds are blowing across the road as you drive past beautiful Cattle Ranches and farms that are feeding America. I can only imagine that one day Project Canaan will be a farm that feeds Swaziland! 

Next, I spent two nights in Georgia with women from the US Bank who have big corporate jobs, but even bigger hearts.  At one well-planned dinner they successfully raised $34,000 to help educate and bring life-changing jobs to women of Swaziland.  While Lori Marschall and Rona Nix were busy in California raising funds for me to have a good, used, 4 x 4 vehicle “baby rescue” vehicle that will navigate the rough roads of Swaziland, the women from WOMENETICS provided me with a brand new Porsche 911 to drive to Florida to see Spencer (!).  It is SO COOL!  

The best part of the whole trip has been getting to visit Spencer!!  He is studying “Business Marketing" at Florida State University (home to 44,000 students, which is half the total population of the Capitol City of Mbabane, Swaziland) and for his extra-curricular activity he is a part of the FSU High Flying Circus.  We get to see him perform several times this weekend  and it makes me wonder if the babies at El Roi will one day have incredible opportunities like that?!  I am thankful to be here and a very proud mama.

Ian and I are so very proud of Spencer and Chloe.

It has been two weeks of extremes, from locations to conversations, but my “snap back into my other reality” came when I received a phone call from Swaziland last week.

There was good news and bad news.   The good news was that Baby #28 had arrived at El Roi and little 10-day old Elisha was happy and healthy.

The bad news rocked my world.  We were contacted by the Social Welfare Department to see if we could make room for and care for an 18-month old baby boy, who had been badly burned by his father.  I asked Shirley and Ian to gather more information and it slowly came to me as the week progressed. Here is some of what we know, and what I feel that I can share with you at this time, while still maintaining some privacy for the family.

“Social problems” as they are called in Swaziland, are always complicated, so I will try to explain this as simply as possible.

-       Woman was married to a man who died a couple of years ago.

-       Woman lives at her dead husbands homestead with his family and has nowhere else to live.

-       Woman gets pregnant by another man (we do not know the circumstances of this pregnancy).

-       Baby is born, but “culture” does not permit a baby from another man to live with the mother in her husbands homestead so baby has to go live with his Grandmother (biological Father’s mother)

-       In January 2013 (baby was 15-months old) the father beat the baby badly around the face.  The issue was settled “culturally” between the families (?) and no police report was made.

-       On March 13^th 2013 the Grandmother was working in the fields and came in and found the baby crying.  She called him to come and saw that he could not walk.

-       Grandmother found severe burns covering his buttocks and genitals.

-       I saw a photo of this baby in the newspaper at the end of March and the burns were horrific.  They showed his backside and it looked as if the baby was wearing a diaper and it had been lit on fire.

-       The father said he had accidently spilled boiling water on the boy, but the family does not believe this and neither do the doctors.

-       The father is now in prison.

-       The baby is at the Government hospital and while I want to show full respect for that hospital in this blog, I will say that I do not believe that they have the resources to give this child the care he needs to survive and recover.  I have been there and this child needs private care.

-       When the child is released from the hospital he will need somewhere safe to live. The mother has asked that we take him because she can’t take him to her “home” and the father will be released from prison. The whole family is very concerned about what the father will do when he is released.

The problem is complicated.  I am 8,500 miles away. Once I get back I will be taken to meet the mother, the Grandmother and I will go to the prison to meet the father, but in the meantime I sit on the other side of the planet and think about the pain that this boy and his mother are going through. The next step is to get this child proper care so that he can have a chance at a “normal” life.

I don't know what the future holds as there are many questions that still need answering. I don’t know if this child is to come to the El Roi baby home or if the mother and child are to come and live in the Sicalo Lesisha Kibbutz, but I do know that EL ROI sees them both and has a plan, and we can help.

I do know that we can do something now, today.  Shirley and Ian have secured a bed at a private hospital in Swaziland who we believe can provide excellent care for this child.  I can’t imagine what this would cost in America, but in Swaziland the cost for the next 60 days is almost $30,000 US, not including surgeries, skin grafts or other things that might be needed.

I know that $30,000 can feed a lot of children or provide care for many babies, but I think about what if the baby was Spencer or Chloe?  What if the baby who has massive burns on 20% of his whole body, and in the most private areas was YOUR child?  If it were my child I would stop at nothing to get him/her proper care.  This mother has no options, she has no one to call, no one to email and no one ask for financial assistance.  She is hopeless.  But I know that she is praying and asking God for help and He is her only hope. She is crying out daily for Him to send an angel and I am hoping that angel is reading this blog.

I will give you all an update after I get back home, but in the meantime I am hoping to raise a minimum of $20,000 so that we can commit to the mother that we will help her and move the baby to a different hospital. Yesterday I posted this need on Facebook and received $1,000 and I am so thankful for those early responders.  We have a long way to go, but I have faith that He will provide.

If you can give today please click here to make a secure donation.  Alternatively you can mail a check to:   Heart for Africa US,  P.O. Box 758 Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
Heart for Africa Canada, P.O. Box 246, Dept HOPE, Pickering, Ontario, L1V 2R4

I live in a world of extremes. I struggle having one foot in “first world” and the other foot in “third world”.  I long to be at home with my husband, my other babies and my Swazi family, but I give thanks for the opportunity to be here in this blessed country and I give thanks for every opportunity that I am being given while here.

Live from Florida … I am going back to the High Flying Circus today (and praying for a baby 8,500 miles away).

Janine

Hello Las Vegas? This is Swaziland calling.

It was 2:30AM in Las Vegas (which was 5:30AM in Georgia and 11:30 in Swaziland) when my iPhone rang.  I had it plugged in only to use the alarm to wake me in the morning. It never occurred to me that someone could reach me on it while I was in the United States because it is a Swaziland SIM/phone.

I left Swaziland on Saturday morning, drove to Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday night, arrived in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday morning then flew on to Las Vegas, Nevada arriving around 1PM at the Mandalay Bay hotel.  Mandalay Bay has 3,309 hotel rooms and an average of 2,000 people checking in and 2,000 people checking out EVERY DAY.  It is a beautiful and monstrous building that is designed to have people spend as much money on leisure, entertainment, eating, drinking and gambling as is humanly possible in the few days that each visitor stays there.  Oxygen is pumped in at an alarming rate to keep you alert and awake and there are no windows to the outside in the entertainment areas so you don't know if it night or day.  It is an experience of a lifetime and one that is not easily forgotten.

The Famous Las Vegas Strip.

When the phone rang I was sound a sleep in a very comfortable King Size bed with a window that looks at the full length of the famous “Las Vegas Strip”.  I have a flat screen TV, full mini-bar, large bathroom with double sink, shower and large bathtub, all made of marble of course, and I am staying there FOR FREE as a guest of John Bardis and the wonderful people of MedAssets.  Several years ago Ian and I were honored to be given the first Dr. Norman Borlaug Humanitarian of the Year award, and we are now invited back each year to celebrate with the new recipient of the award.  We are given a beautiful hotel room, invited to a fabulous meal at the famous Aureole restaurant with Dr. Borlaug’s family (Daughter Jeannie Borlaug Laube and Grand-daughter Jennifer Borlaug Marsh) and get to enjoy meeting many of the 4,000+ attendees of the Healthcare Business Summit.  We have a table set up and can share what is happening at Project Canaan and the El Roi baby home and we have gained much support from people we have met over the past five years in attendance.

In fact, we have met several of our Board members through this annual conference, including Sandra Green, Tom Finucane and Ned Lehman, and are thankful for all the friends who continue to support us as a result of the MedAssets partnership.

Board members Sandra Green and Tom Finucane.

Back to my 2:30 AM phone call.

The phone rang and I was in a dead sleep.  I fumbled around and wasn’t quite sure where the noise was coming from, but eventually rose to the surface of my slumber just in time to answer the phone before the caller gave up.

“Hello?”

“Hello Sisi?  Janine, is that you?”

“Yes, its me, who is this??”

“Its XXXX (NAME HELD FOR PRIVACY) from the XXX hospital in Swaziland. I need your help. I have a bad situation.”

By this point I had sat up and turned on my light to try to ascertain where on earth I was.  I was jetlagged and my body was still somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. I actually was quite shocked to have a sweet Swazi voice in my ear and then see the opulence of my surroundings when I turned on the light.  Oh my gosh, how could I ever tell her I was in Las Vegas (of all places!).

She continued, “There is a new baby born on Saturday morning and there is a bad situation. Will you come and get the baby?!”

AHHHHH!!!  I am in LAS VEGAS – literally 10,300 miles away from Swaziland. 

It was funny. I had an immediate moment of shame and guilt that I was where I was and she was where she was.  She was doing her job and I was gallivanting in Las Vegas.

But then a gentle voice came to me and assured me that was false guilt.  She was doing her job in Swaziland, and I was doing my job in Las Vegas.  I was reminded that without the word being spread and without people knowing about the plight of abandoned children in Swaziland that people wouldn’t have the opportunity to pray for the babies or give financially to support them.  Sigh.  I knew that was truth.

I told my sweet sister that I was not in the country, but that she could call the office and speak with Shirley or she had Ian’s number and either of them could go and help straight away.  Then she asked the question I had hoped to avoid. She asked where I was?  I am not gonna lie, while I knew that I was where the Lord wanted to me, I just couldn’t bring my self to say,  “Las Vegas Baby!!” and so I told her I was out of the country and that I would be home in a few short weeks, which is absolutely true.

It was a short call.  No clue what it cost, but it was a huge gift to me.  I loved hearing that Swazi voice so far away from me, I loved that the calls are still coming and babies are still being saved and I loved knowing that I didn’t have to be there in person for that baby to find his way home to El Roi.  I am so very thankful for Shirley and Ian and Helen and the whole team at El Roi who seek out, welcome and love each and every baby who is chosen to come and live with us.  

I am on a 22-day Speaking Adventure and today I am on Day 7, which finds me in Dalhart, Texas (about an hour from Amarillo, Texas).  I am honored to be invited here by my friend Shelly Harp and look forward to an amazing weekend of sharing, laughing, selling jewelry and celebrating all that God has done for us at Project Canaan.

On Monday I head to Georgia to reconnect with Chloe (who has been on Spring Break with one of her best friends for the past week) and join up for a couple of days with the amazing women at the US Bank and WLA (Women Leaders in Action).   I get to see my friends at Womenetics as they film a story of how WLA, UPS and Heart for Africa all came to work together for the children of Swaziland.  It is a great story to tell and I will be sure to post the link in a future blog once the video is complete.   Then I speak at Emory University on Thursday and after that Chloe and I head straight down to Florida State University to see Spencer perform multiple shows in the “High Flying Circus”.  I miss my son desperately and look forward to three days with both of my children together.  YIPPPE!!!!

Tumbleweeds are blowing in Texas - just like in the movies!

I started to type that I wish I were in Swaziland right now, but then stopped and deleted that sentence.  I don’t wish I were there, but rather I am glad I am here, right were I am supposed to be. I am thankful for all the invitations to come and share the story of Project Canaan. I am thankful for all the planning that my assistant Tricia did to make the plan work from coast to coast and north to south. But mostly I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for the next 15 days.  I feel like it is Christmas morning and there are many gifts under the tree to be opened.  Every one is a surprise and look forward to seeing what He has wrapped up for us all.

Live from Texas … the tumbleweeds are blowing!

Janine

PS – the baby is not at El Roi yet.  The paperwork is being completed with the Social Welfare department and we expect our little baby boy next week.  Stay tuned!

Update photo of the new Toddler home (left) and preschool (back center).

Confusion, lies and a new set of twins end up in the hospital

This was a whirlwind week beginning with a call from the Social Welfare department on Monday

morning saying there were three babies in desperate need.  We were already awaiting the arrival of a newborn (who at the time of this writing has still not appeared, despite an October 4^th delivery date).

I was told that one of the babies was a newborn and was dropped in a pit latrine (I never get used to typing those words), but was not ready to be released from the hospital.  The others were 9-month old twins who were in a very serious situation (not to suggest that being dropped in a pit latrine is NOT a serious situation!).  Tuesday Helen and I made the drive to Siteki to visit the baby in hospital and pick up the twins.

The mother of the baby gave birth in a pit latrine that had not been finished yet.  I never thought that I would write this, but unfortunately there were no feces/urine in the pit latrine to catch the baby when it landed, and instead the child hit his tiny newborn head on the bottom of the 6’ deep hole.  The mother left the child and it was only 12 hours later that he was found by a family member who heard his cry. It is a miracle that this baby is still alive, but not without injury.  He has several large wounds on his head and an abscess of some kind (the size of my fist), so we will not receive him from the hospital until the surgeons are finished and confident in his recovery.

From there we drove to the office to pick up the 9-month-old twins. I am not quite sure how to explain what transpired in the minutes to come, other than to say that there was a lot of confusion, there were lies, and then suddenly we had a set of twins in the car.  Their story took twists and turns that started with them looking like they were 18-24 months old and ended with them not even looking like siblings or the same age (let alone twins – neighbors maybe?).  The problem is that our policy is to only intake children under the age of 12 months because there is such a great need here in Swaziland for a home for little babies.  We want to have space for children of that age when a hospital or Social Welfare office needs to place a baby.  Secondly, the little ones come with much less hurt and emotional challenges than the older ones, and so our first children can be the leaders of the younger ones in the future.

But God is God, His plans are not our (my) plans, and He cheated and tricked me. I was “hoodwinked” as Ian told me later.

The children were living 100 km from Siteki, which is a 90-minute drive from Project Canaan. The police were the ones who reported that the children had been abandoned, so they were asked to drive the babies to Siteki and we would meet them there “half way” so to speak. By the time we arrived, the police had dropped the babies at the government office and turned back home. We looked at the children and laughed because they were walking, likely talking and had a full set of teeth!  I told the Social Worker that there was no way that these children were 9-months old and she insisted that is what she had been told. Well, maybe that is what she had been told, but there was NO way that was the truth.

 

Then there was the confusion. The Aunt of the children was the one who told the police that the mother had abandoned the children at her front door step when she wasn’t there (in fact she didn’t arrive home for three more days!).  The father of the children is HIV positive and has fathered 22 other children, to her knowledge, and was focused on passing on the deadly disease to as many women as he could before he passed away.  He is living in South Africa now.  When we asked how the boy was so very dark and the girl so very light, we were told, “Oh, the mother is a Zulu and the father is Afrikaans, that is why”.  Oh brother.  That might be true, but the mother is not a cat!

And then it got worse.  What are the children’s names?  Well, the Aunt didn’t know because she hadn’t seen the babies in six months, so she named them Rose and Gabriel. Why those names?  Because the girl was as pretty as a rose, and the boy would be protected by the angel Gabriel.

I told the Social Welfare officer that I really didn’t think these children qualified to come to El Roi as they were too old, but she assured me that they were less than one year and I couldn’t say no.  Where else would they go?  And so Rose and Gabriel, our “twin 9-month old babies” came to El Roi that night and it became their home.  They are actually 22-months old, the eldest children at the El Roi home for abandoned babies.  (Just for the record, I do believe that my friend at Social Welfare had no idea that the children were more than a year when she first called me.  She was only working from information the police had given her).

We have some issues with these beautiful children. They are angry, afraid, very hungry and both showing signs of severe malnutrition.   While they look round and plump, they are suffering “Kwashiorkor,” a form of malnutrition that is caused by inadequate protein.  In fact, yesterday afternoon we had to admit them to the hospital because their condition is acute and in the final stages (life threatening) according to malnutrition doctors here in Swaziland.  They will be there for 10 -14 days and that means that a caregiver from the El Roi baby home must be with them 24 hours a day.  There is no question that they have been abandoned before and mistreated based on how they cling to/fight for food, scrounge for tiny kernels of rice left on the floor even after they have had a full meal, and how they will bite in self-defense even when self-defense is not required. 

We have a long road ahead with all of these children, but we know that the Creator of the Universe and God who SEES them has brought us all together and He will make the way straight as we continue to seek His will and direction.

Thank you for reading this blog and for your continued support and prayers.  I can honestly say that I am at peace about what we are doing here and I believe that I have the best job in the whole world.  The rains are starting to fall again, the vegetables are being harvested and sold, and the babies are starting to crawl and walk. God is good and I am thankful.

Live from Swaziland…we have 14 babies!

Janine

PS - Just want to shout out to Beth Blaisdell, Kim Kennedy, Pam McReynolds and Sherri Troyer from the US Bank who were visiting this week and were a huge gift in assisting with many moving parts and sick children.  Special thanks to Beth and Kim who did "night shift" at El Roi last night with Helen while Thabile was doing night shift at the hospital.  We are so thankful for your hearts and hands.