One of the homes I have been helping to finish up is for a family of orphaned boys. There are about 4 or 5 brothers.. its hard to tell because they will say everyone is their "brother" and we also believe they have a little sister who lives with their grandma. These children are all orphaned. The oldest boy being 21 and the youngest being 14. Each house Ten Thousand Homes builds first starts with a relationship with a family and then a donation of 5,000 dollars and then they can buy the supplies and start building a home. This particular home happened a little backwards. Ten Thousand Homes didn't have a connection or relationship with the family at all. They heard about them through a connection with someone else then Photogenx International actually helped in the funding and once the money was wired in TTH was able to start building.
The staff and community volunteers that are working on the house have been trying to build a relationship and establish home with these boys in the process of building. Its been difficult though, the boys tend to shy away and keep to themselves when the builders are over. Some background story to help understand... the one boy, the 17 year old, got very sick at one point in time and went to a Sago-ma or witch doctor to get healing. The witch doctor then told him in order to be healed he had to become a witch doctor. So this boy now believes he has the witch doctor spirit inside of him. From talking to him the volunteers say you can tell he doesn't really want the responsibility and pressure of being one but his grandmother pushes him to be one. The staff said that the one time they went over to work on the house the boy took a hour long bath. He recognizes the different spirits they have inside them and stays away from the Christians. Talking to Kasey, one of the staff here on base, she said its been interesting trying to get to know them and become close to the boys. The one boy said that he knows they don't believe the same thing but its ok because they are doing good and helping them. Kacey decided to name the house The Sanctuary and explained to the boy that this new house will be a place of safety and peace and home for them. The day after they named the house a horrible storm came with lots of lightening (in their religion lightning is from the witch doctors) as well as their house getting robbed in the middle of the night. It was a spiritual attack right after the naming of the house. After hearing all this background story I was really anxious to go over and work on the house and meet the boys and just help pray over the land as I worked.
As we drove to the house on Tuesday we took a dirt road that twisted and turned and winded up through a grove of banana trees. There in front of us was a long brown rectangular mud house. Next to it stood the new cement one TTH had built. There was one other house on the property. The Sago-ma hut. Many properties around the villages here have them. They are for the witch doctors, for performing practices and praying to the ancestors. Most times the witch doctor houses are nicer than the families own house. They put SO much faith and belief into these false practices and evil spirits. Its sad and it broke me heart thinking of this poor young boy who basically gave his life over to a life of witch craft.
We picked up the paint and began chiseling away the cement around the window frames and then painted the windows white. Not to long afterwards the boys came home from school but like Kacey has said, they stayed their distance. Except for one, Ntando, the 14 year old. He came right over, curious who these new workers were. I began asking him questions, asked how school was. I found out he was in the 6th grade and that he liked to sing. He hung around us most of the day. We joked with him, took pictures.. let him take pictures.. haha and tried to get him to sing us a song :) I fell in love with this teenager. He seemed so curious and in need of just attention or someone to hangout with. I though of his brother being involved in witch craft and prayed to God that that wouldn't happen to him. He had such personality :) And in only knowing him a day I felt very attached to him. He seemed to open up to me quickly. I said bye before we left telling him I'd see him tomorrow. We came back the next day to finish up painting and he was there. He hadn't gone to school because he was sick and was maybe going to go to the clinic. Lucky, one of the South Africans that heads up construction, told us Ntando hadn't eaten in a long time. I brought him over to our cooler and made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He was so cute and didn't take much pb and j.. he barely spread it on his bread.. I think he felt bad taking our food. Later he said he felt better and didn't need to go to the clinic.
The next day we didn't work on construction at all but my heart felt really heavy for Ntando, I wondered what he was doing.. how he was feeling. I don't know why I feel such a strong connection to this teenage boy. I think I just want him to stay innocent. I can't image what it must be like to raise yourself, no parents, just living with your orphaned brothers. You take care of yourself, you decide when you go to school, you push yourself to do your homework. No one watches over you or tells you what to do. I want him to stay innocent. To not get caught up in the religious practices of the Afrikaans belief. I want him to have a good life. I want him to know Jesus.
Next week we are planning a "house warming" party to officially announce the finishing of the house and let them move in to their new home. We want to make popcorn and bring Fanta.. the boy's favorite ;) We also would like to bring some plywood and paint to work on an art project with them so they can create something to hang in their house. Something that says The Sanctuary with their handprints on it or something :) I'm excited and I think it will be really fun and special for them. We really want to bring HOME into this house. Thats the purpose and goal of Ten Thousand Homes, they really seek to bring, family, love, Jesus, and home into each and every house they build.
We picked up the paint and began chiseling away the cement around the window frames and then painted the windows white. Not to long afterwards the boys came home from school but like Kacey has said, they stayed their distance. Except for one, Ntando, the 14 year old. He came right over, curious who these new workers were. I began asking him questions, asked how school was. I found out he was in the 6th grade and that he liked to sing. He hung around us most of the day. We joked with him, took pictures.. let him take pictures.. haha and tried to get him to sing us a song :) I fell in love with this teenager. He seemed so curious and in need of just attention or someone to hangout with. I though of his brother being involved in witch craft and prayed to God that that wouldn't happen to him. He had such personality :) And in only knowing him a day I felt very attached to him. He seemed to open up to me quickly. I said bye before we left telling him I'd see him tomorrow. We came back the next day to finish up painting and he was there. He hadn't gone to school because he was sick and was maybe going to go to the clinic. Lucky, one of the South Africans that heads up construction, told us Ntando hadn't eaten in a long time. I brought him over to our cooler and made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He was so cute and didn't take much pb and j.. he barely spread it on his bread.. I think he felt bad taking our food. Later he said he felt better and didn't need to go to the clinic.
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