Visiting Alice's Home

The last thing that we did on Wednesday was visit Alice's home. Alice is the child that Piper chose to sponsor, and we actually just added her to our sponsorship a month before we went to Kenya. It seemed a bit random, and Compassion assigned her to us since we wanted a young girl from one of the same projects as either Maisha or Davis. But God knew exactly what He was doing, she was the perfect fit and definitely in need of assistance. Alice won my heart from the moment I saw her. She was shy at first, but engaging - and by the end of the day she was laughing and smiling from ear to ear. Isn't she beautiful?

Piper and Alice also became fast friends...

friends for life.

Just before we went to Alice's home, Kevin and I both planted trees at the Compassion project.

One for each child we sponsor at this CDC, or Child Development Center.

Then we were off for Alice's home. And nothing could have prepared us for what we encountered. Piper and Alice walking hand in hand through the village streets.

Almost there... Kevin is carrying a food bag that we took for Alice's family.

When we arrived, we were dismayed to say the least that they had no house. Alice's folder stated that during the previous year, their house was basically washed away during the heavy rains and was under construction. One year later, and those sticks in the background and a tarp over the sitting area was all they had managed to erect.

I think the entire neighborhood came to 'greet us'. We shook hands with everyone from the oldest to the youngest.

This is Alice's mom. She has a grandbaby on her back. Alice is one of 9 children in this home. The report lists that all 9 children are under 18, but a letter from Alice states that the older two sisters are married and we saw at least 2 grandchildren. No doubt all of the statements are true and her older sisters are already married and having children of their own at a very young age.

There were so many children gathered it seems that most families in this area are this large and growing as well.

CJ, Piper and Alice are sitting on the bed where Alice sleeps with her 6 siblings that are still at home. On this one little mattress that Compassion provided. The straw is all they have around them and above them for a makeshift temporary house. This is the only shelter they have, and certainly will not keep them dry when the rain comes again.

Here is another view of the unfinished house. The dishes are stacked in the 'kitchen' area, where some chickens were also roaming around.

This sheet behind Alice and her mom is all they have for a door to the little sleeping area.

We all sat down wherever we could around the area that was covered by the tarp to share with each other and exchange the gifts we had brought. Alice's father, Joseph, is thanking us for coming.

Piper and Alice were inseperable all day long.

Alice's mom and her little sister.

I think this was one of Alice's older sisters, with her baby. At the end of our visit, she had this baby on her back in a sling and the baby was sleeping. Suddenly, one of the neighbor's walls had a chunk of dried mud fall out right onto the baby's head. The baby screamed in shock and this young mother became hysterical until she could grab the baby and hold her in front and see that she was unharmed. Unfortunately, that situation is not entirely surprising nor rare. Which also explains why their house fell down during the heavy rains in the previous year.

Here Piper is giving Alice the gift we brought for her, a baby doll.

She was very happy to receive it. Her eyes were shining and although she didn't say so, I'm pretty sure it's the first real toy she has ever had. I failed to take a picture of what her siblings and neighbors were playing with when we arrived, but it was basically an old coconut shell and some other pieces of garbage in the 'water' along the street, which is no doubt sewage. Again, the doll seemed from another world. I would guess that those of you with girls have several of these dolls or even much nicer ones that may not even be played with very often. And I'm not picking on people with girls, because we have at least 4 or 5 soccer balls, all different types (some sponge, some plastic and two 'real' ones) in our home. Our children are as spoiled as the next. It was hard to give gifts to these children and realize that these were probably the first 'real' toys they have ever had.

Here Alice's mom receives the bag of food we brought them. Even more than before we felt like it was not anywhere close to enough. In fact, with all the neighbors standing around and watching, we wonder how much of that food they were even able to keep for themselves. When a sheet is all that separates your children from the street while they sleep, what keeps your food safe? You can see that Alice's father is holding a gift for us. It was a piece of fabric for me - the kind the women wrap around their waists for a skirt or as a shawl or baby sling. Once again, we were moved to tears of sadness and humility when receiving a gift from a family living in such dire needs.

Kevin broke down at this point. Here he is in the 'ugly cry'. I had been here at each and every home and I probably would not want him taking a picture of me bawling and posting it, but it really shows the depth of emotions that we went through.

Alice's mom was also moved to tears and her dad just looked away. Kevin was hard to look at. When a grown man is broken and moved to tears of compassion, it is hard not to weep with him.

Their family was by no means the worst off in this neighborhood, either. All of the children around were heartbreaking. Look at those eyes.

While Kevin gained his composure we prayed together and shared a little. Most of us were sitting around on used tires that they use for chairs. I had to keep Piper from wandering off down the street because along the street were large holes for sewage I expect and I was worried he would fall into one of them (he nearly did of course).

About this time, the section of the neighbor's wall fell onto Alice's sister and her baby. It was so shocking and she was so terrified that we decided it was a good time to go back down to the van and say our goodbyes. Thankfully, one of the Compassion representatives with us was a medical worker and she was able to look the baby over and ensure that she was not injured.

We were still quite teary when we said goodbye to Alice. She won our hearts in such a short time. She is 2nd or 3rd in her class of over 50 children. She is bright and beautiful and full of love and hope. It was unimaginable to us that she was living with her family with no home to speak of. No roof over her head. Little to no food to eat.

This was the pivotal point in our trip. This is where we knew that there would be no way to walk away from a situation this dire without doing even more for Alice and the millions of others like her. Children who for no fault of their own are born into dire poverty and have no hope of breaking out of it without help of some kind. We can't even begin to imagine what her life has been like. What it feels like to go to bed night after night, hungry. What it felt like when her home washed away and there was no way for her parents to rebuild it. What it is like to share a small twin mattress with 6 siblings or more each night. And yet, she smiles with hope. She has joy and love and her school performance shows that somehow she is beating the odds and excelling. God gave us Alice to teach us love and compassion deeper than we had previously known. We hope that we are able to give back to her in some small way.

It's almost Christmas. Would you think about sponsoring a child with Compassion? I can think of no greater gift than the gift that Christ brought us over two thousand years ago. The gift of life and salvation. Along with providing resources for the child's health and education, Compassion works with the local church to teach each child about Christ and His saving grace. You can partner today with Compassion and help these children come to know Christ as their Savior and Redeemer, and give them hope for a future that is not of this world.