Ask and It Is Given

One deeply moving experience for me was our visit to Maji Mazuri Care Centre in Nairobi. I know I have mentioned the project, but I don't think I have shared how moved I was. This was Cody's last day in Nairobi. We went with Julie to meet the children at the Care Centre. This project was started 20 years ago when Wanjiku heard of a fire where two children perished -- these children were special needs and had been tied up inside the house. Wanjiku was horrified and knew that if these two children were hidden away, then there must be others. So began the care centre for special needs. The stories of these children are absolutely heart-wrenching, but that is not what I want to focus on today.

As soon as we arrived at Maji Mazuri, a boy, not a small boy -- he was maybe 10 or 12, jumped into our arms for a hug. We spent several hours there and everytime he saw us, he would throw his arms around whoever was handy. Julie told us just to peel him off when we'd had enough. I will never forget him, Miguel is his name.

Another girl, whose name I do not know, had a very sober face most of the time. Every now and then something would tickle her fancy and she would have a good laugh and then turn serious again. She is a young woman, perhaps 16 or so. Cody sat down to rest on a bench in the shade after playing with the kids from the nursery school for hours in the hot sun. This girl in the soft blue sweater sat right down beside him, took his arm and put it around her. She sat like that with a straight look on her face as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Just hangin' out with Code.

And then of course there were the little kids from the nursery school. As far as I can tell these kids are "normal", whatever that means. These kids come for school each day and I believe pay a small fee to help support the care centre. We each had our favourites. One little girl in a green sweater took hold of my hand and followed me for the whole day. She wasn't interested in playing games, unless I was playing and was content to be held and just be near me. Terry was adopted by a little boy, about 4 years old. He was a little more in your face about the kind of love and attention he was looking for. He would grab hold of Terry's (or Cody's) arm and just start swinging. His name was Boney (short for Bonface). At one point Terry was giving him a shoulder ride and was ready to put him down. When he went to lift him off, Boney squeezed his legs tight around Terry's neck, clearly not ready to be put down. It took some assistance to release the grip. Boney lost both his parents to AIDS. He is HIV positive.

What so moved me about our day with the children was how they just took the love that they so needed.

It is with this spirit of unabashedly asking for what you want, that I have sent the email taking jewelry orders. And it is this spirit in Terry that I am so proud of. He asked Rotary for some support, with no expectations, and I am so grateful to say that Rotary said YES! And because Terry asked, we are now able to send two university students to a leadership weekend, the 8 boys of Musingu Highschool will have their educational needs met with uniforms, calculators, mosquito nets and books and we will be able to assist the 160 students of Rotary Highschool with furniture and sports equipment.

So, thank you to Rotary for responding to our shot in the dark! And thank you to those children who have shown me how to go after what I want. My heart is full.