MaryBeth Gallagher's Blog

Rodney

Because I run the after school program at the  Bernhard Nordkamp Center, I spend my mornings helping in other parts of Katutura. The BNC should not have any children there in the mornings, as Catholic AIDS Action has seen to it that all registered AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children are all enrolled in public schools in the community.

Yet there are always kids who slip through the cracks, and this year, as school began in mid January, I realized that Rodney was not going to school. But this was nothing new.

 Rodney lives with his abusive, alcoholic mother, his well meaning but overwhelmed grandmother and a host of derelict uncles and cousins and several neglected offspring of theirs. He also has a little brother. The house is run down and there is no money to pay for water or electricity.

For the past three years Rodney has dropped out of school. He spent his days hanging out in the streets and wandering aimlessly around the community. Every year the social workers would enroll him in school, and within a month he would have dropped out.

I used to think that he had a mental disability, but as the years passed, I realized that he was a clever child. Clearly he could not function in the traditional educational system in Namibia.  Rodney is not a mean kid. He is tough because that is the only way to survive in his harsh environment. The weak get slaughtered by the bullies. Rodney could hold his own and often got into fights, but he was not cruel and he was not a bully.

 One morning I went to the center early, and there was Rodney just sitting, looking dejected. I asked him why he was not going to school this year, and he said that he was too old. They would not take him back and he would never be able to go to school. His educational career was over at the age of twelve.

I told him that I would put him in school if he REALLY wanted to learn. I asked him about math and reading, and he sadly admitted that he did not know the alphabet and he could only add and subtract up to ten.

So, off we walked to the school where he had dropped out the past three years. We entered the lobby and the receptionist and principal were standing there. I told them I wanted to enroll Rodney. They told me there was no room for him, and besides, he was too old to enter grade one but academically he was below grade one level. As they sat there telling me it would be impossible for him to return to school, a short, fat lady approached us with a scowl on her face. She took one look at Rodney and said, “Oh No! Not YOU!! Don’t tell me YOU want to come to school again!! Don’t waste our time! You are the biggest failure and I can’t stand another year of seeing you come, make empty promises and then drop out. Just go home!” I turned and looked at Rodney who was hanging his head. He said to me under his breath, “that’s my teacher from last year and she is MEAN! Nobody likes her.”

“No kidding, Rodney! I would have dropped out too if she was my teacher!” I whispered back. 

We left the school in a hurry. We went to four other schools and none would take him. Feeling rejected and cast out, Rodney and I returned to the center. I told him I would home school him and teach him more than any teacher in Namibia. I told him that he could study every morning with me and he would learn how to read in less than a year and not only add and subtract, but multiply and divide, too.

For two weeks he got up every morning and waited for me at the center. It was quiet and we would sit for three hours without interruption. Rodney was so eager to learn. He was focused and determined to memorize his alphabet sounds and put them together to sound out words. He enjoyed math and requested addition and subtraction equations to solve. He proved to me, beyond a doubt, that he deserved to be in school.

After two weeks I told him that I would not take no for an answer at his school. I bought him a school uniform and backpack, notebooks and all the school supplies he needed. He got his hair cut and he put on the school uniform. The “New Rodney” and I returned to his school and marched right into the principal’s office.

I said, “Excuse me Madam, but I have just spent the last two weeks home schooling Rodney. He has shown great desire and discipline. I am ready to pay his school fees and do whatever it takes to get him back into this school.”

She looked up and could not believe that this handsome young boy in this brand new school uniform was the same street kid I had brought in two weeks previously. I continued, “It is obvious that Rodney cannot be placed in the third grade class with the teacher he had last year. It will not work and he will drop out. Can he please be put into a second grade class?”

She said, “He is too old for grade two or grade three, but we do have a brand new class, a “Special Class” with a new teacher. Maybe she will take Rodney. I will bring her in here.”

We waited nervously. Then the most lovely, gentle woman came into the room with a big smile on her face. “Oh, what a handsome boy you are in your school uniform!” She said. My name is Miss Ella and I would love for you to come into my class.”

She picked up a blank piece of paper and held it in front of Rodney. “What do you see on this paper, Rodney?” She asked. He replied, “Nothing.” She said, “That is EXACTLY what I want to know about your past…..Nothing. What happened in the past is over and you are a new boy with a new future for this new school year. You will be in a new classroom with a new teacher and you can begin right now.” She took her arm and put it across his shoulders, cast me a big smile of reassurance, and marched off to her classroom with Rodney under her wing.

But getting Rodney into school was the easy part. Keeping him in school would be the miracle of the century. I knew he would need love, encouragement, and support on a daily basis. For his first two weeks in school I visited his classroom and checked in with his teacher. I told him that he could not be late, or absent a single day. “I don’t care if you are sick or if your uniform is dirty or if you have not eaten breakfast, you cannot EVER miss school, not even once.” He was walking next to me as I held his hand in mine and my bicycle in my other hand. He looked over at my bicycle and said, “Do you think, in my life, I can ever have a bicycle like yours? If I keep going to school and pass grade ten, will you give me your bicycle?”

I looked him straight in the eyes and said, “If you go to school every day this year, and never miss, I will buy you a bicycle just like mine on the last day of school. But, you can’t miss for any reason. If you are sick, too bad. No bicycle. If you come late or leave early, no bicycle. There are no excuses. None. Either you have perfect attendance and you get the bike, or you miss one day and you get nothing. Deal?”

“Deal”, said Rodney, and we shook on it.

That was two months ago, and he is still going strong. The kids tease him, provoke him and try to get him to fight. They see the love and encouragement I give him and they are jealous. I keep telling him to be strong on the inside and to ignore the kids, but he really struggles.

Last week was Easter. The schools were closed for five days.  Rodney went with his brother, mother and grandmother to visit some of his relatives who live out in the countryside. I was concerned that he would have difficulty getting back and feared that he would miss school, but to my surprise he was at the center a day early. I asked him if he enjoyed being at the farm. He said, “Yes Mary, but now I have a BIG problem. I brought my uniform trousers out to the farm to wash them because there is no soap in our house. I washed them and hung them on the line to dry. Just then a big truck came along and the man said he could take me back to Windhoek for free, and I just jumped into the truck to get back in time for school. When I was almost home I remembered my trousers were still hanging on the line. But if I went back to get them, I would not be able to return and I would miss school. I am here but my trousers are not. Are you mad at me?”

I gave him a big hug and told him not to worry. I wrote a note to his teacher and assured her that he would be back in uniform the next day. We went to the store and got him another pair of trousers. “I will go to school in my pajamas if they steal my uniform,” he said.  I leaned over and whispered in his ear the two words I know in Damara, his mother tongue. “Namse da”.

“I love you too”, he replied as he slipped his hand into mine and we walked out of the store together.   

Miriam's Dolls & My Bi-Annual Update!

Miriam’s Dolls

 I met Miriam last year, quite by accident. I had been asked to help a woman named Aina, who had just set up a kindergarten in the middle of NOWHERE. It took me ages to find this place, riding my bicycle up and down hills in the farthest section of the informal settlement. Eventually I found her and the 30 plus kids she had stuffed into a corrugated tin shack with no water or electricity. I introduced myself and we discussed various ways that I might be able to help her. As I was leaving the kindergarten I saw a group of ladies sitting in the shade, sewing. I was curious, and went over to check it out. The ladies were making dolls, ADORABLE dolls for infants and children. They had a “big sister” with her little sister strapped onto her back, and a “big mama” doll with twin babies tucked into her two front pockets. I was immediately taken with the dolls, and asked how I could purchase some.

The ladies were part of a sewing cooperative, started five years ago by a woman from the Netherlands. She taught the Namibian women how to make the dolls, where to get the materials and how to pool their resources and divide the profits. They were exporting the dolls to the Netherlands, and also selling them in a few of the Hotels and Lodges in various parts of Namibia.

It was not long before I was a regular customer of this doll project. Visitors and volunteers brought back dolls to countries all over Europe, Canada, the USA and  Australia.

 In October, Miriam asked me to come and see her. She lives in a corrugated tin shack along with her husband and their 5 children. Her husband has a job as a security guard, making $1500 Namibian dollars a month. (roughly $200 US dollars) and Miriam stays home and sews the dolls and takes care of the children. She had some bad news for me. The woman who had organized their cooperative was moving back to the Netherlands, and the women had disbanded. In one last attempt to keep them going, each of the eight women invested $1,000 Namibian dollars from their earnings and they got a booth in the local craft center. They agreed to continue to make the dolls and to sell them to tourists in this very popular craft market in the center of  Windhoek.

 Just two days after the women’s cooperative established themselves in the craft market, they were caught stealing crafts from the booths of other merchants and were evicted. Miriam was devastated. She had invested $1,000, (her entire share of the businesses’ earnings), and had lost it all because some of the women had been dishonest. 
As tears welled up in her eyes she said, “All I want to do is stay at home with my children and make dolls. I don’t want to be a part of that group any more. They spend all day fighting amongst themselves and they are cruel and dishonest. Can you help me? Can you help me get my own sewing machine and materials and can you help sell my dolls in Europe and America?"

 I felt a great desire to help Miriam, and trusted her implicitly. I told her I would return the following week and we would embark upon the project. She asked if it was possible for her to begin the following day; she felt that sitting around was a waste of time and she longed to get started making dolls on her own. I borrowed a friend’s car and returned the next morning. We drove all over Windhoek, getting the best deals on fabric, stuffing, ribbons, thread and all the materials. Then we went to get her a sewing machine. Since she has no access to electricity, she needed a small, hand operated machine. Even one with a foot petal was more than she wanted. We ended up getting her a magnificent little Singer Sewing Machine which was well built, sturdy and also very reasonably priced. All together, the machine and materials came to $1400 Namibian dollars. (roughly $200 US dollars) She thanked me profusely and told me she would notify me when her first batch of dolls was ready.

Less than two weeks later she contacted me, and I went out to see her. She had made ten big sister dolls and ten big mama dolls. With the big sisters selling for $100 Namibian dollars each, and the big mamas for $120 Namibian dollars, she not only paid off her debt, but earned $800 in addition to it. I congratulated her, and reminded her to invest that money in more materials FIRST, and then buy food and other things for her family with what was left. Miriam agreed and I left with a tremendous feeling of happiness and pride for this wonderful woman who got her own little business off the ground in a matter of weeks.

They are also sold locally at Hotel Uhland, which is owned by my dear friends Irmgard and Jurgen. Each doll is totally unique, and Miriam takes great pride in making each one perfectly. No flaws, no glitches. The precision and the detail is outstanding, and I marvel at how she can produce such magnificent crafts in such a difficult environment. Since then, Miriam has not looked back. She has made over 100 dolls which I have sent to Germany, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, the UK,  Canada, and the USA.

 Just last week we sent 20 dolls to the UK with a woman who was traveling through Namibia. She asked if we could please put some sort of tag on the dolls, so people would know where they came from. My housemates designed an adorable one, “Miriam’s Dolls” and on the back we wrote: “Hand Made in Namibia! For more information: www.marybethg.blogs.com." And I thought, "Now THIS will force me to update my blog!"

 So, here we are. If this is your first time reading my blog, PLEASE read previous entries to learn all about what I do in Namibia in addition to supporting Miriam’s Doll Project. Or, you can just read on as I give my bi-annual update!

 Without further ado, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that you are all blessed with happiness, good times and good health in 2008 and beyond! I spent the holidays in  Windhoek, enjoying my time with the children. You see, EVERYONE leaves  Windhoek from mid December to mid January. Residents go to the coast, to the north or to the south. The kids who are left behind are TRULY the orphans, for their guardians take themselves and their own kids to the farms and leave the others to fend for themselves. Because of this, I asked permission to have access to the center all day, every day, so as to provide a home for the kids who were more or less abandoned. The smaller number of kids made for an intimate group, with no quarreling, stealing or fighting…just lots of good times and simple pleasures. I believe that is the true way to put Christ back into Christmas. No consumerism, no materialism. Love, love and more love.

 For those of you closely following the progress of The Little Pumpkins, I will tell yet another story…….

 On December 1^st we were invited to participate in a World AIDS Day Soccer Tournament. It was being held at a field not far from the center, so we gathered at 7:30 am and arrived at the field at 8:00 am. The schedule showed 8 teams, 4 men’s teams and 4 women’s teams: Double elimination for the men, single elimination for the women, with the championships at 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm respectively. Well, the first problem was that they didn’t even BEGIN the games until 10:30 am, and then at 2:00 pm four more teams showed up and they felt obliged to include them. Despite the chaos and confusion, the little pumpkins were outstanding every time they took to the field. They only had 10 players because 4 of them were being confirmed, so they BEGGED me to be the goalie. I agreed, and we breezed through the first two matches. The third match we tied, and then won in penalty kicks. This brought us into the championship game, against a team from  Botswana. These girls were BIG and tough. The men played their championship match at 7:30 pm, and finished in the dark. I couldn’t believe it when they blew the whistle to call the little pumpkins to the field. I went with the girls and said, “Excuse me sir, but it is pitch dark here. We cannot even see the ball. We must play the championship match tomorrow morning.” He said, “I am sorry, you will have to play now or forfeit. The team from Botswana must leave early tomorrow morning. Play or lose.” So, picture this. I am on the field with 10 tiny little girls, all 12 years old and younger. It is so dark I can hardly see the ball, and we have been at the field for over 12 hours with almost nothing to eat. Our opponents are all taller than I am, and they are big, too.

 So, my little pumpkins played their hearts out. They challenged every ball, and when it came to our half of the field I just kept shouting, “Kick it out! Kick it out!” I was diving right and left and throwing my 43 year old body over the ball, but with less than one minute remaining, they scored. We had lost the championship.

The Botswana team ran around the field in victory and received a big trophy which they all held up in the air and kissed. Meanwhile, I was taking down the nets with my dejected little squad. (The nets were mine; they had borrowed them for the tournament.) Amidst the celebrations I walked over to the program director and said, “Excuse me sir, can you please give me the prize for the 2^nd place team?” and he said, “Oh, sorry. We didn’t have that much money so we just bought prizes for the first place teams. There is nothing for the losers.” I said, “Even if you just give us the game ball it will be fine. My girls have played their hearts out and have been here for 13 hours. It is not WHAT you give us, but the fact that you recognize us as winners, too.”

He shook his head and said, “Sorry, I can’t give you the game ball. There is nothing for you.” And he walked away.

 So, I walked back to my girls, who were huddled in the dark waiting for their consolation prize. They said, “What is our prize? What do we get for coming in 2^nd place?” I looked in their faces, right into their dejected little hearts, and in a moment of sheer insanity I said, “YOU GET A SLEEP OVER PARTY AT MARYBETH’S HOUSE!!!”

They SCREAMED with glee, piled upon each other and then ran all over the field waving their jerseys above their heads. One of the  Botswana girls looked over and scowled, “WE won, NOT YOU!” To which my littlest player laughed and said, “WHO CARES??”

 So, on Sunday, December 23^rd, after spending the day at the swimming pool, 24 very, VERY energetic girls had their “stay over party”. I say “stay over” and not “sleep over” because there was not any sleeping! They stayed up all night goofing around, watching videos and playing games. They stuffed their faces with food,  drank juice and just ran around and acted crazy. Erica Frerking came from  New York to volunteer for a month, and she and Nangula painted the girls fingernails and toenails with bright orange, glittery nail polish.  I am told that is the usual agenda for these types of events!

 So, we all survived and that was a wonderful way for us to begin our holidays! The fun never stops!

 Another highlight in December was a trip to a convalescent home in Rehoboth, just 60 km. south of Windhoek. My friend Dave had gone down to do some repairs of their dilapidated building, and thought it would be nice if we got some kids from the center to join us and sing and play games with the old folks. We went there on December 9^th with 10 kids from the center. After spending the morning with the old folks, we were treated to an afternoon braai (bar-b-q) at the home of Dave’s friends. We then went to the Rehoboth Dam for swimming. The kids had never been swimming anywhere except the pool, and they were eager to jump in this great, vast expanse of water. Dave casually inquired if any of them had been to the ocean, and none had. He therefore embarked on a campaign to bring my kids to the coast! Ian Gallagher, a fellow Rotarian (and distant cousin, I am sure!) has offered us a 69 passenger bus for a weekend. It’s just a matter of choosing the date, choosing the kids (now THAT will be the DIFFICULT part…narrowing it down to only 60!!) getting adult chaperones and organizing the food and lodging! Let me know if you want to come! Seating is limited so don’t delay!

 The other earth shattering event in 2007 was the publication of my book! The title is:  IT COSTS ALMOST NOTHING and it is full of handicrafts, toys and games all made out of rubbish and recycled materials. I co-authored it with my friend Marie; she did all the crafts and I contributed all the toys and games. In some cases I looked at the rubbish and said, “How can I make a game out of this?” and at other times I remembered all the games I played when I was a child and thought, “How can I make that out of rubbish?”

 We have received very positive feedback from everyone who has read it, and I have been going all over the country giving workshops to Kindergarten teachers, early childhood development caregivers and basically anyone who is interested in working with children in an informal, educational setting. The workshops also include children’s songs and tips on classroom management and a variety of teaching methods. It is very rewarding to see the transformation that comes over these women when they are exposed to new ideas and different ways of teaching and learning.

 If you would like a hard copy of my book, just let me know and I will do my best to get one to you. You can also download it off the internet for FREE, and make as many copies of it as you would like for your friends! The link is:

http://www.fhi.org/en/HIVAIDS/pub/res_CostsAlmostNothing.htm

 Looking back at 2007 I have so much to be thankful for. I was blessed with many, many OUTSTANDING volunteers who had a tremendous impact on the children at the center. They helped me to make the games out of rubbish, take photos of the children for the book, assist in the workshops, organize the Saturday soccer program, supervise at the swimming pool and simply make my life much easier and much better. They also became my dear friends and served as mentors and role models for the children at the center. In addition to the volunteers, my family and friends also came to Namibia, loaded with soccer gear, educational materials, games, toys and school materials which had been collected by folks all over the USA. I was deeply touched time and time again when I heard about communities, clubs, religious and non-religious organizations who had put in great efforts to publicize my work and solicit donations for the many projects I have started here. To all of you, from Canada to Germany, from the USA to the Netherlands, …..THANK YOU for making my work here possible. Thank you for EVERYTHING you do to keep me energized and focused. Thank you for your trust and faith in me. Thank you for your generous financial contributions. Thank you for your emails of love and encouragement. Thank you for staying close to me even though I am on the other side of the world. It is YOU who keep me here. It is YOUR unconditional love and endless support which sustains me. You make the sacrifices, and I get all the hugs. You give and give and give, and I get and get and get. Come here and be part of the action! Come run all over the gravel fields and play soccer with the little pumpkins! Come jump into the swimming pool with Daniel, Michael and Martha! Come teach Xavier the ABC’s in the computer room! Come and read stories to  Adelaide, Jessica and Shawn.  Come play tennis with Esme and Eddelsine. Come play chess with Giddeon. Come to get your hair braided by Salome and Meroldi. Come and put Denzel and Sha into the hug machine. Come and lose your heart to Ruru, Bam Bam, Basanda and Claire. For kids who have been shown very little love, they sure have plenty of it to share. I love them, and you will too.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

marybeth :)

ps.  If you REALLY want to know what is going on here, please check out Erica's Blog!  It is:

www.ericafrerking.blogspot.com

June Update

June Greetings from Namibia!

For all of you in the northern hemisphere, I wish you a very happy summer! We are in the middle of winter and the temperatures have been exceedingly cold. Brrrrrrr! I am not so fond of cold weather, and have become quite spoiled by the warmth and sunshine all day, every day!

Please allow me to give you a six month update! First of all, 2007 brought us some OUTSTANDING international volunteers! Jim “Scooter” McKenney returned for three months (and you MUST read his blog to see what REALLY goes on here! It is: jmcken82.blogspot.com) and his Aunt Gert came for a month as well! Erica Frerking came from my home town in Ossining, New York, and we had Anna, Sarah and Katharina from Germany. All of them were wonderfully helpful at the center with the kids and INVALUABLE in assisting me with hand made games and toys for workshops and presentations.

During February I was kept quite busy as my mother, father, niece, sister, auntie and two family friends all came to visit! They enjoyed their travels in Cape Town, Victoria Falls and Sossusvlei. I took two days off from the center and we all enjoyed a trip out to the coastal town of Swakopmund. The weather was gorgeous and my sister, Suzie, my niece Emi and I spent 1.5 hours driving through the enormous sand dunes on quad bikes! It was so much fun and we couldn’t stop grinning the entire time! It was like being on a non-stop roller coaster ride, with scenery to die for!

When we returned to Windhoek they all spent the majority of their time at the center, reading to the children, singing and playing games. My Aunt Pat, my Dad and my niece, Emi, are all avid tennis players and not only did they haul over 50 racquets and 200 tennis balls, but they took the children down to the tennis courts to give lessons! The kids just LOVE to play tennis, it is their only chance to play ANY racquet sport and they jump all over the courts as the tennis balls go sailing over the fence! Then, as quickly as they hit the ball over, they climb over the fence to retrieve it! We could see great improvement in the kids from one day to the next, and it was a pity that the program ended with their departure. I try to take the kids down to the courts whenever I can, but more often than not I must stay at the center to oversee the program and make sure that everything runs smoothly. Let me know if you are interested in teaching tennis or if you know anyone who is! We have about 100 VERY eager and energetic athletes ready to take to the courts!

In March I was visited by two friends from California, Andrea Davis and Christine Nash. Both arrived with suitcases filled with loot for the kids, and spent every free moment at the center. Andrea, the “book lady”, organized the entire library! I wish ALL the volunteers could just STAY! They all had a great impact on the children, who did not stop asking me, “when will she come back?”

Other great news is that I have co-authored a book! It is called, “It Costs Almost Nothing” and it is filled with educational games and art projects all made from garbage and recycled materials. My friend Marie did all the art projects, and I did the games. Let me say that I invented some of the games, copied others and did the writing, but ALL the volunteers contributed to making them! Katharina is an outstanding artist, and she did GORGEOUS artwork for MANY of the games! I have posted some photos of some of the games on this blog so that you can get a sneak preview of the book! We are not planning to sell it, but to give it away free of charge to volunteers who are working with orphans and other vulnerable children. I am also thinking of doing a “book tour”…going all over the country teaching adults how to make and play the games, then leaving them with a copy of the book. We can’t afford to print it in color, but Brian (Marie’s husband) has done a great job with black and white photos. My sister Suzie is doing all the illustrations, so I know the book will be useful AND attractive! Be sure to let me know if you want a copy! We are hoping it will be ready for launching in July or August!

Okay, enough about me and all the volunteers! Let me tell you about the KIDS! They continue to be the joy of my life! Every day they give me something to laugh about, they take on more responsibility and they make me so proud of them! Right now MacCrenny and Eddelsine take turns running the computer room. I just give them the keys, and they do all the sign-ups and choose the programs. They also borrow my watch and have the kids coming and going in 30 minute intervals. They have been doing this since Scooter’s departure and I have yet to receive a single complaint! I wish I could put them in charge of the entire center!

On Saturdays the soccer program is as strong as ever! We have about 600 kids playing: 48 teams, 24 games (8 games on 3 fields) from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. We even get the grass field one weekend every other month, which is a HUGE event! After playing for two years on the gravel, broken glass and thorns, it is sheer delight for the kids to run barefoot through the grass and slide and roll without being covered with cuts and scrapes! Nobody even cares whether they win or lose, they all just LOVE being out there! I wish I could get it every weekend, but they simply won’t give it to me more than once in a blue moon! Every child is in a jersey donated from friends in the USA and Canada, and the kids who play for six months are then awarded with shorts, then three months later socks, and if they play for one year, they get soccer boots. Thanks to all of you who collected soccer gear and hauled it over here! The kids love it and play with great pride when they are in uniforms!

But by far, the most popular events of all are the monthly “POOL DAYS”! There is an olympic sized, municipal swimming pool within walking distance of the center, and I have been granted free entry for all children and adult supervisors. It is so funny, I ride my bicycle to the center at 10:00 am, and from three blocks away the kids see me coming and begin to squeal with glee, chant my name and run alongside my bicycle. They line up and I give them a ticket (a page from last year’s daily snoopy calendar) and they run to the pool. At the pool entrance we review the rules and behavioral norms, then they go in and spend the entire day jumping in and out of the water, playing games and basking in the sunshine. Pick-n-Pay, our local supermarket, has donated THOUSANDS of dollars of bread and a variety of baked goods not only for our pool days, but twice a week for the soup kitchen at the center. Sometimes they give us as much as 15 enormous hefty bags full of day old bread and rolls, and bags of doughnuts, cakes and pies. Since I don’t have a car, my friend Lyn picks it up and delivers it to the center. If she can’t, she gets one of her friends to do it. It has been a blessing, especially those times when the soup kitchen is closed.

My dear friend Jill Mullen came for a visit in April, and I don’t think we stopped talking for one solid week! It was WONDERFUL! I also had the pleasure of spending time with fellow Rotarian Helen Paul and her husband Gene, as they came from New Jersey, also hauling boxes of stuff for the children. I am blessed to have so much love and support, for I have been surviving as a volunteer solely based on your donations! I thank you personally, and on behalf of all the children, I extend our prayers and best wishes for good health and happiness for you, your families and friends!

In May we welcomed two different delegations from Canada: The first from Brock University in Toronto, and the second from Whistler in BC. The Brock group had 20 students and 6 “grown ups” (professors and parents). They built playgrounds and painted gorgeous murals for three kindergartens in Katutura, and they EACH brought an extra suitcase PACKED with educational materials, games, soccer uniforms, soccer balls and EVERYTHING you could imagine! Children’s clothing and shoes, medical supplies, soap and shampoo, puzzles, lego, toothbrushes…..you name it, they brought it in ABUNDANCE! We had a “sorting party” in my home and packed boxes of goodies for 20 needy kindergartens. Then, on their second to last day, we went all over Katutura delivering the “loot” to various kindergartens. The women were all so happy to receive the donations and thanked us endlessly. The kids welcomed us with songs and dances. It was a beautiful way to end a fabulous three week stay. On the day that they left, a group of 8 women and 2 men arrived from Whistler, BC. They picked up where the Brock group left off, painting murals all along the outer wall of Oponganda Center for Mentally and Physically Disabled Children. Upon completing that, they “adopted” a kindergarten in the heart of the single quarters, a broken down neighborhood known for its bars and prostitution. They painted it inside and out, put a fence around it so the children can play in safety, and then built a playground, too! Both groups SHOCKED me with the amount of work they got done in such a small amount of time! The group from Whistler then went up to Tsumeb for a week, where they helped another organization with their income generating projects. I am still on cloud nine, as are the kindergarten teachers and all the kids who now have beautiful murals to look at and learn from, and playgrounds to enjoy for years to come!

Last week I got a phone call from a young woman who wants to start her own kindergarten. Her name is Bosha, and she has been assisting her auntie for five years and believes she has all the training she needs. She told me she wants to name the school, “MARYBETH’S KINDERGARTEN”. I told her I was honored, and agreed to help her purchase chairs and tables, a chalk board and a plastic tarp for the floor. She has saved her money and built a small, one room shack out of corrugated tin and wooden poles. As a surprise gift to her, seven friends and I went out there on a Sunday afternoon and painted the place, inside and out! We put the alphabet and numbers on the inside and murals on the outside. She was thrilled, and we all had so much fun!

I am happy to report that there will be three volunteers in my home for the next three months, Barbara and Marlen from Germany, and Timna from Canada. This will enable me to take the children down to tennis and soccer every afternoon, as those three can easily manage the center and take care of any problems that arise! You see, I prayed for volunteers and God answered my call!

Thank you for all the games you have sent. Thank you for all the children’s books. Thank you for the soccer uniforms, soccer balls and equipment. Thank you for your letters of encouragement and support. Thank you for coming to visit, to volunteer with the children and for hauling over suitcases full of donations. Thank you for your generous financial contributions, and for your love and prayers. Thank you for making it possible for me to spend every day with these beautiful Namibian children. Come and see for yourself, they are clever, delightful, fun, and truly God’s promise to us for a brighter future!

I will TRY to update this blog more than twice a year, but if I don’t and you want to know what is going on, send me an email!!

My address is: marybeth_gallagher@yahoo.com

And if you are REALLY curious as to what is going on, COME ON OVER!! We welcome you with open arms and open hearts!!

With love, prayers and best wishes from Namibia,

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

MaryBeth :)