I read before going that this experience would "change my life".
What i didn't realize was how true that statement would become.
I had heard about the AIDS problem in Africa before
but until i went there and saw just what it's doing to the people there, i really had no clue how big a problem it really is.
Until i saw people so sick that they couldn't sit up...
Until i watched a little girl who is HIV positive struggle to keep up with her friends...
Until i heard the orphan children sing and recite their poems about death and AIDS...
Until i saw, heard, and felt of the effects it has on these people
I didn't understand. The life expectancy there is not past 35. If I lived there, according to statistics my life would be half over.
In one week, 43,197 children lose a parent to AIDS.
It is projected that by next year 1 in 3 children will be orphans.
You hear about orphans in Africa.
Until you go there and meet these children and hear their stories will you actually want to do something about it.
Until you feel their little hands lightly creep into yours, just wanting to be held...
Until you watch them sing of their parents deaths, and see the pain in their little faces...
Until you hear the stories of the abuse and hardships these orphaned children face...
Until you see, feel, and hear what these children go through, will you want to do anything you can to help them.
You might think it's impossible to love someone you've never met. That's what i thought before going to Zambia.
But until going there and feeling the love they had for me did i begin to change my mind.
Until I shook hands with a little girl I'd never met and heard her say, "I love you"...
Until I drove down the streets in the back of a pickup and saw all the people wave to me...
Until i received hugs from people I'd met only the day before and hear them say, "Surrrre love ya!"...
Until i felt, heard, and saw the love these strangers had for me, did i have the same overwhelming love for them too. I want to help those that I love.
I used to complain about waking up for school.
Until i went to Zambia and realized how important education is to them...
Until i heard about the boy who couldn't go to class because he couldn't afford the school uniform...
Until i read a book to a child and helped him with his homework and felt of his desire to learn...
Never again will i complain about waking up for school.
I admit. I've complained about my job.
Until i went to Zambia and learned that over 90% of the people are underemployed...
Until i watched the people pounding rocks on the side of the road to sell in the heat of the day...
Until i heard of 10, 11, 12 year old girls turning to prostitution for income to feed their families...
Never again will i complain about going to work.
Maybe the best lesson I learned from the people of Zambia is how to put my faith in God.
I've heard of people who blame God during their trials.
The people I met in Zambia never cease to praise Him.
Their songs are about Him and our Savior.
They know He loves them.
Mandi commented that "Attitude is everything". Most of the people i met in Zambia have a much harder life than I'll ever have. Yet, they greet you with a smile and they make you believe that they're happy. They taught me I have much to work on.
"Never let anyone come to you without coming away better and happier. everyone should see goodness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile." - Mother Teresa
I didn't go to Africa just to take pictures. I came back to be the voice. To be the voice of those suffering from AIDS. To be the voice for those orphans.
What will you do to help them?
"Everything you do makes a difference"
I learned that in Africa.
I am Singing Breezes. And I have spoken.
