Global Poverty Monitor

Today was the day that we went to visit the new sponsored children of Dawn, Kristy and Joseph. Our first stop was the community that Dawn’s child is a part of. They greeted us with a song, just as all the other communities have done so far. It really must be a strong part of their culture, and thinking about it now, it really is a great way to go about meeting new people as it’s a great icebreaker. I can just imagine how it would be meeting a new community where we would get out of the car and be greeted with a large group of people, in silence, staring at us. Especially with the language barriers, it would be really hard, or almost impossible to get the conversation going. During the singing, a small group of children were selected to come out to us, hold our hands and teach us to dance with them. It was the first time I have actually been approached since we’ve been here. We danced with them for a while, and then gave out some sports equipment, including a soccer ball and a frisbee.

Will had some bubble-blowing mixture with him, and walked around the huge group of children, letting different kids have a go. At the end of the game, Will gave the mixture to a little girl, and asked her (through some translation) to share it around. It was really amazing to watch how these kids shared it around. There was no snatching or bullying going on like there had been at the church group or at some of the other communities. The kids, all cramped together, passed this little bottle around the younger ones, and let everyone have a go, when really there was no way every child could have a go because there was not enough mixture.

But it was just amazing to see them sharing in that way. I suppose that was more in line with my expectations of African children – probably unfairly so, since kids are kids all over the world – that they would be quiet, gentle children who knew how to share and took care of each other. It was a bit of a shock to see the bullying that went on in some of the groups, but also in a strange way it was a relief, because it means that these kids are normal just like other kids. Its like the dying babies in the Maputo day hospital who are unable to cry with tears. If they could cry like normal babies, they would have a stronger chance of survival. And in the same way, I feel that if these kids can be loud and noisy and sometimes naughty just like other kids, they too will have a stronger chance of survival.

So there is still the issue of some of us being really really upset with what went on at the church services. In the hype of all of us discussing what had happened, I started to believe that it had upset me that much too. Its like there were two camps – fully religious and participating in the service; and not religious at all and not wanting to be at the service or even witness any Christian activities. It was like I had to choose one of the camps, and the obvious side to choose was the later, given that I don’t attend Church. But during [the] conversations I realized that I hadn’t been affected as much as other people had, and that there is a middle ground to the argument. The only thing that had worried me during the services was that I would be asked to stand up and speak about my religion, or asked to say a prayer. But it really didn’t bother me that we were at a religious service. We came here to touch Africa, and people have been saying that they wanted to experience it more and to be more involved with the authentic African life, but then seem to draw a line when it comes to seeing something that they didn’t want to see. We were all prepared to see sick and dying children, and living conditions that we know we couldn’t handle, but when it comes to seeing traditional religious practices, we don’t want to see it. In that way I feel what we’ve been a bit hypocritical. In a way we are discriminating on the basis of religion. We are happy for our sponsorship money and fundraising money to go to helping the Mozambican people further their food supplies, in their own way, and not dictating to them the way in which they do this, but at the same time we want to dictate to them the ways in which they can and can not practice their religion. While I am completely against preaching Christianity in order to convert people, I don’t think that we have any right to tell the Mozambique people that they can’t preach, solely because we are giving them money. If it was any other issue apart from religion, this would not even be being discussed. But because people feel so strongly about religious practices, it seems almost acceptable for this to happen.

The other thing that I have been thinking about is that we went to the Church group on the first night, and then we knew that we were going back there the next day. In other words, we knew what it was like the first time, and we knew we were going back there, and we had a whole night and half a day to get out of it if we wanted to. In our program it said ‘Prayers and sharing of the Gospel including Christian songs’. What else could that be? If we knew that we didn’t want to go to Church services while we were here, we had plenty of time to at least try to get out of it, rather than waiting till we were there and being really upset about it. I don’t believe that anyone there saw anything that was not to be expected from any activity called ‘Prayers and sharing of the Gospel including Christian songs’.

When I realized how upset other people had been about the intensity of the services we had been to and what we had witnessed while we were there, it at first made me feel relieved that I was not the only one to feel strangely about what had happened. But then it really made me think about where I really stand on this issue. I admit that I felt uncomfortable at the service. I also have not been replying with ‘Amen’ to any prayers that have been said, including the saying of Grace before meals. This is not at all because I do not believe what is being said, but because I would not normally say Grace in my regular life, and so I would feel hypocritical saying it only because someone else at the table wanted to. Of course I keep quiet during that time, and lower my head, but only to show respect for those of us who choose to say Grace. That was the same way as it was for me at the services we have attended. While the outward evangelism is a bit of a culture shock for me, as someone who has never attended church, I was able to remove myself mentally both times and become a bystander and watch how other people express their faith. There was an instance both times where I was afraid for a moment that we were going to be asked individually to talk about our experiences with the Church, which I would not have agreed to do. First of all, I would have nothing to say since I do not attend Church. Secondly and most importantly, I am not prepared to be pressured into anything, especially such a personal topic as someone’s religious beliefs. My values are undefined at the moment, and I do not believe that I have to choose between being a full Christian or an atheist in order to take part in discussions of this issue.

My only concern was my faith as regards my appointment as Youth Ambassador for WA. The issue of religion or Christianity did not come up at all during my application process, so I know that my appointment has nothing to do with any faith or lack thereof of mine, unless the World Vision office made some pretty large assumptions. I have known all along that World Vision was a Christian organization, but I also knew that it did not discriminate on any basis, including religion, when it came to choosing children for the sponsorship program. I assumed on that basis that World Vision would not make any religious distinction between child sponsors or indeed, the study tour entrants. It seems like a waste of resources and potential sponsors to, in theory, turn some willing people away based on religion.

[Later] we went back to the youth group at Chitima town where we had been last night. They greeted us with singing just as they had the night before, and then there was some dancing, and then some prayers and what they called a debate. This debate consisted of questions relating to the Christian faith being asked back and forth from us to the Mozambican people. One problem that we faced was that these people thought that since we are working with World Vision, we must be devout Christians. The problem really occurred what a teenage boy asked us for advice on what he should do if he has a friend who does not want to convert to Christianity, and how he should make him. We fielded that question by saying that in Australia, people are free to believe in whatever they want, and that not everyone who works with World Vision is a Christian. I wondered if the translation was accurate since this was not what the translators wanted to hear.

Next we went to visit some chronically ill children who lived in an area and were being assisted by home care. We didn’t stay there long, and our next stop was to visit a man who had TB and had been assisted by World Vision. Another ill man came to the area to meet with us and share his story. By then I was really starting to feel the heat quite badly, and sort of zoned out when it came to hear the second man’s story. Lucia knew by then that we were exhausted and very hot, so we finished up and drive back to the Lodge.

Before I left to come here, I thought a great deal about reverse culture shock. I knew that one of the most important things I had to do while I was away was to come up with a plan that I could implement when I get back – so that I could feel like I was doing something to solve the problems I had seen. I know this happened to Elisha from last year’s study tour (the Perth winner) – when she got back she felt very confused and frustrated, and wanted to quit her uni degree, not that she had a better idea of what she wanted to do with her time, but just because she knew her degree would not help the situation she had seen. So I think that a most realistic perspective of what I’m seeing is such an important and necessary part of me formulating a plan for when I get back. Like for instance the example I gave a few days ago about the different ways that everyone reacted to the needs of the HIV/AIDS day hospital. Ideas of sending tins of paint to the hospital are not the sort of thing that I could use to justify the fact that I’m here seeing these things and other people aren’t. Also, I have a feeling that some people are more concerned with living an authentic African life while they are here, thinking that that is the key to understanding the problems of these people. I personally, especially after being here for a while, think that it is more important to find our what these people really need, not what we think they should need, and to work out what we can do about it.

From what I’ve figured out so far, promoting child sponsorship is the most important thing I can do when I get back. That probably because that how I originally started out with World Vision – by sponsoring Kantet four years ago, but mostly because I really believe in child sponsorship and the difference it makes to a child. The AIDS problem really concerns me, mainly because its not a problem we can fix. Like I was saying in my entry about the Maputo day hospital, really the only things we can do are small, insignificant things like providing toys for the hospital, basically making life a little bit more comfortable for the children and parents involve choosing a major project, like promoting and advocating understanding here in Australia, advocating and encouraging AIDS testing and the use of condoms in Africa, encouraging more medical staff to work in Africa, or working to make ARVs accessible in Africa.

[After a short flight from Maputo to Tete, in the northern region of Mozambique.]

We were picked up by three World Vision cars, and drove for about 15 minutes to the Mozambique World Vision office where they had prepared a snack for us before our long drive. We then got back into the cars and drove for two ours to the Ubezi Tiger Lodge, where we will be spending the next five nights. On the way, it was really interesting to watch the landscape and especially to look at the huts as we drove past. The huts were made of sticks, mud and straw, and were so old-fashioned looking that the whole scene looked like something out of a movie.

We were picked up again at about 7pm, and taken to the Chitima town youth group. This was where we would meet the leaders of the area, and some of the local youth. When we got there (about a 30 minute drive) the youth group started singing and dancing as we pulled up. There was a very lively, happy atmosphere amongst everyone there, and it didn’t take long before we all forgot that we were tired and started dancing with everyone else. We took photos with the children, and they loved seeing their picture on our LCD screens after the picture was taken.

After the celebrations, we listened to some speeches from the ADP leaders, and then the church leaders. After that, we all had to come up one by one and introduce ourselves. Alex, who traveled in the van with us, was translating very fluently from English to Portuguese and back. When it was my turn, I said my name and when I said my age, there was silence and then some people started to laugh. Alex whispered to me ‘you are very small’. It was a pretty funny moment – realizing that the confusion about my age is universal, and not just confined to Australia as I originally thought! I then went on to say that I had two years of university to go, and that when I finished I would be a lawyer. I then thanked everyone for having us and said that I was really excited and happy to be here. After that there were a few prayers said, some more dancing and photos, and then we left. We were definitely getting a heroes welcome here – when the speeches started someone brought us some chairs, and we had people lining up to shake our hands as we left. I know there is a certain amount of fascination going on about us, in that a lot of the people, especially the kids, would never have seen a white person before. But there is also a feeling among the Mozambicans that we are their saviors, which I’m not sure is such a good thing.

After lunch we went back to the Central Markets again, since we all wanted another go at bartering and trying out the currency. I found that I’m no good at bartering – I get them down a small amount and then am so grateful when they agree to the new price, that I always buy at that price. I know that if I continued I could get them down lower, often to half of what they originally asked for, but I just don’t have the knack to do it.

After the markets we went for another long drive – this time along the beach and up to some fish markets, where many boats were docked offshore, and fishermen were swimming to and from the boats with fish. There were many children about, and women walking around with baskets on their heads, carrying fish. We stopped there for a while, while Cardoza turned the bus around in the soft sand, and gave out some toys to the children through the windows. Other people gave tennis balls and balloons, and I opened up one of my packets of 10 glowing bracelets and gave those away. I want to save most of my presents for the villages and schools in Tete, where we will actually get to meet the children and do some activities with them.

The nurse explained to us that the babies are fed milk, but if they have diahorrea, they are given milk without lactose if it is available (it was not available today), but otherwise they are given a fish broth with rice. The mothers are also educated about nutrition for their babies, and are encouraged to go back to traditional foods, like giving fruit after every meal, to provide their babies with the essential vitamins and minerals to order to combat malnutrition.

The reality of the situation is that these children will not survive to leave the hospital. It was plain to see the children today that were nearing death, with their weights so far below the normal healthy weight range that they could never recover. In Australia we call this palliative care – aimed simply at making life more comfortable for the patient and the family while the patient dies. This was more severe than palliative care in Australia, since in Australia we have the equipment and medicines available to attempt to combat the disease, or at least painkillers to make life more comfortable. These children had no access to machinery or drugs – the hospital was more like a hostel for dying babies.

The confusing part about the visit to the hospital is that these was no clear answer for me about what can be done to help the situation. In the case of child sponsorship, is it plain to see what sponsorship does to the life of a child. I have noticed such an enormous change in Kantet since I began sponsoring him: even just by his letters I can tell that his confidence is soaring along with his education, and that he had clear goals for life and a strong belief that he can attain them – and he’s only 11. I then started sponsoring Gift because I couldn’t stand the thought of this 13 year old boy becoming 14, 15 and 16, and then being too old to be part of the sponsorship program, and never knowing that there is someone out there, in a totally different world, who cares about what happens to you and wants to make your life better. The confusing and frustrating thing about the hospital is that there really is nothing we can do to help the situation. We threw around ideas like sending toys from Australia, buying toys while in Mozambique, sending money for toys, even sending money for paint for the walls. But what does this really do? These children are still going to die from HIV/AIDS, even if we succeed in doing all of those things. Clearly the hospital has needs that we can supply, and that I feel I have a duty to supply since I have seen it with my own eyes. So I’ll save up and fundraise and send money for toys, blankets, milk without lactose, and everything else the hospital needs. But these needs are almost superficial, in that they do nothing to solve the problem, not even in the smallest of ways. They only work to solve *our* problem – that we’ve seen this most horrific sight and want to do something to make it not seem so horrific, to make us feel better about ignoring the real problem. If anything, the start to the real long-term solution would be to leave the hospital exactly as it is, and get every person in the world to spend a day there, or even only an hour like we did. Maybe we all need shock treatment to finally understand that there is an enormous problem that we must deal with. But what we can say is that we, the study tour winners have seen it, and that we have the most supreme duty to do something about it. I wish we could have taken pictures in the hospital – its images like we saw today that the world needs to see to understand what we are being forced to understand. So what can we do, we who have seen it and who now have a moral duty to act? Is it educating the people at home, in the first world countries, about the problem? Is it educating the people in the affected countries about how to protect themselves and their children? Is it working towards making ARVs available and affordable for everyone, and making AIDS testing a regular part of everyone’s life? Whatever it is, it needs to be started now, and we need to understand that there will be no short term satisfaction as there is with child sponsorship, but it still desperately needs to be done.