Kelvin and Roderick are brothers that live in Kamakonde, one
of the communities that Hands at Work supports through the Kitwe Service
Center. Kelvin is 16 years old and Roderick is 13 years old. They are double
orphans, their parents having passed away several years ago when the boys were
young, living only with their widowed grandmother, Phyllis, who is 78 years
old. Phyllis had 10 children, all of whom have passed away, and one of whom was
Kelvin and Roderick’s mother.
The family lives in a small brick house with tin sheets that
barely pass as a roof. The boys sleep in one room, Phyllis in another. Their
“beds” consist of wooden crates with fabric draped over top. There are no
mattresses. During the day, the fabric must be removed from the crates because
when the rains come, it leaks into the rooms of the house. There is no
bathroom.
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| The outside of the family home |
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| The hallway inside the front door |
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| Kelvin and Roderick's bedroom |
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| Grandma Phyllis' bedroom |
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| What Grandma Phyllis sleeps on |
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| The back room of the house |
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| Inadequate roofing |
In 2012, Kelvin and Roderick were identified by our
community based organization (CBO) in Kamakonde as amongst the most vulnerable
children in the community. They were brought into the CBO program (that
currently cares for 100 children in the community), where they receive one meal
every day at the CBO care point, and are visited in their home by care workers
on a weekly basis. Despite these essential services being freely made available
to them, Kelvin and Roderick seldom go to the care point to receive their meals
or interact with the care workers and other children. Instead, they search the
community for piecework in an effort to earn money and provide food for their
grandmother. Phyllis’ health is in very poor condition. She has problems with
her legs and is unable to walk long distances, much less work. She is almost
completely blind. Without access to any other form of support, she is solely
dependent on her two grandsons. As a result, Kelvin and Roderick have taken on
the responsibility of being the “men” of the house and to care for their
grandmother.
In April 2012, Hands at Work invited Phyllis, Kelvin and
Roderick as special guests to Celebrations, an annual three-day conference that
gathers and unites international and local volunteers across the 8 African
countries and the 5 international offices that Hands operates in. At
Celebrations, Kelvin and Roderick had the opportunity to share their story – a
story that, unfortunately, is all too familiar for many of the children and
families in our communities. Hearts were touched as members of the Hands family
rallied around their family and gathered support for them. From the money that
was donated, both Kelvin and Roderick were able to return to school. All of
their school requirements, including school fees, uniforms and books were
purchased for them. Owners of only a single t-shirt each, extra clothes were
also purchased for the boys. The rest of the money was set aside to
purchase food and other provisions for the family on an as-needed basis.
This year, Roderick is in grade 9 attending a government
school in Chibulumba (the CBO-run school that provides basic free education for
our children only goes up to grade 5). Kelvin, on the other hand, failed to
pass his grade 9 exams in 2012, largely due to the fact that he continues to
spend the majority of his time looking for piecework to support his family. As
a result he, again, no longer attends school.
The extreme hardships that Kelvin and Roderick face on a daily basis make them especially vulnerable. Just before Christmas last year, Kelvin made 300 bricks for a man in Lusaka
(Zambia’s largest city which is approximately 400 kms from Kitwe) who had
recently purchased property in the Kamakonde community and intended to build a
house on the land. The cost of the job was 500,000 Kwacha (CAD $100). As per
their verbal agreement, Kelvin received a small amount up front as a deposit
(10%), with the balance to be paid upon completion of the job. A short while
later, the man abandoned his property in Kamakonde. Although Kelvin had already
finished making all 300 bricks, the man elected not to pay him the remaining
balance owing. Kelvin left all the bricks at the man’s property but many of
them, since then, have been destroyed or ruined. In an attempt to collect his money,
Kelvin travelled all the way to Lusaka, on the promise that the man would
fulfill his payment obligations. Even when Kelvin arrived in Lusaka, the man continued
to delay with the payment. Kelvin had no choice but to stay at the man’s house
and wait. At the end of each day, the man would reassure Kelvin by telling him,
“I’ll pay you tomorrow.” After 3 days in Lusaka, Kelvin could not wait any
longer and returned to Kitwe to care for his grandmother.
On several occasions, Kelvin and Roderick have travelled by
foot to the Service Centre (an 18 km journey, round trip) out of desperation,
in search for help. The money raised at Celebrations has since run out. At
times, the staff at the Service Centre have dug into their own pockets out of
compassion for this family in an attempt to help in any way they can. However,
with their extremely modest incentives and with their own
families to take care of, this is not a sustainable solution. On one particular visit, when Kelvin was asked by our Service Centre team why he wasn't going to school, he bluntly replied that, if he didn't earn money to buy food for his family, his grandmother would die. It goes without saying that these are not the burdens that any 16-year old boy should bear.
Last week, we, as a Service Centre team, arranged a meeting
with our CBO in Kamakonde. We sat down with three care workers from the CBO and
emphasized the urgency of the situation and the need for the care workers to
intervene. We reminded them of the importance of registers at the care point,
to track which children were or were not coming, and of regular and meaningful home
visits. We reiterated that Hands at Work is not just in the business of being a
service provider but that the vision is to transform children’s lives through
Christ-like love. The message rang loud and clear. We then requested that the
CBO set aside a portion of food for Phyllis from the care point so that she
could, at the very least, have something to eat every day. While this is not an ideal solution, and not something we would typically propose, the circumstances warranted it. This would also
enable Kelvin and Roderick to stay in school, rather than spend their days
looking for piecework.
We then went to the family’s home and visited with Phyllis
and Kelvin (Roderick was at school). We sat together on a mat outside their
home and listened as Phyllis and Kelvin explained their story and answered
questions from Towela and the care workers. We shared with them our concern for
their situation and the importance of Kelvin returning to school. We explained to
Phyllis that the Service Centre, the CBO and the care workers were there to
support her and to care for her grandsons. We helped her understand that she
was not alone.
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| The Home Visit |
The meeting with the care workers and our visit to the
family’s home helped attend to some very urgent matters. Phyllis could find comfort in the security of knowing she would receive at least one meal per day. In addition, our time spent with Kelvin, together with the new arrangement to have a portion of food set
aside for his grandmother, helped encourage him to commit to going back to
school in the new term (starting in May). The care workers, in turn, pledged to
continue to support the family and follow up with them on a regular basis. While
all of this was encouraging, by no means do we consider the problem solved or
pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. We understand that Phyllis, Kelvin and Roderick will likely continue
to experience more than their fair share of struggles, that they will be forced to continue
to endure through difficult circumstances and that our meeting/visit is only
the start of our journey with them. But the important thing is that
we came, we saw and that we are committed to walking with them. We know their
story and they know our hearts. If they had any doubts before, hopefully they can realize
that they are valued and that they will
be cared for.
Please pray for Phyllis, for Kelvin and for Roderick – that
they would somehow find provision and peace, despite their incredibly difficult
circumstances, and that they would come to know and understand God’s love and
grace for them.
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| Kelvin and Grandma Phyllis |