Living Water Children Centre

Several of the children living at Living Water Children Centre orphanage attend St. Jude's. Three of them are in Standard 2 (second grade) and live at the orphanage, and several others are older and board at St. Jude's during the week, returning on the weekends. Twenty-seven children are taken care of there, and, except for the St. Jude's students, they attend school there as well. Because I was delivering a gift and bringing greetings from a Country Day family that sponsors this perky, darling boy, I was able to visit the orphanage. Nothing has effected me as much as my brief after-school visit to Living Water.

These children have nothing of their own. Only worn and torn clothing. Bunk beds and little furniture. Primitive facilities. As a gift, I brought packages of cookies, and the children gathered round to eat them. There were three "mamas" to take care of them, and I met the two teachers, who were just finishing up their day, and planning for the next. One girl took my hand as we toured the four room house (three rooms of bunk beds and a common room), saw the outdoor kitchen and toilets, and climbed to the second floor of the two-storey classroom building. The girl trembled once at the top of the stairs, and would not let go of me or the railing, and her vulnerability and fear, along with her trust in me, just went straight to my heart. The children all gathered on the front porch to sing their school song for me before we left, which they did with smiles and pride.

Driving away on the school bus, leaving those children and their caregivers behind, I was overwhelmed with the knowledge of their desperate situations. And also overwhelmed with their playfulness and their spirit of togetherness. My mind remains full of visions of these children, and I think that, even though I am overwhelmed with emotions, that is a good thing.