Snapshots

Some highlights from the last few days:

• Riding on top of a packed bus on our way to an orphanage, through the beautiful countryside…terrifying but exhilarating.
• Meeting some sisters of mercy at a house for the destitute and dying, the place stank of urine and other rotten smells, but their grace and compassion was the most overwhelming presence. Everyday the 2 of them clean out 2 large rooms filled with old people, they clean the people and feed them too. it was such hard work even with 5 of us there to help. They really were an inspiration to me. They had given up their whole lives to live amoung the hurting dirty and dying. We cleaned some wounds there, which were unbelievably infected , some needing surgical care. It was disheartening to know what needed done but to have no power to actually do anything.
• Seeing an australian family revolutionising a very poorly run orphanage. It is one of the worst orphanages i have come into contact with. The workers there are corrupt and so little is done for the children. We cleaned out their showers and toilets which were full od urine and faeces. It was so rewarding to see how much better the conditions there were once we left. It is great that they are passionate about improving it and maintaining the changes longterm.

Something that has really struck me in the last few days is that in every place i have ever visited around the world, the workers and children and missionaries are still there. For me it seems to be a case of “out of sight, out of mind”. It is hard, and takes effort, to remember that their lives go on, with little change. It is easy to detach myself. Although seeing the mans festering wounds really was shocking to me, he has to live with that every day. But to me it is just a memory.