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Update 37
Gone with the Wind
Dear All,
We are still feeling very relaxed after two week’s holiday with Matt’s mum
Sandra. Some time in Hong Kong, some in Hainan Island, China and some in lovely
Sai Kung, house-sitting in the New Territories. We were very spoilt!
I DON’T THINK WE’RE IN KANSAS ANY MORE…
It was like something out of a movie: the sky over our tropical paradise turned
eerily green, then the wind began to blow, the palm trees blowing and buffeting
like they were made of paper (indeed quite a few of them blew right out of the
ground, as we saw the next morning) and the hotel manager stalking around
telling us darkly to ‘keep our passports on us…just in case’.
It was Typhoon Koni causing all this havoc while we were holidaying on Hainan
Island, south of Guandong province. As it turned out, the typhoon created an
authentic and exciting edge to what was already an absolutely gorgeous 4 day
trip. The two of us, with Matt’s mum relaxed like we never had before, ate
plenty of tropical cuisine and even visited the real, the authentic, End of the
Earth (and associated theme park). What more could you ask for?!
GHANA
10-year old Joe, in rural Ghana, is not supposed to be alive. His parents died
when he was small and according to a certain village tradition, his relatives
tried to beat him to death. They branded Joe a ‘kinkirgo’ or spirit child: an
evil presence who must be destroyed so as to prevent the whole village from
suffering. If a baby has a deformity, has its mother die in childbirth, or even
cries too much, it can be labeled as a kinkirgo and the villagers kill the
child.
Near Joe’s village there is an orphanage, where he now lives. The staff at this
orphanage have developed a close relationship with the villagers. Now, when
kinkirgo babies are born, their relatives frequently choose to leave the
children at the orphanage rather than killing them. The orphanage itself, while
it works hard to build a real home for these kids, is extremely poor. They asked
Crossroads to help by sending a shipment of all kinds of goods that they
otherwise find it impossible to obtain. At the moment, our volunteers are
preparing things like clothes, powdered milk and furniture that will help the
orphanage do its job.
It’s part of Adelaide’s work to research the background to shipments like this.
One of the things that stuck out when looking at Joe’s story was a quote from a
worker at the orphanage. She said Joe was one of the most considerate, obliging
children she had ever met, but almost worryingly hard-working. “Sometimes we’ll
get up to find Joe has been cleaning or washing walls for hours. It’s like after
such a difficult childhood, he doesn’t feel worthy of such care and attention.
That’s something no child should ever have to feel.”
A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
As Aussies it is almost incomprehensible to us that there are people around who
have never seen a beach – never touched the ocean. Yet again our eyes have been
opened as we met Enala from Zambia and heard the tale of her first time ever
swimming in the sea when Lisa took her to a Hong Kong beach just a few weeks
ago!!
The Crossroads team has swelled in numbers lately, and with some fabulous new
nationalities added to the league of nations that we enjoy already. There is the
beautiful Enala from Zambia, two new friends from Zimbabwe and four Brazilians
who have joined for a month. As always, the newbies are adding a great richness
to the team and we are loving getting to know them.
Till next time!
Matt & Ad
We are still feeling very relaxed after two week’s holiday with Matt’s mum
Sandra. Some time in Hong Kong, some in Hainan Island, China and some in lovely
Sai Kung, house-sitting in the New Territories. We were very spoilt!
I DON’T THINK WE’RE IN KANSAS ANY MORE…
It was like something out of a movie: the sky over our tropical paradise turned
eerily green, then the wind began to blow, the palm trees blowing and buffeting
like they were made of paper (indeed quite a few of them blew right out of the
ground, as we saw the next morning) and the hotel manager stalking around
telling us darkly to ‘keep our passports on us…just in case’.
It was Typhoon Koni causing all this havoc while we were holidaying on Hainan
Island, south of Guandong province. As it turned out, the typhoon created an
authentic and exciting edge to what was already an absolutely gorgeous 4 day
trip. The two of us, with Matt’s mum relaxed like we never had before, ate
plenty of tropical cuisine and even visited the real, the authentic, End of the
Earth (and associated theme park). What more could you ask for?!
GHANA
10-year old Joe, in rural Ghana, is not supposed to be alive. His parents died
when he was small and according to a certain village tradition, his relatives
tried to beat him to death. They branded Joe a ‘kinkirgo’ or spirit child: an
evil presence who must be destroyed so as to prevent the whole village from
suffering. If a baby has a deformity, has its mother die in childbirth, or even
cries too much, it can be labeled as a kinkirgo and the villagers kill the
child.
Near Joe’s village there is an orphanage, where he now lives. The staff at this
orphanage have developed a close relationship with the villagers. Now, when
kinkirgo babies are born, their relatives frequently choose to leave the
children at the orphanage rather than killing them. The orphanage itself, while
it works hard to build a real home for these kids, is extremely poor. They asked
Crossroads to help by sending a shipment of all kinds of goods that they
otherwise find it impossible to obtain. At the moment, our volunteers are
preparing things like clothes, powdered milk and furniture that will help the
orphanage do its job.
It’s part of Adelaide’s work to research the background to shipments like this.
One of the things that stuck out when looking at Joe’s story was a quote from a
worker at the orphanage. She said Joe was one of the most considerate, obliging
children she had ever met, but almost worryingly hard-working. “Sometimes we’ll
get up to find Joe has been cleaning or washing walls for hours. It’s like after
such a difficult childhood, he doesn’t feel worthy of such care and attention.
That’s something no child should ever have to feel.”
A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
As Aussies it is almost incomprehensible to us that there are people around who
have never seen a beach – never touched the ocean. Yet again our eyes have been
opened as we met Enala from Zambia and heard the tale of her first time ever
swimming in the sea when Lisa took her to a Hong Kong beach just a few weeks
ago!!
The Crossroads team has swelled in numbers lately, and with some fabulous new
nationalities added to the league of nations that we enjoy already. There is the
beautiful Enala from Zambia, two new friends from Zimbabwe and four Brazilians
who have joined for a month. As always, the newbies are adding a great richness
to the team and we are loving getting to know them.
Till next time!
Matt & Ad