The "Farm" and Hands at Work

We've been staying with Brooke and Jed at "The Farm" for two weeks now. Their home is sort of a duplex. We sleep on an air mattress in the living room. This place is not what you imagine when you think Peace Corps or Africa. We've spent many evenings watching The Office on their TV. For the most part we've been eating normal food--pizza, tacos, etc. But last night Brooke cooked us a meal like the locals eat. Pap is made of finely ground corn meal. It's cooked so it is very stiff. We ate it with a gravy made with shredded tomatoes and carrots, and a side of cabbage and squash. Delicious! And the other day I tried Chicken feet! I mostly ate the skin, but the locals eat bones, cartilage, and all.

Mike goes out to look for birds quite often. We've seen some really interesting ones, most recently a long crested eagle. He has also spent some time playing hockey with the volunteers who live in the big farm house. We brought ten plastic blades at Jed's request, and they've been creative in finding sticks. No serious injuries yet!
We've come to work with Brooke and Jed quite a few times. They work with Hands at Work, mostly in the office. Hands at Work provides support and training to community based daycares, food banks, and Home Based Care groups.
These HBCs provide services to orphans and people who are sick. Because of all the poverty and HIV/AIDS here, there is a HUGE need for this kind of work. Mike and I went along with a nurse named Emily and some care workers into the "village" (it has the infrastructure of a village but has about 250,000 people). A lot of the houses are made out of bricks, and look decent from the outside. We learned that many of them have almost nothing inside besides mats to sleep on. Some of the homes are only shacks that look like a strong wind would blow them over. We met one woman living in a shack who is HIV positive and lost her husband to AIDS two months ago. Her two small children were there. Emily gave the mom some meds, and took their information. She will help the mom get birth certificates for her kids so they can get some government assistance. The mom could barely lift her arms or talk above a whisper. These kids will probably be orphans soon, too.

This afternoon we are going with Brooke and Jed to an education program where older kids talk with younger ones about AIDS prevention, school exams, and other issues. Brooke says it is inspiring. Tomorrow may be a visit to a daycare and Young Mums in the afternoon. Last week, Mike helped several students get ready for the physics exam. Now our time at "The Farm" is almost over. We've rented a car starting Tuesday, so we'll be off! We both feel so lucky for our time here!

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