Blessed Gérard‘s Children’s Home
The atmosphere in both parts of the children’s home is friendly and family-like.
Today, I am going to tell you about life in the group home:
The twelve to sixteen year-old girls and boys live with their care-giver, Sister
Edith, a Benedictine nun, in an apartment on the upper floor of the Care
Centres. Two young people share each light-filled room and everyone has their
own desk. They work together to create a roster for keeping the house in order
and plan their meals to cook together. This is an essential part of how they
learn and teach each other life skills in preparation for independent life. They
do all the housekeeping, laundry, cooking and clearing up, as well as the
hundreds of other small tasks that help keep a household in order. They come
home from school between 2 and 4 pm, do their homework and finally have some
free time to play. Thanks to the generosity of a donor, the children’s home has
a piano and every child has piano lessons. Afterwards, the children who are on
duty according to the roster prepare dinner for the group and share jokes and
stories about their day at school. The children take their meals with perfect
table manners. The family atmosphere continues to astonish me. A day spent with
these young people is truly a day spent with a happy family. I return to my room
each evening filled with positive impressions of these young people.
The Blessed Gérard‘s Care Centre in Mandini is a place where brotherly love is
practiced in daily life. That is true in the hospice and it is true in the
children’s home where, right now, 41 children are living.
Today I would like to tell you about the area of the children’s home where the
newborn to eleven year-old children live. At the door, I am welcomed by a
friendly caregiver.
The main entrance is decorated with brightly-coloured furniture. A team meeting
is being held while the children play together. Each of the children’s room is
shared by two to five children depending on the size. All of the rooms are light
and friendly with views that look out on nature. The beds and comforters are
colourful and cozy-looking. The children play movement and hand-clapping games
together and seem very happy to be where they are.
This room is shared by four girls with plenty of room for them to play together.
The room for small children at naptime.
The day begins at 6am. The youngest children are bathed while the older children
shower. After everyone eats breakfast and brushes their teeth, the school-age
children get into their groups so that the mini-buses can take them to their
different schools. The have to be ready by 7:30 because school starts at 8:00.
The children who are still too young for pre-school stay home and play together.
One of the boys and one of the girls need special therapy. All of the caregivers
work hand in hand to help all of the children become physically and spiritually
stronger.
An educational assistant cares for the school-age children after school in the
homework room while the smaller children stay in the playroom. And then,
suddenly, all the work is finished and everyone runs for the playground. There
is an adventure playground complete with a climbing apparatus. The children also
enjoy playing ball, circle games and dancing. Everyone laughs and enjoys
themselves. All of the children behave themselves and follow the rules of the
playground. And the handicapped children are participating too. Traditional Zulu
dancing requires a lot of jumping, as highly as possible, and everyone sings and
sings. It is infectious and I join and dance with them.
Once play time is over, the children go to wash their hands. Under close
supervision the older children help to prepare dinner for the younger children
in the central kitchens. The vitamin-rich, high-protein food is not only healthy
but it tastes good! Some of the children in the care of Blessed Gérard‘s Care
Centres have been abused, others have already experienced terrible losses. At
the care centre they find acceptance, protection, love and education. All of the
AIDS patients at the care centre, including the children, receive
anti-retroviral medications that can increase life-expectancy by up to 25 years.
Combined with the loving care they receive, they can go on to live full and
full-filling lives. These children are the real hope in the fight against AIDS.
This page is part of the Newsletter No. 29
of the Brotherhood of Blessed Gérard
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Gérard
This page was last updated on
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 12:50:22