The OVC Project...

Kids playing at the OVC

The Orphan and Vulnerable Children Project is located in Kaisosi village, and over the past few months has become the highlight of our afternoons on Tuesday and Friday. On those days, we all pile into the project bakkie around 2 in the afternoon and make the 6 km drive to Kaisosi from our homes in Tutengeni (an area in Rundu). Some days when we get there we are waiting for the kids to arrive, and other days they are jumping and climbing all over the bakkie before we can even get out!

Over the past month we've really tried to encourage the volunteers with bringing some structure to the project days. We have some awesome volunteers that are between 15-18 years old. Some of them just live in Kaisosi, and others were part of the project themselves at one point. They have a real passion to see the children of the project grow spiritually, educationally, mentally, and physically and we (the missionaries) are supporting and encouraging the ideas and gifts of these volunteers. The awesome part is that these volunteers have become some of our closest friends here in Namibia and we are so happy to have met them. Mark, especially, has grown fond of these guys and often goes down to Kaisosi during the week days to teach them computers, help them haul mud for their huts, play soccer, ride bikes, or just hang out.

Daniel teaching a bible lesson

The past few weeks at project have been real fun. The volunteers decided to have 3 different stations for the kids to rotate through during each project day. The first is sports. We have a soccer field that most times we play soccer on (this is Africa!) but other times we change it up and play some other games too. :) The second station is held under a big tree where the kids are taught a bible lesson. They teach it in both English and Lucazi. The last station is arts and crafts and is held in the project school room. Watching the kids color is inspiring... nothing like back home in the States! The kids are more than eager to color (because coloring is a luxury, not a daily event). It is a privilege to see their creativity and raw talent drawn out on paper...

After all the fun :) the kids line up and get ready for their meal. There are usually about 200 children at project each day and the volunteer cooks have to start cooking hours and hours before the children arrive. These women cook pap (maize meal) and usually fish for the children and are truly dedicated to their task. Right now there is a cap of children accepted at the OVC project due to funds available, so before each meal the children that are registered with the project get a mark on their hands which shows they can get a meal. Many children come to project just to play that are not registered, and therefore must be turned away when it is meal time. We all stand in a line and hand out their plates of food and usually have to help the little children find a spot on the floor away from the door to begin eating. If you don't, the little kids when handed their plate will just plop right now and begin eating among the crowd of children.

Mark leading the kids to get their meal

This past Tuesday was the last project day until the new year since the children are done with school and on their holiday. Most times these children are busy helping their families in their farms preparing and seeding their land, or visiting other family in other villages. We had a small Christmas celebration and the kids got to eat rice, cabbage, and potatoes – a treat! This project day we had 50 additional children come that were not registered, and we were going to feed them but didn't have enough food. It was so horrible looking into their eyes and trying to find the words to say sorry. Some of the volunteers stood by the doors because the children were trying to run in to eat off of the other kids plates. We could only hold them back for so long before they pushed through the doors to come in. I had to run up and rescue 3 little toddlers who had gotten pushed to the floor and were getting run over. Watching these children scramble for food was something I cannot describe and will never forget.

Mark and I have really grown to love this project and the children here. This Wednesday, Mark took 24 guys from Kaisosi in the bakkie to Mavanze village to play soccer with another OVC Project. They wanted to gain some insight and ideas from another project nearby. This project, unlike Kaisosi which is supported by the local church, is funded by a Namibian diamond mine. Mark said you could see the difference because the Mavanze team was playing in uniforms and all had soccer shoes. Our team was playing in regular clothes, some barefoot, and some even playing in their boxers because they didn't have shorts. Even though the Kaisosi team lost 4-2, Mark said they had the better team :) and Mark even scored the only Kaisosi goal in the first half! Mark said on the drive back all the guys were yelling 'hey hey hey' and Mark felt like he was in college again. :)

Berta and Maki

The same day, I had two girls from the project over our house to celebrate their passing of their grade this year. Their names are Maki (13) and Berta (12) and they are some of the cutest girls I have ever met. I met them after work at the local grocery store. They came to our house and we made PB&J for lunch- their first time ever eating it! The girls taught Laura and I how to make pap, and we taught them how to make brownies. It was so fun to have innocent, curious, and giggly girls running around our house! We sang songs and danced and even taught them how to do jumping jacks – yes, it was a random day. :) The girls even took showers (a major treat for them since they live in the village). You could tell it was not a daily activity for them because our bathroom looked like a whale was splashing around in there! I told the girls that and they couldn't stop giggling. It was a great day all around. It got Laura and I thinking about maybe starting up a bible study/hang out time with girls from Kaisosi that are around that age. There is a huge need for mentoring that age of girls and we'd love some prayers for that as we see how it might play out.

Tomorrow our team is heading to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe! We are all so excited to have a few days to relax and have some fun. Please pray for our safety during our travels. We look forward to sharing our experiences when we return!