This is the year and month everything changes...
We have most of the training center up and operational. The outside toilet and wash area is being completed as I type this. We have a friend/worker living on the top floor which helps with security and gives him his own space. He works on things here Monday - Friday and on Saturday will be in the 2 hour class learning English, along with two - three times a week joining us in practice sessions (when he is ready of course). We have an English class scheduled to start next Saturday, May 14th with 3 students. We have raised half of the monthly support to pay the teacher for this class as she travels to us and prepares during the week after her first job, we will also be feeding her after session is over. We still need to raise another $30 a month in order to pay her to come and teach. I will be taking care of the practice sessions during the week, Narindra will supervise and assist where needed on both Malagasy and in English.
We have taken in a cousin 18 yrs of age (Marius) to help with the physically intensive chores around the house; taking buckets of water to the third floor, filling the three water basins (drawing that water from the well) for showers and to filter the water for cooking and in return we pay for him to go to school, clothe and feed him. He loves to learn about manners, the English language, movies and especially how to cook different foods. Over the last month I have been able to let him make banana bread, Zucchini bread, Carrot Bread or any combination of those breads on his own. He is also learning to look into the fridge and see what we should have for lunch that day. So he is comprehending or memorizing cooking terms and most importantly asks when he has a question. He lives with us, in the big house on the second floor. He studies for his classes from dinner until 10 pm and then is awake by 4 to study again before the daily chores and getting ready to leave for school after his early lunch. He attends school every day Monday - Friday and will also be in the English class here on Saturdays. I find his constant cheerful attitude contagious. He enjoys being greeted first thing in the morning (must be a morning person) and is willing to help with any task. He is always so thankful for the guidance and assistance that we have been able to give. He is the oldest of many children and his parents came to us asking us to please take him in, as they would not be able to provide for him along with their other children. He calls me Aunty even though Narindra is a cousin. They don't really have words for cousin, niece or nephew in Malagasy. You are known by your children or the child of so and so.
April 18th we had a visit from a young mother (Nomena) of a 3 yr old desperate for work. She is a friend of our good friends and neighbors. She knows we don't have much but is willing to do anything to provide for her little girl. We have been able to share some stray pieces of clothing that have been sent to us with her for her child and have already been able to pay for necessary medical attention as her little girl just caught that virus so we asked her to take a couple of days off and take the baby to the DR. She is cheerful, quiet and a great worker. She doesn't talk much but I think she might after she warms up a tiny bit. We have already cooked meals together teaching English/Malagasy to each other. I have taught her to to sweep and mop the house, use the vacuume on the hard to reach spaces, iron the laundry after it comes in from the line (to make sure it is intact dry, with more than 60% humidity we have to be diligent against mold) and make the beds. She is teaching me patience in learning her ways (she doesn't like extra blankets left on armchairs or the couch). It is nice to have her here with us until about 1-2 daily. For now we feed her and have paid for her medical expenses, we hope to be able to give her more than what we can afford right now.
As you can imagine I am now surrounded by boys and enjoy the morning hours with our newest friend and house helper. The guys are not the most detail oriented when it comes to their living quarters, basic needs (dirty pillow cases, dusty floors, stinky clothes and looking for things.) They will glance over and area and state that it is not there, I will get up come to the area and say in Malagasy "Mijery mitovy ny vavavy" Translated "look the same as a girl" Pick things up, move them over and really search for what it is you are looking for, it will not scream, "I am here". So this is now the house joke.
So far this has been very difficult to do on our limited funds. Lets face it, we don't have any supporting churches back in the USA and we have roughly 8-10 individuals or families depending on the month sending in one time donations or monthly donations, for a total of about $250 a month depending on follow through. WE COUNT THEM SAINTS as we could not survive here and get things started without them. The packages that have come have also been perfect as we share 60-70% of everything that we get and only enjoy the remainder...
We go through batteries, candles, matches, tea, coffee, breads (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and some other ingredients) faster than we can replenish them. When there is a new activity close by (building a wall, a toilet, moving a pigs house, etc...) with the neighbors we try to offer breads and coffees as our way of support. This village community is really there for each other. They will leave their homes to come and help you if you need it, and when they need it, it is expected in return. Our neighbors are fun, lively and love LOUD MUSIC. Sometimes I feel like I live close to a Dance Hall as the music is usually specific to these three families likings, played over and over and 3 mile radius on hearing the music. Makes it hard to sleep or concentrate at times but we love the "camping feel" this creates (sometimes I don't but that is this areas customs, lol, I just smile and adjust my tasks at hand.) Recently though the tunes have started to change and there are more French and English speaking songs included, and I am starting to hum along with the Malagasy ones...
Our personal money is non existent and we have to pray hard as soon as the kitchen is bare and we are in need, about every 10 days or so. Talk about living and eating by faith. We feed 7 people now on a daily basis at least one meal and two snacks along with water, coffee, juice or tea. For the other meals we are feeding 4 regularly and sometimes more. We go through 2 sometime 3 pots of coffee in one day now that the cold season is upon us and we go through a 70 lb bag of rice in three weeks. Food is never wasted as everything has something that will eat it close by. We have our 3 dogs, 3 bunnies and a chicken along with the neighbors pig that eats most of what the other animals can't. We really don't create much waste. We have started paying a local young boy about 9 yrs old to come and haul out the trash we do have each Saturday. It helps him provide for his 3 brothers and single mother. We also call on him when we have something extra we need that he is physically able to do. Now paying him about $2 each time he comes to help us is a huge blessing for his family yet we would like to give more. We often send him home with breads and juice, he brings the bottles back to us and we can refill them another time.
We are so very thankful for the land we are sitting upon and the fact that we have been able to grow some foods. This changes periodically as we are learning and growing with he property. We generally have green onions growing somewhere, pumpkins, chayote, Okra and some chilis. We did have for a short while zucchini and that was amazing but we were not ready to tend daily to over 50 plants in that section of yard as that plant tends to leave a long trail (would be better suited for a trellis or fence situation). We are looking forward to planting and growing Artichokes (they take over a year to grow 3 heads) so this will take patience. We are hoping to grow garlic and ginger along with planting a papaya and a citrus tree in the yard, the trees will also take time.
I have started going through my clothes, jackets, shoes, scarves and hats giving them to the people that are working with us. We are very thankful for the many donated items in the container and we will be dipping into that this coming week to see if it will help. There are two local guys that take all of the shoes we have given them out on the town on Sundays trying to sell them. They are very serious about this and after three weeks of not selling but a couple of pair of flip flops they are still at it, cleaning the shoes and talking about them with locals, getting the word out. The biggest issue is that I am much taller than most malagasy. Where I would typically wear an 8-9 depending on the shoe, most Malagasy women would wear a 5.5-6.5 or 7. The Men really like a few of my shoes and some have gotten away with wearing the tennis shoes or boots. Nothing gender specific unless it is a high heal.
The weather is amazing here but when it is cold it is to the bone and frozen nose cold. Last week it was hot and then cold at night, this week, however that has all changed. The highest projected number is 65 F and lowest being 54 F (13 C). Imagine, stone or brick homes with a lot of concrete, no wall to wall carpet or home heaters, small area rugs and lots of blankets, socks, Ugg boots, beanies and LAYERS, a lot of LAYERS. Since I do a lot of work on the computer I have taken to staying in the bed under a couple layers of down comforters to stay toasty and get a few things done. I have also started drinking a bit more Hot water or Tea after the morning coffee.
We have most of the training center up and operational. The outside toilet and wash area is being completed as I type this. We have a friend/worker living on the top floor which helps with security and gives him his own space. He works on things here Monday - Friday and on Saturday will be in the 2 hour class learning English, along with two - three times a week joining us in practice sessions (when he is ready of course). We have an English class scheduled to start next Saturday, May 14th with 3 students. We have raised half of the monthly support to pay the teacher for this class as she travels to us and prepares during the week after her first job, we will also be feeding her after session is over. We still need to raise another $30 a month in order to pay her to come and teach. I will be taking care of the practice sessions during the week, Narindra will supervise and assist where needed on both Malagasy and in English.
We have taken in a cousin 18 yrs of age (Marius) to help with the physically intensive chores around the house; taking buckets of water to the third floor, filling the three water basins (drawing that water from the well) for showers and to filter the water for cooking and in return we pay for him to go to school, clothe and feed him. He loves to learn about manners, the English language, movies and especially how to cook different foods. Over the last month I have been able to let him make banana bread, Zucchini bread, Carrot Bread or any combination of those breads on his own. He is also learning to look into the fridge and see what we should have for lunch that day. So he is comprehending or memorizing cooking terms and most importantly asks when he has a question. He lives with us, in the big house on the second floor. He studies for his classes from dinner until 10 pm and then is awake by 4 to study again before the daily chores and getting ready to leave for school after his early lunch. He attends school every day Monday - Friday and will also be in the English class here on Saturdays. I find his constant cheerful attitude contagious. He enjoys being greeted first thing in the morning (must be a morning person) and is willing to help with any task. He is always so thankful for the guidance and assistance that we have been able to give. He is the oldest of many children and his parents came to us asking us to please take him in, as they would not be able to provide for him along with their other children. He calls me Aunty even though Narindra is a cousin. They don't really have words for cousin, niece or nephew in Malagasy. You are known by your children or the child of so and so.
April 18th we had a visit from a young mother (Nomena) of a 3 yr old desperate for work. She is a friend of our good friends and neighbors. She knows we don't have much but is willing to do anything to provide for her little girl. We have been able to share some stray pieces of clothing that have been sent to us with her for her child and have already been able to pay for necessary medical attention as her little girl just caught that virus so we asked her to take a couple of days off and take the baby to the DR. She is cheerful, quiet and a great worker. She doesn't talk much but I think she might after she warms up a tiny bit. We have already cooked meals together teaching English/Malagasy to each other. I have taught her to to sweep and mop the house, use the vacuume on the hard to reach spaces, iron the laundry after it comes in from the line (to make sure it is intact dry, with more than 60% humidity we have to be diligent against mold) and make the beds. She is teaching me patience in learning her ways (she doesn't like extra blankets left on armchairs or the couch). It is nice to have her here with us until about 1-2 daily. For now we feed her and have paid for her medical expenses, we hope to be able to give her more than what we can afford right now.
As you can imagine I am now surrounded by boys and enjoy the morning hours with our newest friend and house helper. The guys are not the most detail oriented when it comes to their living quarters, basic needs (dirty pillow cases, dusty floors, stinky clothes and looking for things.) They will glance over and area and state that it is not there, I will get up come to the area and say in Malagasy "Mijery mitovy ny vavavy" Translated "look the same as a girl" Pick things up, move them over and really search for what it is you are looking for, it will not scream, "I am here". So this is now the house joke.
So far this has been very difficult to do on our limited funds. Lets face it, we don't have any supporting churches back in the USA and we have roughly 8-10 individuals or families depending on the month sending in one time donations or monthly donations, for a total of about $250 a month depending on follow through. WE COUNT THEM SAINTS as we could not survive here and get things started without them. The packages that have come have also been perfect as we share 60-70% of everything that we get and only enjoy the remainder...
We go through batteries, candles, matches, tea, coffee, breads (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and some other ingredients) faster than we can replenish them. When there is a new activity close by (building a wall, a toilet, moving a pigs house, etc...) with the neighbors we try to offer breads and coffees as our way of support. This village community is really there for each other. They will leave their homes to come and help you if you need it, and when they need it, it is expected in return. Our neighbors are fun, lively and love LOUD MUSIC. Sometimes I feel like I live close to a Dance Hall as the music is usually specific to these three families likings, played over and over and 3 mile radius on hearing the music. Makes it hard to sleep or concentrate at times but we love the "camping feel" this creates (sometimes I don't but that is this areas customs, lol, I just smile and adjust my tasks at hand.) Recently though the tunes have started to change and there are more French and English speaking songs included, and I am starting to hum along with the Malagasy ones...
Our personal money is non existent and we have to pray hard as soon as the kitchen is bare and we are in need, about every 10 days or so. Talk about living and eating by faith. We feed 7 people now on a daily basis at least one meal and two snacks along with water, coffee, juice or tea. For the other meals we are feeding 4 regularly and sometimes more. We go through 2 sometime 3 pots of coffee in one day now that the cold season is upon us and we go through a 70 lb bag of rice in three weeks. Food is never wasted as everything has something that will eat it close by. We have our 3 dogs, 3 bunnies and a chicken along with the neighbors pig that eats most of what the other animals can't. We really don't create much waste. We have started paying a local young boy about 9 yrs old to come and haul out the trash we do have each Saturday. It helps him provide for his 3 brothers and single mother. We also call on him when we have something extra we need that he is physically able to do. Now paying him about $2 each time he comes to help us is a huge blessing for his family yet we would like to give more. We often send him home with breads and juice, he brings the bottles back to us and we can refill them another time.
We are so very thankful for the land we are sitting upon and the fact that we have been able to grow some foods. This changes periodically as we are learning and growing with he property. We generally have green onions growing somewhere, pumpkins, chayote, Okra and some chilis. We did have for a short while zucchini and that was amazing but we were not ready to tend daily to over 50 plants in that section of yard as that plant tends to leave a long trail (would be better suited for a trellis or fence situation). We are looking forward to planting and growing Artichokes (they take over a year to grow 3 heads) so this will take patience. We are hoping to grow garlic and ginger along with planting a papaya and a citrus tree in the yard, the trees will also take time.
I have started going through my clothes, jackets, shoes, scarves and hats giving them to the people that are working with us. We are very thankful for the many donated items in the container and we will be dipping into that this coming week to see if it will help. There are two local guys that take all of the shoes we have given them out on the town on Sundays trying to sell them. They are very serious about this and after three weeks of not selling but a couple of pair of flip flops they are still at it, cleaning the shoes and talking about them with locals, getting the word out. The biggest issue is that I am much taller than most malagasy. Where I would typically wear an 8-9 depending on the shoe, most Malagasy women would wear a 5.5-6.5 or 7. The Men really like a few of my shoes and some have gotten away with wearing the tennis shoes or boots. Nothing gender specific unless it is a high heal.
The weather is amazing here but when it is cold it is to the bone and frozen nose cold. Last week it was hot and then cold at night, this week, however that has all changed. The highest projected number is 65 F and lowest being 54 F (13 C). Imagine, stone or brick homes with a lot of concrete, no wall to wall carpet or home heaters, small area rugs and lots of blankets, socks, Ugg boots, beanies and LAYERS, a lot of LAYERS. Since I do a lot of work on the computer I have taken to staying in the bed under a couple layers of down comforters to stay toasty and get a few things done. I have also started drinking a bit more Hot water or Tea after the morning coffee.
No comments:
Post a Comment