Testimony of Angela Zanella, Volunteer at Dala Kiye
There are things you can’t explain. Things you can talk about for hours and hours and show photos on photos, but there is always something missing. Because there are things for which words are not enough, things that cannot be immortalized in a shot. There are things that must simply be experienced. Immerse yourself in the eyes of a child, for example. And find in it an immense treasure, and even more.
Of course, not all children have this special look, but many of them do, and many are those who live in Karungu, a village in Kenya on the shores of Lake Victoria. Here many children are orphans, some of them of both parents, men and women killed by AIDS, which in this area of the country affects 35% of the population, according to the latest estimates. A very high percentage, especially if behind the cold precision of the numbers there are people.
The Camillians present at Karungu decided that they could not stand by and watch. The charism of the Order invites us to be on the side of the sick and the infirm. But to be on the side of children does not need a particular vocation, just a little sensitivity and a good heart.
The Dala Kiye (Home for orphans in dholuo , the local language) has been in operation since 2001 and has involved hundreds of children in various projects over the past four years. As regards 2005, many realities present in the past have been confirmed and consolidated: the Mercy group , for example, made up of operators with the patronage of the Camillians and the support of the CRS (Catholic Relief Service, American correspondent of Caritas), takes care of about 2,000 orphans and who takes care of them. They have been operating for five years and the choice to collaborate with them was the first step of the Italian religious towards children. First step of a marathon that seems endless and that disseminates excellent results along its path. Inside the Dala Kiye there is in fact a Feeding Center which offers breakfast and lunch every day to children attending kindergarten and school, with a menu differentiated for vegetarians. For now, the kindergarten is located on the veranda of the refectory and is made up of two classes of about twenty children each. The B.L. Tezza Primary School was inaugurated in May of last year, while the beginning of the lessons for the first class of the Secondary .
But let’s go back to Dala Kiye. In fact, the center does not offer only two meals a day and a quality education to the orphans of Karungu and its surroundings. He also teaches them the value of food: last year a vegetable garden was created that the kids help to grow and that produces excellent fruits and vegetables.
But the children and young people of the center also have a well-stocked library (4,300 catalogued books), learn to paint and work with colored beads, follow an Italian course held by volunteers who take turns in the mission, are followed by qualified educators with a great human charge. And then there is so much green for outdoor activities: volleyball, football, martial arts, running, but also songs, dances, discussions.
The program of personal hygiene education continues, so the children all take a good shower before going home in the evening, aware of the importance of taking care of themselves, including their own body.
The project of the Family Homes continues for the second year, each of which hosts a dozen children, followed by a mother or a father. For now there are four: Nazareth and Shechem are right in front of the Dala Kiye, while Behetlem and Madiam are in the nearby village of Modi.
In recent years a nutrition campaign was launched in favour of primary school of Kopala, in the Karungu hills, a collaboration that continues and grows: in addition to providing a daily meal to about 300 children, the Camillians contribute and coordinate the arrangement of the building and provide the necessary material for a valid education. In addition, new projects have been launched in the nearby primary schools of Obondi and God Oloo.
The summer of 2005 brought with it a big novelty, an idea that had been flowing for a while in the head of Father Emilio, superior of the community and director of the Dala Kiye project. The project foresees la realization of 6 houses, of which 2 are already operational, to accommodate 10 orphans and HIV positive children each, followed by 2 mothers who take turns every fifteen days. The first to be completed was Tai, which in Kishwahili means Eagle; followed by Twiga, Simba, Cheeta, Tembo and Kiboko, or Giraffe, Lion, Cheetah, Elephant and Hippo.
The houses are beautiful, welcoming and spacious. But never enough to contain all the joy and exuberance of the children they host. Incredible children, with a past tormented by the loss of their parents, by the discovery of being HIV positive. Yet intelligent and lively children, with a great desire to play and be pampered. Smiling and serene children. Children who look at them forget that they are sick, of a disease that strikes without selection, sometimes without an explanation, a reason. Because they never ask. They don’t ask when they take their medications, when they arrive at the center, when they leave relatives, when they change village and school and friends, since not everyone lives near Karungu. Because you ask yourself, and there is no definitive and comprehensive answer. Maybe only the Lord knows. We are not given to understand all of his projects. Or maybe some things don’t need to be explained.
There are things that you just have to experience. To immerse yourself in the eyes of a child, for example. And to find in it an immense treasure and even more’.
By Angela Zanella – Volontaria al Dala Kiye
