the HOPE factor
Last night the Flame Mobile Medical brought kids clothes and toys to two of the slum communities where we have been doing ongoing medical care. A big shoutout to the kind people of Te Awamutu, and @Pumpkin Patch Te Rapa, and of course Rebecca Stocker, our NZ rep who lugged them all the way here! Clothes are cheap here but there is no way the families we are working with can afford them for their children, there's a reason for the word ragamuffin!
I found it tough last night. I see the complexity of the issues: poverty, corruption, substance abuse and family breakdowns, but with no easy answers in sight - we can't barge in and fix anyone, BUT what we CAN do it get the kids who are keen learners into school. We have to hold onto the HOPE factor. It takes more energy some days than others.