Meeting Helena

The above photo is the most meaningful photo to me, from my time visiting with my sponsored child, Helena.  It depicts the culmination of a friendship born across 1000's of miles and over 5 years and speaks to the tenderness and joy of meeting one another face to face.  Helena and I spent most of the day exactly like this...hand in hand, looking at one another and giggling together.

I arrived at the Igoma Compassion Student Centre in the morning after having met Graim, the Compassion Sponsor liason the night before.  At the centre, I met other staff, including Magreth, who is a Social Worker that works with Compassion in this area.  They gave me the opportunity to look through Helena's file (pictured above), detailing her visits to the Doctor, home visits performed by a Nurse and Social Worker.  I had a chance to tour around the site, which shares its resources with a Lutheran church in Igoma.  Compassion makes a point of partnering with the local church and thus they have an intimate sense of the needs of the community.

The plan had originally been to go and visit Helena in school, but as it turned out this was a non-school day.  As a result, a car was sent to pick up Helena at her home and as I watched her from a distance, she got out of the car, straightened her best dress and looked up.  In general, Tanzanians are naturally more reserved and so I wasn't sure how Helena would react to seeing me.  When she looked up, she saw me and a huge smile came across her face.  Within seconds, she took off running towards me and jumped right into my arms!!  It was a phenomenal experience and to hold her in my arms and feel her hug was simply indescribable.

Together, with Graim and Magreth (who acted as translators) Helena and I headed to the local market with my intention of purchasing some food for Helena's family.  We returned from market with arm fulls of eggs, cooking oil, rice, beans, oranges, soap, a new school bag...it was just amazing to be able to bless Helena and her family in this way.  Helena knew exactly what they needed and it was pure joy to share a portion of the gifts that God has provided me with.

Meeting Helena's family was very moving.  I did not know, before arriving, that both of her Mother and Father had left her.  As a result, Helena is being raised by her grandparents and I found them to be kind and gentle people, who are in fact raising 5 of their grandchildren.  Two of their daughters also still live with them.  Helena's grandfather works as a Carpenter and has a certain level of income that way. They are a large family of nine, all seen above.

Above is a picture of the neighbour children who followed us into Helena's home.  As a muzungo (white person), I stood out like a bright white light bulb and children, in particular, are fascinated!!

I felt completely humbled when Helena's family presented me with a gift, pictured above.  I just am lost for words to try and describe what it feels like to have a family who has so little, choose to bless me with a gift of thanks like this.  I have much to learn from them.

My time with Helena in some ways feels like a dream.  We sang together, we laughed together, we smiled and giggled together.  We hugged.  She showed me the little black plastic bag that she has, filled with all of the letters and pictures I have ever sent her.  She keeps them all together and treasures them like such valuable possessions.  

Near the end of our time together, Graim explained to Helena that I would have to leave soon and she looked up at me and said, "I want to come with you".  I looked into her eyes (and internally worked very hard not to cry!)...I said to her, "I think your family would miss you very much." I look at the face above and feel a flurry of emotions.  This young girl is real, her story is real and her life is real.  She is one of the faces that we watch roll across our TV screens on Sunday afternoons.  She lives the life of trial and poverty in Africa.  Yet, because of the opportunity I have to invest into her life, she lives with hope and food and education and health care.  She has loving grandparents who care for her and many little friends to play with.  She is beautiful and she is sweet and she has a smile that ignites a place of love is one's heart.  She is Helena...and she is a victorious little girl.