Special AIDS Walk Dedication to Upile
October 17th will mark the 26th Annual LA AIDS Walk and I’ll be out there again this year, supporting a cause that is very near to my life and heart. This year however I have a special dedication. This year team EveButterflies is walking for Upile.
Upile’s war on AIDS is not unique in Malawi. There are many children like her battling this undiscriminating disease that has wiped out generations. Children are being burdened with a load we adults in our modern societies would have difficulties enduring. Yet so many just like Upile are smiling, wanting to go to school and turning rocks into toys to play games. Seeing this great spirit was a gift, a reminder that we are not alone on this planet and if we all did a little something, we could make bountiful changes. A perfect example of this is Marie da Silva. Marie who grew up in Malawi created the Jacaranda Foundation, a free school for orphans where I met Upile . She used her nanny wages to create the school and with help from friends had minimally kept the school running. She received worldwide recognition for her work and now the school has grown into a safe haven for over 400 orphans, who otherwise would have no educational opportunities. Many are AIDS orphans just like Upile and unfortunately some are AIDS sufferers themselves. After Upile passed Marie saw the need to have a school nurse and also a school bus. You see even though AIDS medication is free in Malawi, those living in these remote villages have no means to get to the hospital. Marie’s foundation is now the means, not only for the students but also for their extended families.
It’s an ongoing necessity to find funding for the foundation. Every year more students would like to join and paying the staff, providing shoes, clothes, food, books and even now medical care is unending cycle. If you think you could make a difference in any amount please see the Jacaranda Foundation and see how far a little bit can go.
You can also join us and walk with Team EveButterflies
Looking For A Way to Make DIfference?
As I am reviewing my video footage from my recent Malawi trip, I am sadly reminded of the alarming state of poverty that children are living under there. Hunger forces people into impossible choices just to survive – children are taken out of school, women are forced into high-risk sexual behavior, agriculture is constrained by economic isolation, high transport costs, growing environmental degradation and depleted soils. It’s heartbreaking for me to watch as I interview children and ask them what they need, what they want and if someone was willing to help them by sending packages, what is it they would like to receive. Incredulity, at overwhelming numbers, about 98% of the children asked for food. Not toys, not clothing, the most basic survival need, food. Can you imagine? If your child had to actually think about wonder when they would able to have a meal? Children are going to school on empty stomachs, carrying empty cups that will be filled with what may be their only meal of the day. For the over 40% of children unable to afford school, they are wondering when they will have a next meal. Children are literally dying from hunger. I write this because I’ve seen how far just a little funding can go to help these children. This trip changed how I see purchases I make. Do I really need another candle, overpriced handbag or drop a Benjamin on one meal? Knowing that $140 can feed 200 orphans 3 meals a week? Small alterations I make here, can help a child there. If we all micro-altered, our lives, we could wipe out hunger. Have you thought of ways your could help? Let me know if you’d like to make a difference. I know of many ways that you can help.The Need For Cracks Dedicated To Upile
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen
This statement couldn’t be more poignant on this day. Suffering a loss is never easy, but losing a child is a loss of unspeakable sorrow. Last night just after conquering an eighth year of life, Upile Chatha has left this physical world. I found Upile at Marie da Silva’s Jacaranda School in Malawi. It was my first day at the school. I was in the Standard 1 class and was seated at the very front, watching as the teacher taught the curriculum. This day they were learning numbers. I watched as the children recited the numbers, 1,2,3,4,5…and then walked up to the chalkboard and practiced writing them. Upile went up to write the number 5. A straight line down, then swing around then end with a line on top. I was relishing in the moment, watching as they so proudly drew their number 5. Going to school is not a given in Malawi, it’s a privilege, and it’s is even more of a gift for orphans there. Most orphans will never see the inside of a school and nearly half of the child population is composed of orphans, this classroom was full of those being blessed by the hard work of the Jacaranda Foundation. I sat there, in my chair at the front of the class, with my knees touching the girls in the front row. One of those sets of knees belonged to a beautiful pair of brown eyes and a smile to match. Those eyes were peering up at me, in between scribbles of numbers in her notepad. This was Upile. She giggled with her friend, Felista, who was seated next to her and then she turned her book around to show me how she’d written her numbers, she stole my heart right out of my chest and has kept it since then. She had a huge smile, and big beautiful bright shining eyes but underneath all of that, she was very ill. I could hear very laborious breathing efforts coming from my little dear and it struck me so hard I had to take the teacher aside and ask if she had an inhaler, since I have my entire life suffered from asthma, I just could not take the sound of such harsh breathing efforts, it’s not necessary when a puff on an inhaler would fix it. Upon inquiring, the teacher informed me that both of her parents had passed due to AIDS and that Upile herself was inflicted with the same, since birth. I still did not understand how this suffering was happening. Why she was apparently so ill? Why was she being left to suffer with breathing this way? Was she on medication? Did she need medication? When did she last see a doctor? These were all the questions churning in my being as watched this adorable little girl trying to hard so be a good student. These are the questions I took to Marie. I didn’t even have to ask all the questions, I merely started to speak about a sick child and Marie immediately wanted to know all of the details and said, we will speak to her guardian and see what we can do for this child. I have to say, it was such an enlightening moment for me, that immediate action, (I will forever in this lifetime admire and do anything to help my friend Marie, for that very moment). We put together a plan to speak with Upile’s guardian the very next day. Well, the next day came and when I went into the classroom I found out that she was home, sick. You can already guess what Marie said when I told her the news and we were soon off to find our little girl.
Marie and I walked out into the village, she gave me the tour and pointed out things along the way, it was a pretty long walk, I was surprised this sick little one was walking this far, considering her state. When we finally came to Upile’s home, we found her sitting on the ground, playing with rocks, outside. I was immediately taken aback that she was out of school sick but was outside, in a ragged, torn dress that once had a zipper but was now dripping from Upile’s severely malnourished body. She recognized me right away, it was quite touching. Those big eyes and smile melted me every time. Marie, speaks Chichewa so she asked her where her guardian was and if she could take us there. 3 Shockingly, we found out, she wasn’t on any medications and hadn’t seen a doctor in over years. She wasn’t being cared for at all, sadly. Marie and I decided this was not going to continue and we got her to the hospital as soon as we could. The next couple of weeks I spent quite a bit of time visiting Upile in the children’s ward as she gathered strength and slowly came to health. We brought her treats, (her favorite was chips) toys and on a few occasions even had the bright idea of bringing in my laptop so she could watch movies, which in and of itself was an enormous experience for all in the hospital. Every time I saw her she was eating more and looking better and on my last day at Jacaranda she was out of the hospital and spending time with Marie and I. She sat on our laps and smiled. It was heart tugging to tell her I was leaving,, Marie relayed the message as I watched her eyes change and her expression go down. I embraced her, told her how much she meant to me and that I’d be always be thinking of her. Her smile came back for me and that will be the memory I have of my sweet little friend. I wish that I could have seen her again. My little fighter was strong.
Upile was an angel for change. She didn’t know this but since her case and finding her obvious neglect, it effected a change at Jacaranda and there have been several children who have been diagnosed and medicated. Today, when a child is showing signs of sickness or is noticeably missing school for being sick, they are taken to the hospital and given the care essential to their well-being and ultimately lives. No longer will sickness be overlooked. We are also working to make workbooks to encourage them to take their medication. It is one thing to get the child diagnosed, another to get their ongoing medication and even another to get them to take ownership of their own health care. I know it’s hard to imagine a 5 year old taking ownership of her own health care but it’s a fact. My goal is to help them reach a place where they can speak to each other, lean on each other and get well together. The workbooks are the start. Ultimately, we want these little beings to be empowered to care for themselves, as too often we see they aren’t getting the vital care they so desperately need. I will miss hugging, kissing and holding Upile’s hand. She put a crack in my heart and that’s where I’m going to let the light in. These tears are of sorrow and joy. Joy that you were loved so very much and that your life has touched so many. I love you. Rest in peace beloved.
Meals For Malawi – One Wish
A special dedication to my friends who supported my efforts in Malawi. Thank you.Malawi Dedication – Marie da Silva
My time at Jacaranda School. Thanks to Marie da Silva. I made this video dedicated to her.Feeding Orphans in Malawi
this was the first of several gathering to feed orphansMalawi In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Hello friends, colleagues and social media cohorts. I write today with great excitement running through me like white water rapids from the split ends atop my head down to the very tips of my toes. This is because after much planning, saving and preparation, I am headed to Malawi on December 22! I am taking a trip via ABroaderView’s program, where I will be staying at an orphanage on the outskirts of Blantyre, (after about 40 hours of travel). I arrive December 24th and will be sleeping in the orphanage along with the over 200 children ranging from infancy up to 15 years old.
Now, this has been a dream of mine ever since I found giving was something that gave me powerful surges of joy. A light that gave me shine from within my own world of sometimes clouded and stormed world. Being an orphan myself fuels a part of my passion but another reason that is not a well known fact, at all, and for almost all of my friends will be the first time knowing, my own mother contracted HIV in the 80’s when it was a very new disease and hope for survival was a dreary fog screen of road ahead. After my father died unexpectedly, she didn’t have it in her to fight so she gave up and took her own life, leaving me behind to raise myself, which I have since the age of 15 when I became an emancipated adult. These difficulties are extremely hard for me to allow light on, mainly because I want everyone to see the strong individual that stands here today, who is embarking on dream come true and one that I have manifested with my own will. But, as I am walking into this, I carry with me a story and a hope that through my own struggles I can take my light to a dark place, knowing the struggles that these lost children are facing and hold, feed, play with and give them all the abandoned love I carry in my heart; hoping I can generate a smile or two and get as many hugs as possible.
Among the many projects I’m planning for the children is a huge feast that I hope will become a lifelong memory and a truly amazing day. There is a large market in Blantyre, and upon arrival I will find out what the children want most, go buy it and give these orphans the simple things our children have sitting in their cupboards: food. Yes, food. Sweets and snacks and things they never have the opportunity to enjoy. Malawi is the second poorest country in the world; the poverty situation is terribly grave, especially for orphans. One in five children in Malawi will die before reaching age 5; 46 percent are malnourished and almost half will be orphaned by HIV/AIDS. These vast numbers don’t leave much aid for these unfortunate children, so the meals they have are just very small amounts of maize. Very rarely do they have the opportunity to eat anything else. I want to give them at least one good day of feasting.
There is a way that you can help and, in a way, travel with me through this journey. (I will be documenting the trip as much as possible on my website.) The day I arrive in Malawi is my birthday…it’s a day my friends always want me to celebrate and which I am always reluctant to do, but this year, my loved ones, I’d like you to celebrate with me! Instead of a party and in lieu of gifts, help fund my Malawi Orphan Feast. This is the only birthday wish I could ask for, and one that would be most fulfilling for me, and hopefully for you, too. So please join me as I speak to the children, go to the market and help feed them. As I mentioned, there are more than 200 children at this particular orphanage, so any little bit will go a long way. Thank you so much, and even if you can’t help the fund, I’d love for you to follow along and become involved with helping the Warm heart Of Africa.
—Eve
*****UPDATE******UPDATE*****UPDATE*****
I already have an exciting news update. I have been in contact with Marie da Silva, (last year’s CNN Hero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eiuXzRf0_Y ) and after emailing and long phone conversation, she is going to be of great assistance through my journey. Now instead of just the Blantyre orphanage I will be spending almost a week volunteering and getting to know the children at her Jacaranda School. This school has almost 300 children, many are orphaned and live alone, with other children, raising themselves and some have their only meal at the school so I look forward to discovering ways that we can do something from afar to help even 1 child. I am thrilled to have a mentor and Malawi guide now.
