Our week of ‘Live below the line’ is over – whew! I didn’t think that only five days of living within dramatically confined spending limits for our food would be so tiring. But it was! Not only was it a mission to work out what we could eat for the week that wouldn’t put us over our NZ$2.25 per person per day limit for all food and drink, but once we’d worked out our menu, bought our food and started we realised the most tiring part was just beginning. Some were constantly hungry, most of us were more tired than usual, found it hard to concentrate and found it harder to be nice show tolerance to each other! Thanks to countries that send over their nearly expired goods we got 510gm Ricies for $1 (usually $12!) while they expired in June they still seemed ok - according to the younger 3 kids! We even found some cheap expired biscuits and expired instant pudding – these were great morale boosters! It definitely gave us a greater appreciation for those that have to live on so little for all their daily needs day after day. I really take my hat off to them – and as a parent knowing how hard it was for just five days to see my kids hungry, I can only imagine what it must be like not to be able to provide enough food for your family on a longer term basis.
Some of the classic Gordon quotes for the week:
Lily to one of her sisters (who will remain anonymous) “Since we’re living below the line can I still play with my toys?” Her sisters loving reply “No, and you have to wear second hand clothes all week too”. I pointed out that she may not have realised we all wear second hand clothes anyway!
Riana at dinnertime day two “It feels so good to eat!”
When I asked one child to take a shower “Some people living below the line can’t afford to bathe”
Drew (when he and Jed started catching white ants to eat) “We’re going to have to pay for these aye Mum, cos they have a market value”. Yep – they’re going to cost you, but at least it’s protein!
These white ants (type of termite) are a seasonal delicacy here – usually sold fried, however the boys just ate them raw as that made them cheaper!
Some semi-serious discussion went on as to whether there’d be any meat on this huge rhino beetle Drew found. As we didn’t know how long it’d been dead for, we decided against finding out! We weren’t really that hungry!
We ended up raising $1000 for Orphans Aid International so it made our week worthwhile! Josiah had promised to dye his hair blue if we reached $1000 so we’re now on the lookout for blue hair colour!
We couldn’t have finished our challenge any better if we’d tried. The day after it ended we celebrated with nine caregivers and their families who are enrolled in Imuka’s family strengthening program and were graduating from the business training course. To see the smiles on kids and parents faces as they enjoyed the graduation ceremony and Ugandan feast – to hear them now talking about their futures with hope. A simply beautiful way to end the week.
Preparing the graduation lunch – machete style!
Some of the kids putting on an item for their mums!
Cake time!
Praying for the families as they begin their new businesses
Thirty eight of the more than forty lives benefitting from investing in the dreams and potential of nine mums. 
Joy and hope abounds!
Most of the mums that go through Imuka’s business training course have never finished school, with several never having been at all – to successfully complete this training is huge for them!
We give the families we work with copies of photos we take during their time with us which they absolutely love! There are so many things that a photo doesn’t show - this mama faces numerous challenges on a daily basis that most would want to run away from. Yet she is facing them head on with dignity and joy and fighting to keep her family together. An absolute champion in our eyes! 
The line up for lunch begins…
Playtime’s always more fun with Riana! 
Looking for one of the many balls that went over the fence! One ladder and three long poles tied together with a net on the end later and they were all retrieved!
No comments:
Post a Comment