On a Sunday afternoon, as we walked home from church we came across a situation that really got us all thinking... I stopped on the side of the road at a small shop as an older man began speaking loudly in the midst of many people. These are all orphans... and you, you must be their Mother. As the kids put their heads down and glanced to see my response out of the corner of their eyes - I patiently replied "I'm sorry you've been mistaken, these children are not orphans and they have a Mama and Papa... and as for me, we are family and I love them"... He replied, "no, these are all just orphans..." I patted him on the shoulder and told him I was sorry he was confused and we had to get going. .
Minutes later upon arriving home, I felt a piercing in my heart and wanted to speak with the older kids before they went down to the cows to pick up milk. I asked them, "do people often call you orphans in the road or at school?" They put their heads down and said "yes, and it makes us feel bad." They continued on, sharing stories and situations that they have come across as people often declare them as orphans, forgeting that they are still children; who have names and one day having lost mommy and daddy - simultaniously recieved the title "orphan". We talked about what they want the community to understand, and the world at that and all agreed that they are no longer orphaned, but once again have a Mama and Papa who loves them; they have a family who cares. Sadly, I myself have made the very mistake of classifiying with no conviction who is orphaned and who is not. I have grown comfortable in the "NGO world" using statistics and terms that are often labeling all kinds of children and their situations... However, talking with our kids - listening to their voices and their opinions on what the world has to say about them has really opened my eyes and broken my heart. African orphans, starving children, the poor - it has become an industry for so many, and yet these are still beautiful, precious people created in the image of God.
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Our homes are nothing close to an institution or center, but rather a home and family that they can call their own outside of a more common "an orphan, living in an orphanage". We do our best to provide a Godly environment and really pour into the staff that they can in return help be a part of the transformation God has in store for these little ones. We empower the Mama's that the children can have as much as a possible a "normal family life" under the circumstances provided. With the kids, we are trying to teach them that it's not who people say you are that matters, it's who God say's they are. That's the plain truth. Often people can be insensitive and nieve... we encourage them to brush off the words that don't align with what their Father in heaven says. Words can hurt, even when they aren't always meant to bring hurt.
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I am thankful for little situations like this, that happen along the journey that we can always, always keep in mind what is best for our children. It' for them, it's about them, why not listen to what they have to say... For me, in the past I have understood the word "orphan" as an abbreviated way to describe a child who has lost their parents. It's quick, one-worded, common, why not? However, for many children they see it as a title that has been given to them from society at the devestating moment their parents died. Other school children are simply "children" while they in return have become "orphans". Let us hear the cries of a child who is so dear to my heart...
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I am not an orphan, I am a child.
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