These bracelets are just a fraction of the crafts made by the "bead ladies": Justa, Helena, Elizabeth, Julia and Anna. They also make key chains, pins, earrings, necklaces, christmas tree ornaments and decorations and just about anything you can imagine!!
The BNC Girls Choir posing in front of the EXPLORER after welcoming all the "Semester at Sea" students with traditional songs and dances.
A big smile from Johannes as he tries on his new school uniform!
April, 2009
Greetings from Namibia! It’s time for my annual Blog Update! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Yikes, where do I begin? I think 2009 is a good start…….
School Daze
In Namibia the academic school year begins in mid January, so the glow of the holidays quickly turns into financial panic when families realize they have no money to enroll their kids in school or buy them the compulsory uniform and supplies. The Namibian Law says that no child can be denied an education, but the reality is that if you don’t pay the fees and if you cant buy your kid the uniform and notebooks, they will give that space away to someone else who will. So, in order to keep all 350 of “my kids” in school, we shell out thousands of dollars every January. This money comes from YOU!! All year people send me donations and I keep saving and saving that money for January, for I feel that education is the greatest gift you can give someone, and it is the only way to break the cycle of violence, poverty and helplessness.
I must also mention that last year, AND this year, we received a HUGE donation from a friend who lives right here in Windhoek. His name is Tony, and he is a saint. He and his family and friends virtually made it possible for us to say “YES” to every child and their every school need. They all got new shoes and uniforms AND the necessary tools for learning: pencils, erasers, colored pencils, scissors, glue, rulers and other goodies for the little ones, and math sets, calculators, dictionaries, special notebooks and text books for the older ones. Many also asked for sweaters and school track suits. We told them to show us their grades from the previous year, and if they had done well, we rewarded them with “extras” like that! Many qualified and that gave LOTS of incentive for their classmates to try harder this year!
Rodney’s Bicycle
For those of you who have read my previous entries about Rodney, I can tell you that he did not have perfect attendance last year, but he did pretty darn well for a kid with a serious learning disability and absolutely NO parental supervision or support at home. How many teenagers do you know who would get themselves off to school every day with nobody to wake them up, feed them or put them on the bus? Right, none. With a donation from Debbie in California, we agreed to buy Rodney the bicycle he dreamed of. The plan was to go to the shop the first Saturday in February and have him pick it out. But that week he skipped out of school and went to the other side of the city where he stayed at a distant relative’s home for two weeks. The school threatened to expel him, and his auntie went and brought him back. I think the work load for grade 5 is much harder than grade 4, and his patient and loving teacher from last year was transferred to another school. Rodney is a classic case of a kid who cannot function in the traditional classroom setting and needs special education. In the USA or another 1st world country he would be thriving, but here he is completely lost, frustrated and defeated. In a last attempt to keep him in school and try to figure out a new plan, he agreed to go every day for two weeks to earn the bicycle, but he has slipped out of our grasp. He started hanging out with some “bad boys” and last Sunday he stole shoes and clothing from other children at the pool. When he was caught red handed in front of his home with all the stolen items, he denied any responsibility and said that he “found them” in the street. I wish I could give you a happy ending to this story, but Rodney is unable (or unwilling) to accept any responsibility for his actions and plays the role of the victim. I told him he is welcome back at the center as soon as all the stolen items are returned to the boys, but he has made no effort to find them or return them. He goes around the neighborhood telling everyone, “MaryBeth kicked me out of the center and now I am starving and she doesn’t care.” Although my heart breaks for him, I cannot help him until he admits the bad choices he has made and shows even the tiniest effort to help himself. The bicycle is still waiting and I am praying for a miracle.
The Choir’s Trip to Walvis Bay
Amidst the insanity of getting everybody into school, came the wonderful news that three friends of mine, Sarah, Katherine and Whitney, were spending a “Semester at Sea” and that their ship would not be going to the Persian gulf (for safety reasons) and would instead detour to Namibia and South Africa! Wanting to see them and welcome them in a special way, we wrote to the administrators, asking if they would like our young girl’s choir to sing and dance for them as they disembarked at Walvis Bay. Their response was overwhelming: they offered to pay all our expenses and invited us on board for brunch and a tour of the ship! Well, did those girls give them a show!! They sang and danced their hearts out for TWO HOURS, while all 1000 students, faculty, administrators and staff filed down the gang plank to chat with them and take their photos. They looked great in the skirts and tops that Cathy and Lyn made for them, and they stole the hearts of all those passengers on Valentine’s Day! The rest of the weekend they spent jumping in the ocean waves and playing on the beach! All weekend they had plenty of delicious food, and arrived back in Windhoek elated and exhausted. Kudos to “Grandmas” Cathy and Lyn who planned and orchestrated the entire trip, from the food to the costumes, and to “Grandpa” Mike and “Miss Volunteer” Barbara for their immense support. I had it easy…..I was just the driver!!! Check out the photos to get the full picture! We hope to have a repeat performance on April 25th when the MS Rotterdam (of the Holland American Cruise Line) comes to Namibia with my dear friends Joe and Sylvia Oakes (and about 1000 others) on board! Maybe after this we should go international?
Miriam’s Dolls
While I keep busy with all the happy little faces at the BNC, Miriam continues to create happy little faces in her home! Living in her corrugated tin shack with no electricity, water or toilet facilities, she is turning out dolls as fast as we can sell them. I am amazed at the precision and individuality she puts into every single “big sister” and “big mama”. They are beautiful! I am hoping that we can continue to sell them all over the USA, Canada, Germany and the UK. Please let me know if you have any connections to shops or friends who are selling fair trade items! I am so proud of Miriam, who works so hard to provide for her family. She re-invests her earnings and saves whenever she can, so that when the time comes to enroll her children in school or to pay medical bills, she’s got it covered. What an inspiration!
The “Bead Ladies”
I can’t talk about Miriam without also promoting the work of some equally industrious and talented women. They are Justa, Julia, Helena, Anna and Elizabeth. They make beautiful bracelets, necklaces, pins, key chains and ornaments out of tiny “seed beads”. This is their only source of income, and although I have tried to market their goods locally, they seem to sell very well outside of the country! Take a look at the photos I have posted, and if you want to order something, just let me know! The ladies can make the bracelets in school colors and put different flags or letters or designs on them. They can customize anything, from key chains to pins to bracelets, so if you want to raise funds and keep these women employed at the same time, let me know!
Girl’s Soccer in Namibia!
For all of you who have been following the development of the “Little Pumpkins”, there’s some GREAT news! The Namibian Football Association hired two dynamic women to focus on a National plan for soccer development, and specifically soccer for young women and girls! They are receiving funding from Unicef, and have asked me to be the director of the Khomas Region Girl’s Under 15 and Under 13 Soccer League. We kicked off the season last week, with teams from all over Windhoek and Katutura. I am so excited about all these young girls playing soccer on a national level! Best of all, they will be able to compete with girls their own age, and play on GRASS FIELDS!!! Fun, fun, fun!!!
The Children’s Center in Rehoboth
A few years ago I was introduced to a woman named Cathy Hampe. She runs a center for physically and mentally disabled children and youth in Rehoboth, a small city about 50 miles south of Windhoek. She has performed a modern day miracle in getting funding for a gorgeous building where the children can come for physical therapy and all sorts of specialized care and attention. She has local and international volunteers who tend to the children, including transportation to and from school in her husband’s old, broken down mini van. This past year the van finally gave out, and Cathy had no way to get the children to the center. The families were simply too poor to hire a private driver, and most public taxi drivers would not even allow them to get into their vehicles. One old lady put her grandson into a wheelbarrow and wheeled him over a mile to get him to the center for his recreation and therapy. It is my dream to somehow raise the funds to provide the center with a newer vehicle that can make the rounds through these poor communities and collect these children and youth and bring them to the center. This might happen through our local Rotary club (of which I am a very active member!) in conjunction with the Lions Club and Round Table Club, or maybe through the collective efforts of my family and friends. If you have any advice or suggestions for me, please don’t hold back!! I hope that before the end of 2009 those kids can count on going to that center every day in a safe, reliable vehicle!
Come and Volunteer!
We have been blessed with so many patient, loving, caring and WONDERFUL volunteers over the past few years, we are planning to develop a VOLUNTEER HALL OF FAME, and have a new inductee every year! All former volunteers will be eligible to cast their votes!! Not only that, but some volunteers have come back two or even THREE times!! Enormous thanks to all of you for all the love you have poured into the hearts of the children at the center. It truly shows in their social and communication skills, their manners, their self esteem and their overall behavior. The children proudly tell visitors that BNC not only stands for the Bernhard Nordkamp Center, but that they ARE the BNC: Best Namibian Children!! Although we do have our occasional set backs and disappointments, the children are amazingly mature and responsible considering the violence, corruption and evil that surrounds them. The center is a haven, a place where nobody is allowed to swear or steal or fight. It is a place of activity, laughter, joy and happiness. It is a place of creativity and freedom. If you have lots of energy and LOVE children, please do consider helping us out. You will receive at least 50 hugs daily, and you WON’T want to leave. I promise you that, too.
An ENORMOUS Thank You!
Here is the part where I thank all of you for making it possible for me to continue my work in Namibia as a volunteer.
Here’s to all of you who keep sending donations even though I am completely remiss with my thank you notes.
Here’s to all of you who do massive collections and send us soccer uniforms and gear to keep thousands of little Namibians proudly outfitted in jerseys from your kids and their friends.
Here’s to all of you who do logistical gymnastics to drop off the donated goods, pack them up and haul them half way across the world so our kids can sit in the library reading “Hop on Pop” and “The Hungry Caterpillar” and other children’s classics.
Here’s to all of you who have “stuffed your rucksack” and come to the center as visitors, and left as true and lasting friends.
Here’s to all of you who have helped in so many ways, too many for me to count in this lifetime, and too numerous for me to ever repay.
Here’s to my parents, my brother and sisters, my cousins, aunties and uncles, my dear friends and my Maryknoll family for NEVER saying “No” to me regardless of the time and work involved. Thanks for taking care of ME and my 350 kids!
Please keep in touch! I don’t have email at home nor at work, so once a week I go to Rick’s house where I stay up all night trying to read all the letters in my inbox. My address is Marybeth_gallagher@yahoo.com. Please be patient if I don’t answer you immediately!
For those of you who are visiting this blogspot for the first time, please read the previous entries to get the full picture. Many of you have asked how you can make financial donations, so here it is:
Tax deductible donations can be made out to: MARYKNOLL FATHERS and mailed to:
John Gallagher
56 Sunset Drive
Ossining, NY 10562.
My darling Dad (aka my personal secretary), will bring the check up to Maryknoll and deposit it into the mission account of Fr. Rick Bauer. Rick will tell me the donor’s name and the amount, and that money will go directly to my work with the children. Unlike his daughter, my Dad is very meticulous about writing thank you notes and promptly posting them!
Big hugs to all of you from all of us in Namibia! Come and visit us, SOON and OFTEN!
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
MaryBeth :)
Greetings from Namibia! It’s time for my annual Blog Update! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Yikes, where do I begin? I think 2009 is a good start…….
School Daze
In Namibia the academic school year begins in mid January, so the glow of the holidays quickly turns into financial panic when families realize they have no money to enroll their kids in school or buy them the compulsory uniform and supplies. The Namibian Law says that no child can be denied an education, but the reality is that if you don’t pay the fees and if you cant buy your kid the uniform and notebooks, they will give that space away to someone else who will. So, in order to keep all 350 of “my kids” in school, we shell out thousands of dollars every January. This money comes from YOU!! All year people send me donations and I keep saving and saving that money for January, for I feel that education is the greatest gift you can give someone, and it is the only way to break the cycle of violence, poverty and helplessness.
I must also mention that last year, AND this year, we received a HUGE donation from a friend who lives right here in Windhoek. His name is Tony, and he is a saint. He and his family and friends virtually made it possible for us to say “YES” to every child and their every school need. They all got new shoes and uniforms AND the necessary tools for learning: pencils, erasers, colored pencils, scissors, glue, rulers and other goodies for the little ones, and math sets, calculators, dictionaries, special notebooks and text books for the older ones. Many also asked for sweaters and school track suits. We told them to show us their grades from the previous year, and if they had done well, we rewarded them with “extras” like that! Many qualified and that gave LOTS of incentive for their classmates to try harder this year!
Rodney’s Bicycle
For those of you who have read my previous entries about Rodney, I can tell you that he did not have perfect attendance last year, but he did pretty darn well for a kid with a serious learning disability and absolutely NO parental supervision or support at home. How many teenagers do you know who would get themselves off to school every day with nobody to wake them up, feed them or put them on the bus? Right, none. With a donation from Debbie in California, we agreed to buy Rodney the bicycle he dreamed of. The plan was to go to the shop the first Saturday in February and have him pick it out. But that week he skipped out of school and went to the other side of the city where he stayed at a distant relative’s home for two weeks. The school threatened to expel him, and his auntie went and brought him back. I think the work load for grade 5 is much harder than grade 4, and his patient and loving teacher from last year was transferred to another school. Rodney is a classic case of a kid who cannot function in the traditional classroom setting and needs special education. In the USA or another 1st world country he would be thriving, but here he is completely lost, frustrated and defeated. In a last attempt to keep him in school and try to figure out a new plan, he agreed to go every day for two weeks to earn the bicycle, but he has slipped out of our grasp. He started hanging out with some “bad boys” and last Sunday he stole shoes and clothing from other children at the pool. When he was caught red handed in front of his home with all the stolen items, he denied any responsibility and said that he “found them” in the street. I wish I could give you a happy ending to this story, but Rodney is unable (or unwilling) to accept any responsibility for his actions and plays the role of the victim. I told him he is welcome back at the center as soon as all the stolen items are returned to the boys, but he has made no effort to find them or return them. He goes around the neighborhood telling everyone, “MaryBeth kicked me out of the center and now I am starving and she doesn’t care.” Although my heart breaks for him, I cannot help him until he admits the bad choices he has made and shows even the tiniest effort to help himself. The bicycle is still waiting and I am praying for a miracle.
The Choir’s Trip to Walvis Bay
Amidst the insanity of getting everybody into school, came the wonderful news that three friends of mine, Sarah, Katherine and Whitney, were spending a “Semester at Sea” and that their ship would not be going to the Persian gulf (for safety reasons) and would instead detour to Namibia and South Africa! Wanting to see them and welcome them in a special way, we wrote to the administrators, asking if they would like our young girl’s choir to sing and dance for them as they disembarked at Walvis Bay. Their response was overwhelming: they offered to pay all our expenses and invited us on board for brunch and a tour of the ship! Well, did those girls give them a show!! They sang and danced their hearts out for TWO HOURS, while all 1000 students, faculty, administrators and staff filed down the gang plank to chat with them and take their photos. They looked great in the skirts and tops that Cathy and Lyn made for them, and they stole the hearts of all those passengers on Valentine’s Day! The rest of the weekend they spent jumping in the ocean waves and playing on the beach! All weekend they had plenty of delicious food, and arrived back in Windhoek elated and exhausted. Kudos to “Grandmas” Cathy and Lyn who planned and orchestrated the entire trip, from the food to the costumes, and to “Grandpa” Mike and “Miss Volunteer” Barbara for their immense support. I had it easy…..I was just the driver!!! Check out the photos to get the full picture! We hope to have a repeat performance on April 25th when the MS Rotterdam (of the Holland American Cruise Line) comes to Namibia with my dear friends Joe and Sylvia Oakes (and about 1000 others) on board! Maybe after this we should go international?
Miriam’s Dolls
While I keep busy with all the happy little faces at the BNC, Miriam continues to create happy little faces in her home! Living in her corrugated tin shack with no electricity, water or toilet facilities, she is turning out dolls as fast as we can sell them. I am amazed at the precision and individuality she puts into every single “big sister” and “big mama”. They are beautiful! I am hoping that we can continue to sell them all over the USA, Canada, Germany and the UK. Please let me know if you have any connections to shops or friends who are selling fair trade items! I am so proud of Miriam, who works so hard to provide for her family. She re-invests her earnings and saves whenever she can, so that when the time comes to enroll her children in school or to pay medical bills, she’s got it covered. What an inspiration!
The “Bead Ladies”
I can’t talk about Miriam without also promoting the work of some equally industrious and talented women. They are Justa, Julia, Helena, Anna and Elizabeth. They make beautiful bracelets, necklaces, pins, key chains and ornaments out of tiny “seed beads”. This is their only source of income, and although I have tried to market their goods locally, they seem to sell very well outside of the country! Take a look at the photos I have posted, and if you want to order something, just let me know! The ladies can make the bracelets in school colors and put different flags or letters or designs on them. They can customize anything, from key chains to pins to bracelets, so if you want to raise funds and keep these women employed at the same time, let me know!
Girl’s Soccer in Namibia!
For all of you who have been following the development of the “Little Pumpkins”, there’s some GREAT news! The Namibian Football Association hired two dynamic women to focus on a National plan for soccer development, and specifically soccer for young women and girls! They are receiving funding from Unicef, and have asked me to be the director of the Khomas Region Girl’s Under 15 and Under 13 Soccer League. We kicked off the season last week, with teams from all over Windhoek and Katutura. I am so excited about all these young girls playing soccer on a national level! Best of all, they will be able to compete with girls their own age, and play on GRASS FIELDS!!! Fun, fun, fun!!!
The Children’s Center in Rehoboth
A few years ago I was introduced to a woman named Cathy Hampe. She runs a center for physically and mentally disabled children and youth in Rehoboth, a small city about 50 miles south of Windhoek. She has performed a modern day miracle in getting funding for a gorgeous building where the children can come for physical therapy and all sorts of specialized care and attention. She has local and international volunteers who tend to the children, including transportation to and from school in her husband’s old, broken down mini van. This past year the van finally gave out, and Cathy had no way to get the children to the center. The families were simply too poor to hire a private driver, and most public taxi drivers would not even allow them to get into their vehicles. One old lady put her grandson into a wheelbarrow and wheeled him over a mile to get him to the center for his recreation and therapy. It is my dream to somehow raise the funds to provide the center with a newer vehicle that can make the rounds through these poor communities and collect these children and youth and bring them to the center. This might happen through our local Rotary club (of which I am a very active member!) in conjunction with the Lions Club and Round Table Club, or maybe through the collective efforts of my family and friends. If you have any advice or suggestions for me, please don’t hold back!! I hope that before the end of 2009 those kids can count on going to that center every day in a safe, reliable vehicle!
Come and Volunteer!
We have been blessed with so many patient, loving, caring and WONDERFUL volunteers over the past few years, we are planning to develop a VOLUNTEER HALL OF FAME, and have a new inductee every year! All former volunteers will be eligible to cast their votes!! Not only that, but some volunteers have come back two or even THREE times!! Enormous thanks to all of you for all the love you have poured into the hearts of the children at the center. It truly shows in their social and communication skills, their manners, their self esteem and their overall behavior. The children proudly tell visitors that BNC not only stands for the Bernhard Nordkamp Center, but that they ARE the BNC: Best Namibian Children!! Although we do have our occasional set backs and disappointments, the children are amazingly mature and responsible considering the violence, corruption and evil that surrounds them. The center is a haven, a place where nobody is allowed to swear or steal or fight. It is a place of activity, laughter, joy and happiness. It is a place of creativity and freedom. If you have lots of energy and LOVE children, please do consider helping us out. You will receive at least 50 hugs daily, and you WON’T want to leave. I promise you that, too.
An ENORMOUS Thank You!
Here is the part where I thank all of you for making it possible for me to continue my work in Namibia as a volunteer.
Here’s to all of you who keep sending donations even though I am completely remiss with my thank you notes.
Here’s to all of you who do massive collections and send us soccer uniforms and gear to keep thousands of little Namibians proudly outfitted in jerseys from your kids and their friends.
Here’s to all of you who do logistical gymnastics to drop off the donated goods, pack them up and haul them half way across the world so our kids can sit in the library reading “Hop on Pop” and “The Hungry Caterpillar” and other children’s classics.
Here’s to all of you who have “stuffed your rucksack” and come to the center as visitors, and left as true and lasting friends.
Here’s to all of you who have helped in so many ways, too many for me to count in this lifetime, and too numerous for me to ever repay.
Here’s to my parents, my brother and sisters, my cousins, aunties and uncles, my dear friends and my Maryknoll family for NEVER saying “No” to me regardless of the time and work involved. Thanks for taking care of ME and my 350 kids!
Please keep in touch! I don’t have email at home nor at work, so once a week I go to Rick’s house where I stay up all night trying to read all the letters in my inbox. My address is Marybeth_gallagher@yahoo.com. Please be patient if I don’t answer you immediately!
For those of you who are visiting this blogspot for the first time, please read the previous entries to get the full picture. Many of you have asked how you can make financial donations, so here it is:
Tax deductible donations can be made out to: MARYKNOLL FATHERS and mailed to:
John Gallagher
56 Sunset Drive
Ossining, NY 10562.
My darling Dad (aka my personal secretary), will bring the check up to Maryknoll and deposit it into the mission account of Fr. Rick Bauer. Rick will tell me the donor’s name and the amount, and that money will go directly to my work with the children. Unlike his daughter, my Dad is very meticulous about writing thank you notes and promptly posting them!
Big hugs to all of you from all of us in Namibia! Come and visit us, SOON and OFTEN!
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
MaryBeth :)
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