My previous posts about my dream vacation in Zambia have painted a picture (as best I can) of what now seems to me like my very own Eden. Beauty, wildlife, nature and the friendliest and happiest people I have ever met in my life.
The people of Zambia are so happy. They are always smiling and quick to laugh. And to be quite honest, why wouldn't you be happy living there?
But, I wouldn't be telling the whole story if I didn't touch on the fact that there is poverty and sickness. And ignorance. But I would also be lying if I didn't say - I've seen worse. I visited quite a lot of Zambia - Lusaka, Mfuwe, Livinstone, Solwezi and Lumwana. Solwezi was bad.
One of the traits that drew me to the McPhees when I first met them was our shared sense that we should do what we can to help others. I don't like to get all preachy and self-righteous. I just figure I'll do what I can and hopefully, some good will come of it. Colleen and Ian are of the same mind set.
So, it was not surprising that Colleen found herself working with her community when a little girl desperately needed help.
"Ellie" is 8 years old and lived with a relative on the mine site. It is thought that she had been used almost as a slave to her relatives - made to work and take care of the younger children.
Last fall Ellie's screams brought people running to find that she had been raped by her uncle. He was actually zipping up his pants. She was taken to the clinic, examined and it was confirmed. The man was arrested and charged. It was also suspected that this had happened before.
Ellie's family was quite upset - upset that the uncle had been charged with a crime and would lose his job at the mine. It was their belief that Ellie should be taken to the witch doctor - to be killed.
At this point the local women's shelter intervened and took Ellie in order to protect her from her family. Colleen and others got involved.
Staying at a women's shelter was not an ideal place for an 8 year old girl suffering from nightmares and anxiety. A family down the street from Coll & Ian took a special interest in Ellie. They had two children, a boy and girl. Ellie began spending more and more time there. The authorities were happy to let her stay. Ellie's nightmares subsided and she began acting like a normal little girl.
I cried when I met Ellie on my first day at the site as she gave me a hug in greeting. I blamed my allergies. Over the next few days I watched her carefully. She was energetic, played with the other kids and Coll's iPad. She practiced her English and modeled her new clothes for us.
While Coll and others tried to figure out how to pay to send Ellie to Lusaka to boarding school in an attempt to get her away from the people who wanted her dead, Coll's neighbors made the decision to try to adopt her once the trial was over. It seemed the perfect solution and when I left Lumwana, I was cautiously optimistic about Ellie's future.
The justice system works more quickly in that part of the world and just last week the man who raped Ellie was tried and convicted. His sentence was community service and a fine.
Her family located a long, lost relative who has now come forward and wants Ellie to come live with her. Like here, blood relatives seem to get the benefit of the doubt - even if it isn't always in the best interest of the child.
Ellie's fate is in limbo at the moment. The "family" who has protected her for the last couple of months is not quite ready to give up on her.
Ellie could be any child from any country. Her story is really no different from the kids I know through Eddie's Road - except maybe for the witch doctor part. Every single girl in our program has been sexually abused. And in most cases, the biological family is the root of the problem.
So what do you do? Well, you just keep trying .... and you never give up on them. Maybe Ellie's story will have a happy ending.
We'll see...
The people of Zambia are so happy. They are always smiling and quick to laugh. And to be quite honest, why wouldn't you be happy living there?
But, I wouldn't be telling the whole story if I didn't touch on the fact that there is poverty and sickness. And ignorance. But I would also be lying if I didn't say - I've seen worse. I visited quite a lot of Zambia - Lusaka, Mfuwe, Livinstone, Solwezi and Lumwana. Solwezi was bad.
One of the traits that drew me to the McPhees when I first met them was our shared sense that we should do what we can to help others. I don't like to get all preachy and self-righteous. I just figure I'll do what I can and hopefully, some good will come of it. Colleen and Ian are of the same mind set.
So, it was not surprising that Colleen found herself working with her community when a little girl desperately needed help.
"Ellie" is 8 years old and lived with a relative on the mine site. It is thought that she had been used almost as a slave to her relatives - made to work and take care of the younger children.
Last fall Ellie's screams brought people running to find that she had been raped by her uncle. He was actually zipping up his pants. She was taken to the clinic, examined and it was confirmed. The man was arrested and charged. It was also suspected that this had happened before.
Ellie's family was quite upset - upset that the uncle had been charged with a crime and would lose his job at the mine. It was their belief that Ellie should be taken to the witch doctor - to be killed.
At this point the local women's shelter intervened and took Ellie in order to protect her from her family. Colleen and others got involved.
Staying at a women's shelter was not an ideal place for an 8 year old girl suffering from nightmares and anxiety. A family down the street from Coll & Ian took a special interest in Ellie. They had two children, a boy and girl. Ellie began spending more and more time there. The authorities were happy to let her stay. Ellie's nightmares subsided and she began acting like a normal little girl.
I cried when I met Ellie on my first day at the site as she gave me a hug in greeting. I blamed my allergies. Over the next few days I watched her carefully. She was energetic, played with the other kids and Coll's iPad. She practiced her English and modeled her new clothes for us.
While Coll and others tried to figure out how to pay to send Ellie to Lusaka to boarding school in an attempt to get her away from the people who wanted her dead, Coll's neighbors made the decision to try to adopt her once the trial was over. It seemed the perfect solution and when I left Lumwana, I was cautiously optimistic about Ellie's future.
The justice system works more quickly in that part of the world and just last week the man who raped Ellie was tried and convicted. His sentence was community service and a fine.
Her family located a long, lost relative who has now come forward and wants Ellie to come live with her. Like here, blood relatives seem to get the benefit of the doubt - even if it isn't always in the best interest of the child.
Ellie's fate is in limbo at the moment. The "family" who has protected her for the last couple of months is not quite ready to give up on her.
Ellie could be any child from any country. Her story is really no different from the kids I know through Eddie's Road - except maybe for the witch doctor part. Every single girl in our program has been sexually abused. And in most cases, the biological family is the root of the problem.
So what do you do? Well, you just keep trying .... and you never give up on them. Maybe Ellie's story will have a happy ending.
We'll see...
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