Orphans are seen as a burden and unwanted in Zambia.  The mentality is that they are just another mouth to feed which takes away from what I (the caretaker) get to eat.  Because of this the children are moved around all the time when the caretaker gets tired of them.  Tracking all of this information helps our staff in the field know where the child is and what their needs are.  It also means that information can be shared with the US and communicated to the sponsor of a child.

My responsibilities recently have called for me to create processes and systems in which we can determine the most vulnerable kids and prioritize them for sponsorship and ensure they have a spot at Camp LIFE.  The number of kids who get to come to camp is directly proportional to the number of Americans who come with us.  Due to this limitation, we want to make sure that the kids who need it the most get a chance to come to camp.

My other role is to manage our website at www.legacymissions.org.  All the features and stories there are designed to connect potential donors to the heart of our ministry, which is the orphans of Zambia.

Camp LIFE allows more than 8000 kids to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to learn about the theme for that year.  Every year Camp LIFE is different.  The theme in 2008 was peace and we taught the kids Psalm 23 and to proclaim that “the Lord is their Shepherd.”  In 2009 we gave every child a backpack with a Bible inside so they could go and spread the love of Jesus.  In 2010 we sent every child out into the community with bags full of food so they could share the gospel and bless people in their community with food.

Gertrude continued coming to camp each day, but could barely participate and still had a lifeless look in her face.  It wasn’t until the last day of camp that she finally started to crack a smile.  Mindy and I felt a huge burden to make sure Gertrude was taken care of, but she was in a different position than many of the kids we work with.  It is very rare to find an entire family who is HIV positive.  Usually one or both of the parents have died and the kids have been shifted to live with a reluctant aunt, uncle or grandparent.  Taking these kids to live with us full time is no problem because they are usually unwanted anyways.  Gertrude’s situation was different because she lived with two loving parents, but their poverty and illness were the problem.  In order to not break up a happy family we decided not to try and take custody of Gertrude.

The clinic began to provide Gertrude and her family (mother, father and 2 younger brothers) with ARVs which would be the key drug in helping them fight HIV.  In order for ARVs to work though Gertrude had to get a steady diet, which her family struggled to afford.  Mindy and I went to the local market that next week and bought the family a month’s worth of food to help them get started.  Below is a picture of us with the family when we gave them the food.

Three weeks later, we got a call from our health coordinator who had been working very close with the family.  She said Gertrude had been rushed to the hospital the night before because she had terrible diarrhea and was very sick.  We were told that the diarrhea was too much for Gertrude’s body to handle and that she died very early that morning.

God taught us two important lessons through meeting Gertrude.  First is that we all must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us because the night is coming (John 9:4).  The second thing was an affirmation of what He has called us to do.  Gertrude was possibly too far along by the time that we met her, but we were able to bless her and make her smile often in the last few weeks of her life.

Pray for Gertrude’s family and especially for her little brother Junior as we have decided to try and move him under Family Legacy’s custody.

Of the 12 million people in Zambi, half of them are under the age of 16. That means half of the country is children. This huge number is due to the high death rate from extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS. Of the 6 million children in Zambia, more than 1 million of them are orphaned.

Think about all of the people you know over the age of 40. Now imagine a country where the oldest person you know is 40. The average life expectancy in Zambia is 38 years old. This is due to Zambia having the 5th highest death rate in the world.

How many times do you spend a dollar in a day? Chances are you could find a dollar in coins in your car or stuffed into your couch cushions, but in a country with almost 70% unemployment finding a dollar is not as easy. About 86% of the population of Zambia lives on less than $1 a day.