Field trip to Burunda

On Wednesday, our school traveled a few miles away to another children's home in Burunda to play soccer. When we arrived, one of our new girls, Lillian, found her little sister, whom she has not seen for some time. Lillian became extremely upset as her sister was very dirty. She bathed her then clothed her with clean clothes, giving her the jacket off her back and the only flip-flops to her name. Lillian continued to cry for the next hour. She seemed so overwhelmed to have found her sister. The two girls became inseparable. I watched them the entire time, smiling at how adorable they are, but my heart was breaking as I realized that they probably have no other family.

When time to leave, I asked a Challenge Farm co-worker what would happen to the sisters. I knew that nothing could prevent Lillian from leaving her little sister. The determined look in her eyes indicated that she would give up being at Challenge Farm in order to stay with her sister. Tears began to well up in my eyes as the Kenyan workers tried their best to split up the girls. The girls swatted off their hands as though they were the peskiest of flies. I quickly knelt down and put my arms around the both of them. I was not about to leave without bringing these girls with me. I became just as determined as they were, swatting off the Kenyan men, exclaiming that they were not being sensitive to these sisters. I was furious and probably being a little dramatic. My co-worker quickly called our director to get permission to bring Lillian’s sister back with us. He got off the phone and gave the nod. Yes! Everyone’s mood changed and we headed back to our home with one more member to the family.

The last picture is of Lillian and her sister.