So, today we started off by buying supplies for goody bags for patients at the Hospice. On the drive to the Hospice we began making the goody bags via supply line. Before we knew it all 2o bags were complete. Then we had gotten extra goodies for Peter the boy with T.B of the spine whom we had been communicating with in between visits. Once we arrived we were welcomed by several Sisters. We then met the infamous Peter; he is in a wheelchair and is almost 17 but in 7th grade. We were then divided into two groups to visit all twenty patients in the Hospice. First I went to go visit the women patients. First I met a woman named Precious who had been in the Hospice for 3 months and had four children as well as had a foster child. She was sitting in her bed and had immense trouble moving as well. Then I moved to the opposite side of the room where there was an extremely gaunt looking woman who liked around the age of 50 and was withering away; she spoke not a single word or English and hardly any of the nurses understood a word she was saying. It turns out that her story was that she had a stroke as well as she had been found in a ditch starving herself to death. They took her in to help save her life, from what they had discovered she has no family to stay with and basically no one out there for her.
The stories we heard were extremely depressing and made your heart sink. I wanted to help everyone and say that they would be better but I didn't want to give them false hope. I tried to keep myself composed throughout our visit but on the drive to the clinic I fell asleep. When I woke up outside of the gates to the Clinic was a wave of children who had hopeful faces to receive shoes. We went into the Clinic where I met Sister Grace for the second time. This portion of the trip the shoe give away I had been organizing with Sydney for a few months before the trip began. I was so excited to watch all of work be paid of with a large group of happy children. Sister Grace had invited about 40 needy children who needed shoes to walk to school. We set up the shoes in a matter of 10 or so minutes and in less than 10 minutes. Though after helping a few children find shoes that they fit into like Cinderella and her glass slipper. There were no more small shoes left and tons of small feet wanting and needing shoes. We did not have enough shoes for all of the kids who needed shoes. I was more than willing to take the shoes off of my feet if a kid needed my size. No kid needed my size and I felt so badly that I couldn't help but then I had to remind myself that I had helped many more with all the shoes we were able to give away. Once all the shoes had been given away all of the children still waited outside of the clinic doors some with happy faces and some with extremely sad faces. I wish I could have seen a crowd of all happy faces I wish we had been able to give all of the children shoes; but the reality was that we couldn't but at least we helped some. After, we walked through the wave of children we began our walk home surrounded by tons of children. On the walk I was able to unwind and take account of a very intense day.
-Sophie
P.S. Love all you back home...
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