Sponsorship advocate Donna Michalek of West Montrose was so profoundly affected by what she experienced during a trip to Africa she decided to write a children’s book based on her travels.
Speaking at the December congregate dinner hosted by the Seniors’ Centre for Excellence in Drayton, Michalek explained she was not a public speaker but wanted to bring an awareness of the plight of African children to others.
Working with the Canadian division of International Needs, based out of Burlington, Michalek advocates sponsorship of children in the countries served by the organization: Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombia, Ghana, Guatemala, Kenya, Nepal, Uganda and Zambia.
Since 1974, International Needs Canada has been helping vulnerable children through sponsorship and community development programs.
The organization’s founder and visionary Ray Harrison focused on empowering communities by assisting them in developing leadership potential in their own cultures. During the initial partnerships with communities, International Needs workers found that food, clean water and education were desperately needed.
Building up of communities was accomplished by first establishing trust with leaders and government. Empowering people through education, skills training and offering access to health care, clean water and sustainable agriculture, proved to build communities to their potential.
As a Christian development organization, International Needs’ mission is to speak for those who have no voice by committing to the pursuit of freedom from injustice, oppression and persecution.
The organization’s goals are to restore the lives of children through practical care, sponsorship, life skills and coping skills training. By empowering women, children have the hope of a safe home, food, water and an education.
Through a power point presentation Michalek explained sponsorship of children begins when a child enrolls in school. Each sponsored child receives a school uniform and school supplies. The child’s family also receives medical care and food.
“I met Daniel, one of my sponsored children, on my last trip to Africa. The backpack full of school supplies and a solar lantern I gave him was greatly appreciated. As there is no hydro in his village and candles are scarce, the solar lantern provides light in his room at night,” Michalek said.
Michalek went on to explain that families typically live in 10-by-10 foot shacks with a combination living room and kitchen. Parents and daughters sleep in one bedroom and boys sleep in a separate room. Each bedroom houses one bed and most family members sleep on dirt floors. Meals are prepared outdoors over an open flame.
Chicken and pigs roam freely in the yard. The life expectancy of a native African is 30 to 55 years.
School buildings are shacks constructed of corrugated steel. Children walk for miles to and from school on a daily basis. Playground balls are made of collected elastic bands. For many children an education is a ticket out of poverty.
“Kibera Slum in Nairobi is the largest urban slum in Africa. The number of people living in the area is unknown. The slum is separated from the wealthy, high class part of the city by a wall. Emergency workers enter the slum with body guards for protection,” Michalek said.
In 2015, lights were installed in the slum area in hopes of lowering the crime. Residents use a flying toilet consisting of a plastic bag containing human waste, which is thrown out the door into the streets. Streams are polluted with garbage and pigs, chickens and dogs run freely. Shacks resembling shops sell chips, chocolate bars and used clothing.
Inside the slum is the Ebenezer Christian Ministries that operates a Good News Club providing child care and Bible studies. The ministry focuses on the prevention of sex trafficking and abuse prevalent in the area.
“Street boys, are a group of boys who call themselves family. They are not biologically related but collect together. The group care for each other but do not participate in gang activities. The boys live on the streets, sleep under the tables at the farmer’s market and eat discarded rotten produce,” Michalek said.
Michalek also stated that many street boys were addicted to glue sniffing. Sniffing glue purchased from a local shoe factory is an attempt by the boys to cope with the pain and hunger they experience, she explained.
Greeting by hand shaking is avoided to eradicate the spread of germs and is replaced with fist pumps. Rehabilitation of the youth includes ownership in a car wash obtained on a work-to-own basis with groups of four to five youth in partnership.
Michalek’s team included a medical contingent. In a one week period 500 children were received as patients of the clinic. Cases of malaria, mumps, water parasites and malnutrition were treated.
On her flight home from Africa, Michalek began writing a children’s book. The book titled Maji Kijana, Swahili for water boy, describes the author’s experiences with African children. All proceeds from the sale of the book go to water projects in the countries supported by International Needs.
More information on International Needs can be found on the website at www.internationalneeds.ca or by calling 1-888-702-9805. To purchase a book contact Michalek at donna@internationalneeds.ca.
