The evening before our final day at the Care Point, the skies grew ominous and cracked open. Oh how it rained down in Africa. The quick jump from the bus to the hotel left us soaked through and sloshing in our shoes.
Through the night, great booms of thunder startled you awake. The rain was fascinating and incredibly loud, like white noise gone wild. The African thunder seemed louder and huskier and much more exciting than our good old American storms that are over-hyped before they even happen.
It was hard to fall back asleep. We lay in our beds with a roof over our heads and thought about Mage (Mother) Shoba.
Sbongile Shoba is one of the five women who serves and cooks at Mkhombokati each day. She also teaches the little ones each morning. The preschoolers sit in small, plastic red chairs and one by one she has them say “My name is Kosaphayo. I am a girl. I am four years old.”She has them recite the days of the week and shapes and colors and numbers.
Seven children live in her one-room house. The house is made of mud and stone and is held up by a stick. It is broken apart in places. Everyone sleeps on the dirt. When it rains, Mage Shoba stays up all night, holding a blanket over the open areas the best she can. She doesn't have the resources to fix her house, never mind build a new one.
It is this image that kept us awake.
That morning as I walked down to breakfast, I saw this in the hallway.
Team members had begun selling their shoes to one another in an effort to raise money to build Mage Shoba a new home. I felt a fresh wave of love for this humble, generous team.
When we arrived at the Care Point, Mage Shoba was in her usual spot, smiling and nodding, helping to prepare the sour porridge for breakfast and showing no signs of the long, cold and wet night she had. It was a relief to see her and to squeeze her extra tight.
Each time it rains I think we will all remember her and picture her holding up that blanket. We’ll ask God to bless her with the beauty of a rainbow and the miracle of a pot of gold at the end of it.
- Tara R.
