Beauty and Dignity

It’s impossible to imagine the bleakness of Sector 30 – the area where Tabitha Center is located.  The houses are made of the same sand and dirt as the ground and they fade into one drab color.  The poverty is overwhelming, so there is nothing apart from the basic items that help them survive from day to day to add color.  In our devotion today we were talking about I Peter 3, and the importance of inward beauty.  We spent most of the morning talking about what that meant while we made paper flowers as a reminder of that inward beauty.  It took the women almost 3 hours to make their flower.  These women use their hands for pounding grain, washing clothes, building fires, and making food.  Most do not know how to use scissors, write their name, or draw.  The flowers were made of eight squares of red and pink paper that we folded into petals.  It was not easy for them, but they had a blast working at it!   Here’s the finished product:

Today was an affirmation in the importance of dignity.  I started bringing bread with me because I know that not every woman and child had something to eat that morning.  In a situation like Tabitha House where the women are so poor, they are usually treated as children who must wait until someone of authority comes and puts something in their hands.  I feel that is demeaning– they are grown women and should be treated as such no matter their status in life.  Monday was the first time I brought in bread.  I broke it into pieces and invited them to come up anytime during the morning when they were ready for some.  At first no one moved, just sat with puzzled faces.  Finally one woman went to the table to get her piece.  After that all the women rushed to the bread.  This reaction is why many feel they have to hand items out, but if you’ve always been treated as children it’s hard not to react like that.  Today was the second day.  Instead of all rushing up at once, they took their time and picked up a piece whenever they were ready for it.  My hope is to always treat them with dignity and love, and today proved that they will rise to that when given the opportunity.

As I was driving out of Tabitha House, one of the women stopped me on the road and handed me a letter to read.  Since she does not know how to read or write, she had a friend write it for her.  She regularly attends Tabitha House and is a very quiet and withdrawn woman, always siting in the back away from the other women.   When she gave birth to her baby about three months ago she had complications and had to have surgery, which forced her to quit her job.  Her husband has been in Fada for about 6 months now (probably went there to find work) and has not sent her any money.  Her neighbor has been giving her what little she can to eat.  The letter was a request for help.  As I watched her I could tell that asking for money was embarrassing and something she didn’t want to do. I gave her a hug and a kiss in hopes that she wouldn’t feel bad and then gave her the money I had left in my wallet – 8,000 cfa which equates to about $4.00 but a small fortune for her, and asked if we could give her a ride home.  She wanted to go to the main road where there are stands of food and merchandise so that she could buy food.  That is where we dropped her off.  Looking back at her I kept thinking:  Can you imagine being left alone in such a destitute place with no money to buy food?  This is a very hard country.

Burkina Faso is alive with soccer!  They made it to the semi-finals and will play Ghana this evening.  Our neighbors set up a TV in the road so that friends can come together and watch the game.  The TV is small, so they all have to scrunch in to see the screen.  They started partying around 10 a.m. and who knows when it will end tonight!  When Burkina Faso scores, you can hear the roar of cheering all over the city.  It’s nice to have something to cheer about!