Mother Bear Project

This week I had to opportunity to be a part of what I would consider pretty special.  About two months ago when I visited the Drakensburg Mountains in South Africa, we got to help pass out homemade/hand-knit teddy bears to a whole bunch of the pre school kids in the Peace Corp volunteers area.  I was able to get a hold of the contact information for the lady that is in charge of this charity.  Her name is Amy and she runs the Mother Bear Project sending hundreds of bears around the world for little orphans or children in poor neighborhoods.  So I got her contact and I emailed her enquiring about the bears... She was fantastic and about week later I got an email saying "bears in the air!' basically meaning she had just shipped me 100 bears to pass out to my kiddos.  They showed up promptly two weeks later at the university post office.  An hour later a very confused employee and lots of awkward walking with extra large boxes, I ended up with boxes of bears taking up 80% of my small dorm room.

I volunteer with a few other exchange students from UB that were stoked to pass them out, we kept it a surprise which was way fun because when we showed up on Monday and told the lady in charge that each kid was going to get a bear, she was almost in tears.  It was so cool.  So after the little kiddies took their naps and ate their snacks we got them all in line and gave them each a bear.  I feel like the best way to describe the experience is pictures, even though it is somewhat impossible to get these kids to smile in pictures- every kid loved their bears and it was fun to be able to say that I (sort of) made it happen.  

This is the day care we volunteer at.

I know that is about 20 pictures but every time I look at them I realize how lucky I am to be able to volunteer with these amazing kids.  If I could have one prayer for these kids it would be for them all to find comfort and kindness.  They have all grown up and seen more in their short life times then I could imagine dealing with in mine.  I wish they could all have the innocents and security I was privileged with as a kid but unfortunately that is not the case... behind these smiles are 4 year old boys that will grow up without mothers or fathers because completely preventable diseases have stolen them,  there are 10 year old girls that have been abused and taken advantage of by people that have a need for power and use anger as an outlet, there are girls in 6th grade that have had to assume the mother role in the house, kids that go to bed with empty stomachs every night, there are 12 year old boys that use violence as a way of getting attention because that is what they see at home, there are 3 year old girls that were born HIV positive without a chance to choose herself and all 100 of these kids will live the rest of their lives fighting to stay alive, to succeed, to get out of the poverty that they were born into.  These kids are the reason I want to travel to third world countries instead of going on cruises, these kids are the reason I want to join the Peace Corp and start my own non profit.   These kids are the reason I am working so hard to be successful one day, these kids (and kids like them all over the world) deserve more then they are afforded. They are my heroes, my motivation, my inspiration, my life. And I have come to discover that even that few hours a week makes all the difference in the world- if all I can say is that I gave 100 kids a hug every week and a teddy bear to hug when I'm not there, I am going to call this study abroad worth something.  

I am blessed. And I am thankful.