January Update
01/05/09
Dear Friends and Family,
People thought it would be impossible. With a goal of around fifty-four schools in just a short amount of time, VST is making the impossible-possible. This vision would not have been revealed if it were not for VST's willingness to live out Christ and its commitment to love those who have been ignored and forgotten. VST is a Christian organization and yet, it refuses to conform to how Christian organizations have always operated in the past. When I took the flight at O'Hare in August of last year, I knew I did not have all the necessary funds raised. It would have been difficult for anyone to leave, knowing that not all the funds were there. Yet, I realized that this is what VST is all about - if you have a calling to serve, God will provide the necessary means for you to serve. I have not lacked anything here since August. What I gained instead were relationships and a better idea of possible outreach opportunities.
No one is a better example of a person building relationships through an overwhelming outreach opportunity than a special woman I have gotten to know over Christmas Break. It is true that VST is making it possible for all children to get an education, and yet this woman saw a bigger problem in the region and she knew she had to do something about it. About 14% of the population in the Iringa region alone is infected with AIDS. Most of those infected are women and children. I went on a few trips with Mrs. Vinton to the nearby villages and shook the hands of the mothers struggling with the disease. Mrs. Vinton would check on how they were recovering, schedule their follow-up visits to the clinic for ARVs and provide some medication on hand for minor aches and pains. She provides other needs as well such as cow's milk for the mothers who cannot produce milk. She has also taken on the work of buying milk formulas for the mothers who can no longer breastfeed their babies. She also provides mattresses for the grandmothers who only have a thin straw mat and some sheets. The Huruma Bus transport that VST provides all started because of Mrs. Vinton's commitment to tackling the problem by the horn. I have found myself quite overwhelmed at the vastness of her work. To be honest, I probably would be one of the first ones to surrender this work because of its enormity and yet, here is this small, petite woman, refusing to let the giant of a problem take its due course. There is something warrior-like about her. She is fighting it head-on and she refuses to step-down. With her team of eight students, they continue to break the silence of community leaders who refuse to think that there is a problem. However, signs of triumph are slowly emerging.
One sign of victory just happened a few days after Christmas. Madisi School's (Igoda) hopes for a (CTC) clinic site exclusive for AIDS patients in their villages were approved. Now, mothers would not have to travel far to get ARVs. More and more mothers and grandmothers gain their strength back. Once again, they can work on their fields and provide food for the family...
I pause right now to remember Stomaki. He was a father who I saw face-to-face minutes before he died of AIDS. His friends and relatives brought him up the hill to Madisi School on a homemade stretcher. They set him down near the planned site where the (CTC) clinic will be built before riding on a Land Rover to the nearby CTC clinic in Kibao. He never made it. He died just before reaching the clinic.
He was one of the biggest resistors to Mrs. Vinton's work, but, in the end, he understood what this woman truly wanted. She wanted to share the truth.
Love you all,
Anthony
