ncp

last saturday i had the priveledge of getting to visit a neighborhood care point, or ncp. these are stations set up around the country to help care for orphaned and vulnerable children (ovc). this particular ncp was at hope house, an assemblies of god church. the pastor also runs an orphanage where they care for 36 children.

we got to meet his wife and relax in their home and enjoy tea and biscuits and watch finding nemo with two of their adorable children, deborah and abigail. this is because we showed up at 11, thinking that there was a service before the children began arriving at 2. unfortunately, there was a miscommunication, so we were left standing out on the hillside until someone spotted us and directed us to the pastor's home. but the wait was lovely, as it was a gorgeous sunny day and we had hiked halfway up a mountain to get there, so the view was just spectacular.

it was also interesting to talk with the pastors wife about the orphanage and the challenges that they face. it was also a good connection, since when she found out where i was from, she invited the fbs health team to come and do a presentation at their church.

the church women who do the cooking arrived around one, and started a fire under the huge black three-legged pot donated by unicef. the pot contained 8 packets of protein-fortified dehydrated vegetable blend, and ahuge quantity of water. looking at the flakes in the boxes donated by usaid, i was skeptical. but as the pot began to bubble, the contents started smelling rather delicious.

the kids began arriving and were herded into a half-finished concrete structure, which will become the new ncp kitchen when it is completed. (for now, they just cook outside.) for half an hour, i enjoyed singing praise songs and listening to the children memorize bible verses. the atmosphere was really fun and upbeat. it was also encouraging because i could sing along to most of the songs, thanks to our nightly prayer times at home which always include a lot of singing.

then the food was ready, and the children lined up with tin plates and spoons to receive a ladle of veggie blend. as they settled down to eat, i peeked into the pot and saw that there was quite a bit left. i scrounged up a cup and the ladies laughingly dished some out for me. i was pleasantly surprised, since the mixture turned out to taste like mashed potatoes with carrots and beef added. which is exactly what it was, fortified with a bunch of b vitamins. apparantly the kids really like it too, because quite a few of them headed back for seconds.

besides getting a solid meal, the ncp also keeps track of vital health stats for the children, and these statistics determine how much food the ncp receives. if a lot of the kids are malnourished, for example, the ncp will receive more food next month. my fellow salter trevor/themba works with the church forum on hiv/aids, coordinating the monitoring of ncps. so after this experience, i'm totally jealous of his job!

so after spending five hours on a mountainside in motjane (just 10 km from the south african border) i was quite sunburned but also very encouraged. it was wonderful to see such a concrete expression of love and care. joy was evident in every party, from the kind and energetic sunday school teacher to the enthusiasm of the children to the care and concern of the pastor and his wife to the friendliness of the cooks.