This week I met three high-school age girls that a few of us are going to sponsor for school. They are all orphaned and living in foster homes that we call kinship foster-care in the states—living with aunts, uncles and extended family. We learned several weeks ago that without sponsors these three girls would have to drop out of school. In the months right before this trip my care was stolen and I experienced many unexpected expenses. For the thirty days before coming to Tz I was living off my credit card, something I find very uncomfortable. I knew the $300 would go a long way for me at the end of the semester so two of us decided to sponsor one student together. I really wanted to meet them since we were are staying so close to them but it was hard too, to feel like I had so much power over their future. The day we met the girls they were very quiet and shy. They do not speak English and it turns out that they do not speak Swahili very well either and they could not really understand our oddly accented attempts to communicate with them. I was worried that they felt forced into coming to meet us and that they might resent how easy it is for us to have such a dramatic impact on their life—almost on a whim. I wanted to talk with them about my own experience in foster-care but I did not want to presume to understand what they are going through. I hope to find a way to sponsor the student Grace and I are paired with through high school and hope that through our letters I can be supportive in other ways.
Jessica Q.
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