SHARE: By Mandie Sodoma, Seattle Pacific University
This first week of Lent, we will be taking a deeper look at the issues of poverty and lack of economic opportunity by following the story of Sylvie Ngandwe and her three children. For the Ngandwe family, life is harsh. Their days drag on around menial tasks that they are forced to complete to survive until life almost seems “worthless.”
Here is their story.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: By Alain Masela Mwaku
The quarry of Kipushi is dusty and noisy. Families dig four to five meters deep in order to find gravel layers, then go through the sieve process to get good quality rocks to sell. Aaron Ngandwe, 11, is working in a quarry of gravel with her young sister Marguerite Ngandwe, 9 years old. The dream of these fatherless children is to be happy with life, like other children.
But their sickly mother Sylvie Ngandwe, 38, cannot afford to provide for them as she has no livelihood other than sifting for rocks. "I’m doing this hard job of little worth with my children, seeking to get our daily bread because of lack of available food," bemoans Sylvie. “After my husband's death two years ago, I was sick in my bed three days, home drinking water without food. My children had to work in the quarry for others to get food and I joined them after my recovery."
“Nobody assisted me. First needs, especially food were a big issue. My children did not go to school because of the high fees,” she says.
“Here under the shiny sun, we are digging gravel, which will be sold if a truck comes to buy it. I have to help my mother, putting our common effort together so that we can have a quantity for us to buy food and soap,” states Aaron.
“The job is really hard for me to handpick gravel in the sand as my duty. I would love to stay home and play with my friends. I feel pity to see my mother working herself,” declares Marguerite.
After sifting through a little heap of gravel, Sylvie can earn about two thousand Congo Franc (US$2.20) per day if a buyer comes. She has to fight hard for daily food and to cover a monthly cost of 8000 CF (US$9.00) to rent a house and US$15.00 to pay school fees for Aaron and Marguerite.
“I encourage my children to go to school. But when they sack them for [not paying] school fees, we spend time together here in the quarry,” says Sylvie.
“We start the job earlier in the morning if I do not go to school and we stop at 4pm,” says Aaron. “We suffer coughs and rheumatism regularly because of dust here. We use to take traditional medicines against the illness and dull night pains after the job. We do not have choice.”
The risk for children and their parents in the quarry includes mudslides. “I have scars on my body due to mudslide accidents," Aaron says. The crowd of women and children who meet in the quarry admit that the mudslides killed women and children a couple of years ago. “Working here is for us to get food and avoid our children wandering the town,” they declare.
Sylvie also has to work in the quarry with her last daughter Songa Songa, 3, who has a cold. “I bring her with me here because nobody can keep her at home.”
Sylvie is seeking business capital to sustain her family livelihood instead of the quarry. “As a widow, I dream to buy fish and resell in the market so that I can generate a profit. I’m seeking capital to start this and completely abandon my current job. Indeed, my children will stay home and I would be able to feed them and pay school fees for them. However, I lack money to start,” reiterates Sylvie. “I can also farm crops and potatoes if I get seeds and fertilizers," she adds.
Sylvie’s children are registered to Mwanga primary school but cannot afford school fees, though their mother has provided uniforms and school supplies.
Sylvie would also like to buy blankets for her children as it is cold at night, but her income doesn't allow for it.
The children live a hard life yet have high hopes. “My dream is to become a doctor,” says Aaron. "I will be a dressmaker," says Marguerite. The family eats once a day after the quarry jobs. Marguerite’s wish, however, is to eat twice a day.
REFLECTION:
Sylvie and her two oldest children work all day sifting through rocks in a quarry. They barely earn enough money for one simple meal each day and to cover the monthly rent. Along with that, the two older children are unable to attend school and gain an education. Their lives are not worthless; but being trapped in such circumstances can make a person question the point of existence. To step into Sylvie’s life and experience a lack of “worth” this week, we will be going without something physical.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S EXPERIENCE:
• Eat only $14 worth of food this week. Some simple meals would include rice, vegetables, and beans.
• Live simply. Don’t use things or luxuries that are unnecessary for your daily activities such as shampoo, pillows or socks. Don’t buy new things or spend money eating out this week.
• Pick a day to fast (or a specific meal each day). During your normal meal times, reflect upon this issue of poverty and hunger. Pray for families like Sylvie’s around the world.
These are merely suggestions. If you have ideas of what might work better for you or would like to approach the experience in a different way, go for it! Feel free to get creative. (Share your ideas on our Facebook page) And join us this week as we seek God and give up some physical worth to better understand this story.
- Mandie Sodoma is a junior at Seattle Pacific University in the Global Development Studies program. She is involved with World Vision ACT:S National Leadership Council and has an interest in the use of photography and written media as a form of creative activism.
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