Childrens' Outreach in Tongwa

Last weekend we did our first overnight visit to the village Tongwa.  It was about a 3-hour boat ride from Mpulungu.  As the boat pulled onto the rocky shore all the village children had time to gather to greet us.  The instant we set foot on land we were immediately surrounded by tons of kids wanting to hold our hands and practice saying “how are you” to us, since that’s pretty much the only English they know.  I love kids and I love hugs and hand holding, but I’ll admit I was a little nervous about all the germs since soap doesn’t exist in villages like Tongwa.  Needless to say, we carried hand sanitizer with us at all times.

The purpose of the village visit was to do children’s ministry.  Outreach groups go to Tongwa on a pretty regular basis to teach the children Bible stories, songs, games, and the like.  So we spent a day and a half doing just that.  Susanna and I prepared a lesson on what it means to be a good friend.  Sadly, in places like that there is a lot of fighting amongst the children and it’s not uncommon to see one child haul off and slap someone else right in the face.  We told the story of the Good Samaritan and acted it out with the help of some of our Zambian friends.  To make the story a bit more relatable we changed a few details and re-titled it “The Good Congolese Woman.”  Instead of a priest and a Levite, it was a headman and witch doctor that went ignored the hurt man on the road.  Instead of a Samaritan man, it was a Congolese woman who helped him.  The kids seemed to enjoy the story, and through our translator I was able to tell that they understood the message.  After the story we all played a huge game of kickball, which was thoroughly entertaining for everyone.

All the boys played soccer (football) with some of the older kids in the village.

 It’s hard for me to imagine life in a village like that.  It’s one thing for us to go for one or two nights, but to live there permanently?  There’s no electricity, running water, real bathrooms, or healthcare, and every day is a fight for survival.  We visited the health clinic where we saw a very empty-looking supply shelf where all the medicines they need should be. Life for people there is a constant cycle of carrying water, cooking food, and washing clothes, only to start over again the next day.  It’s the same thing day in and day out.  I can’t imagine a life without books!  Since education is not highly valued in places like this, many children don’t go to school at all, or if they do it’s only for a few years.  It’s amazing to me that places like this exist in the same world as laptops and microwave dinners.  When we go to places like that it feels like we’ve gone back in time a few thousand years!    

The very empty supply shelf in the health clinic.

Cooking dinner over a fire.