Day Three with ASAH Girls

Friday, July 8

Watching the long-legged Dinka girls stroll toward us is like watching waves ebb and flow. Mindful of the heat, their steps are slow, their arms swinging, relaxed and rhythmic. Today we had spectators. Eight orphan girls, all hoping to join the program. I'm excited to get home and share photos and stories with the sponsors we have for some of our initial group—but we still need sponsors. To expand our program, requires additional costs for construction and staff. Your financial contributions will give this community and other neighboring villages an opportunity to watch these young girls develop into educated women with skills that will help their country develop.

I invited the tag-a-long girls to stand around our circle. We don't have enough chairs for them. For today's program we invited Lillian and Latifah, two MEDAIR employees who are working with the clinic on a nutrition program, to give our girls a lesson on health and hygiene. Lillian is Kenyan, and though Latifah is Sudanese, she doesn't speak Dinka, so Abraham Ring, one of the clinic nurses, translated, and made it participatory for the girls, who knew why they keep their hair shaved or very short—to protect from lice, why they washed their hands and faces—to protect from conjunctivitis, and so on.

Each day we share biscuits—and we included the new girls today, which means we can probably expect them again Monday. And we ended the day with Dodge Ball played with multiple balls—soccer and otherwise. Much laughing ensued.