Yesterday afternoon we finished up at Nightingales and headed up the hill to Saint Lawrence’s Hospice. More like a family home, it was comforting and warm. It was managed by an English woman called Kathy. She had been there for 13 years and was really cool. The kids were shown the video that they made a few weeks ago and they all enjoyed it. It’s amazing what joy self shot videos can bring. I started to show them how to make a dragon from their hands and then how to make a origami swan. That took a while, with 10 people and vary degrees of kids having special needs, but we managed and they all enjoyed it. An impromptu dance session followed as music blared. Kathy, Warren and myself shaked our booty a little. We were asked to stay for dinner, and I don’t think it had anything to do with our dancing moves. Warren knew most of the kids for 10 years. Most probably because of Kathy, all of them were extremely well mannered and hospitable.
Earlier in the day, Ben had asked me to talk to Mareuka about possibilities of her continuing to do video work and the possibilities of a career in the industry. She came over later in the evening and we all had a chat about it. We found out that she wanted to do a documentary about ‘orphans’ in the home they are living in. We all found this to be a good subject for her to pursue. Me and Warren said we would help her if she wanted to. I suggested that she should shoot as much as possible and understand and learn through her shooting. She has time to learn the basics before embarking on making something more ‘proper’. During her time at the house, Mareuka didn’t ask me anything and she barely looked at me. Whether it was shyness or scepticism, she still came over and she still listened, which is the main thing and, it’s a start. She did however, say thank you at the end.
Later, over a beer after we talked about witnessing the deaths of children with AIDS. Both Ben and warren had experienced this over the years in various places they have worked in. It was said that children deal with it much better than the adults. They have had their friends die around them throughout their lives.
Some of the kids aren’t orphans as such. Many were abandoned soon after birth and actually have families and siblings. Abandoned due to being HIV and poverty (many families not being ale to afford the drugs). Mareuka has lived in homes her whole life, and her ‘families’ resided in those homes. Despite Nightingales promoting the idea that the teens can and should see their families, some do not want to.
It is totally understandable why some of these kids have learning difficulties and some have behavioural problems. If I was abandoned at birth because I had HIV, then lived in several homes, never having any privacy living in dorms my whole life, knowing I had a family somewhere that I couldn’t live with, seeing my friends die around me, not knowing if I had a future because I might die from catching a cold; I would seek attention all the time and have severe behavioural problems too.
- J
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