This weeks mentorship session will touch deep and hopefully ignite, or enhance the healing process that must take place in the life of anybody who has ever lost somebody they love.
For our little ones at FACEZ dealing with grief and loss is often times the least of their concerns with Food, uniforms, friends, acceptance and love being the more immediate, desperate desires.
It breaks my heart.
In an interview with one child who lost her mother at 9 and never knew her father until his funeral the next year when she found herself living with relatives she had never met her entire life; I felt grief so heavy it took everything in me not to break down. Despite all she has been through when I asked what things she desired in life she told me two things: a birth certificate and friends.
I learned that day from this beautiful soft spoken little lady the power of hope, determination and optimism. She looked to the future with a forceful faith that told her things could and would get better
. She wanted friends so she could be happy in school and in her new neighbourhood. She wanted a birth certificate so she could write her grade 7 seven exams, pass and move onto high school when the time came. Passing in school meant she could live a better life she told me. I was in awe.
When I asked her what she remembered about her parents though, she felt silent. I gave her time. When she looked up again tears rolled down her cheeks. I don't think anyone has ever asked her that since the time of the two funerals and maybe even then she was never asked how she felt or how she was. I know our African culture teaches us to 'just be strong'. No concern for feelings. Yet these Feelings when conjured up by a total stranger (me) completely and uncontrollably overwhelmed her.
Grief is real. The loss of a parent can only be earth shattering. To deny any child an opportunity to address these things is to deny them a fair chance at a wholesome life.
We're hoping that this session therefore teaches both the children and their guardians to let it all out, to address and experience their loss and grief and to find ways in which to cope with them until one day they are healed and then they can help the next person heal too.
We're praying for wisdom and sensitivity and grace. Special thanks to Xtreme Teams our qualified facilitators and mentorship partners for taking the lead on this important session.
