Part 2: Terrence
A very special moment for me during my time at the orphanage is when I first met Terrence. He is 11 and the oldest child at the orphanage but I could immediately see he had a natural ability to be very caring to the others, taking on the role of ‘older brother’ and helping to look after the younger children as if they were his own siblings.
He would sit and practice his writing with a quiet, pensive attitude often deep in thought, asking questions and always looking for answers. I can’t imagine how I would have coped at such a young age with the loss of both my parents, surrounded by poverty and little hope but Terrence, like all the orphans, showed amazing resilience. His kindness, maturity, sense of friendliness and talent at football was admirable and made me respect him even more.
I spent a great deal of time with all the orphans but Terrence won a special place in my heart and I particularly enjoyed playing and talking with him. In that short time we developed a close bond and I decided along with my family to sponsor him through his time at the orphanage.
I know in my heart he will one day be an amazing role model in his community and make a huge difference to all those around him. I also know that with our sponsorship, he has the security of being able to stay at the orphanage until he is ready to leave as an adult and find his place in the world, as I am now having just left school.
He too has dreams of becoming a doctor and I truly wish that we will be able to help him make his dream come true, along with all the dreams and hopes of all these orphans. Many of my friends also pledged to sponsor some of the other orphans.
Modern technology does have its ups. We left a phone at the orphanage for us to be able to message the children. So Terrence and I as well as my family now WhatsApp each other through this phone which is amazing as he has learnt all about us and our lives and we can hear about everything he is up to.
One evening he sent over a video of himself dancing which brought back some wonderful memories of the hour long African dance we had with the children on our last day.
Most importantly Terrence knows that we are there for him. The same goes for all the orphans as we have all made some lifelong connections with these children. I have been really impressed by their ability to understand my messages and send over well written responses in England. This is thanks to Amanda who helped increase the number of English lessons they get per week which should give them a great advantage in higher education and life beyond. That makes me so happy as Terrence is the epitome of a model student with his desire to learn. This has in turn has pushed me to improve my Bemba, which I was really poor at when I visited.
Our trip to Cam’s Orphanage was a magical time as one generation raised thousands of miles apart in every sense of the word were brought together. That last day as we waved goodbye to the orphans, my heart sank, as the joyful brave face Terrence put on finally broke and I saw him crying with his best friend Mishek and all the other orphans. Leaving Mkushi was one of the most painful things I have ever had to do but I have promised myself that I will return as there is so much more I can give back to this amazing community.
