By Maysen Marolda
Staff Writer
Costa junior Reyna Workman and her cousin Annabelle Trento took community service out of “the bubble” and traveled to Grace Village in Sierra Leone, Africa, to administrate a day camp for young orphans.
Workman’s church in Chico, California, has a partner church in Sierra Leone, which allowed Workman and Trento to supervise young orphans ages four to 15 while their grandfather trained pastors. The two lived in a compound, a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, where the living conditions were of poor quality, Workman said.
“The trip opened my eyes to the fact that here in Manhattan Beach we over-dramatize our problems,” Workman said. “We don’t realize that there are people halfway across the world who struggle to get clean water or shoes on their feet.”
According to Willamette International, a short-term mission organization that provides healthcare to communities in support of the local church, any or almost all of the orphans parents had died from the deadly ebola outbreak. The normal custom for children who lost their parents in Sierra Leone is for the children to be taken in by extended family, however, orphans are often not accepted by their extended family because of the fear that they have been “tainted” by disease. As a result, they end up as orphans at Grace Village.
“The kids are so thankful to have Grace Village where they are able to have a childhood and have fun, even though they have already faced unimaginable heartbreaking tragedies,” Workman said. “Even though they do not have blood relatives, everyone at Grace Village becomes one big family that works to provide an enjoyable atmosphere everyday.”
During a typical day at the camp, both girls would teach a bible story lesson to the kids. Afterwards, the kids would draw in their journals what they learned from the lesson. At the end of the day, Workman and Trento would teach a game, such as kickball or tetherball, paint their nails, or take pictures.
“My favorite part about running the camp was that the kids had so much love to give, regardless of their situation,” Workman said. “They were so grateful to have us there and all they wanted to do was please us and have fun, which was what made them such a joy to be around.”
The orphans presently live in conditions where they may be as many as three people per bed, Workman said. To improve their quality of life, Workman’s church is currently building a new village in Sierra Leone to accommodate the orphans, which will be finished within the next few months.
“I think the orphans will be extremely happy to have a new home that will be nicer than what they have at the moment,” Workman said. “I hope that the kids will feel safe and comfortable in the new village as they have already been through so much throughout their lives.”
Workman did not want to get too attached to the kids so that the goodbye at the end would not be as heartbreaking, she said. However, despite the language barrier, a strong bond was created between the two, so the final goodbye was emotional.
“The kids at the camp taught me so many valuable life lessons that I will forever be grateful for,” Workman said. “They taught me to not be so materialistic, make relationships deeper, to not take anything for granted, and to embrace everything.”
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