I woke up thinking of them. The kids in Deir Alla in the
Jordanian river valley are the most concerning. They are living in the worst
conditions. We were there near the end of March and the temperature was 89°F. I
wonder what will the temperature be in the August. And how they will survive.
Will the water be enough?
Their bathroom was a big hole in a tent. You can never approach
without masking up. There were flies everywhere. The smell was unbearable. The
place was filthy. It is very easy for a kid to fall and get lost in one of
these holes.
They were finally able to engage the kids and set up a coloring
competition. Papers of coloring books and crayons were on their laps or on the
ground. There were no seats, no desks, and no clipboards. There were just kids
with their papers and crayons without support on the ground.
Three kids won the reward for best coloring and got prizes. But
even in their success there was sadness in their eyes. They have great
potentials but some are not going to school, some probably by their parents’
choice. They want to play and they want to learn but who is going to help the
parents earn? Who is going to help the single mother? Or the father who is
crippled by his neuropathic pain related to his posttraumatic stress?
One or two kids are not happy that we came. They have the ulcer
and they will get an injection. The endless screaming and the running away from
the needle and the final succumb hurt ones heart. We are set to put a smile on
each kids face. For those two, we are saving their smiles for the future when
they look at their unscarred face in the mirror.
Children coloring for the competition
Omar was one of the winner
Iman was another winner but she was too shy for a picture
The boy with leishmaniasis on his face was not happy
