Nur

“See, she can walk now!” the house mother says proudly, “Her progress has been slow, but she will live now!”

Nur toddles over, smiling her sweet, crooked smile. She is clearly small and frail for her age, but the light has come back into her eyes. The house mother takes me to the other children too.

“If we didn’t have the peanut project, we couldn’t help them,” she states, matter-of-factedly. “We widows grow the peanuts and soybeans, and pound them together into paste. When the children who are starving are given the mix, they recover. It’s that simple.”

She is modest. There is more to it than that. These widows have taken in starving orphans, and not only grow the food to feed them, and work to prepare it, but also take care of all the children’s needs. There is usually lice, and sore, and an almost animal like behavior that comes with gathering children who have been left to die. And the children who have been here longer help. It is clear that they have picked up on the atmosphere of love and caring.

“War does this,” she reminds me, “but these children are the fortunate ones. They will come through. They will becomes strong and build a new nation in the future. Now what we pray for is more land to be able to increase the project. There are too many children waiting to be fed!”