The heroes of this part of the world are the grandmothers. Full stop. The stories of grannies taking care of the children left behind after the death of parents abound. Today, we met Mabula, the grandmother of a St. Brendan’s student. She welcomed her three grandchildren into her home after the deaths of both her daughter and son-in-law. She cannot read or write but is determined to give her grandchildren opportunities for an education. She enrolled her eldest granddaughter,

Our good friend Sr. Sally Duigan invited us to visit and help out a little at Holy Family Care Center in Ofcalaco, South Africa. It’s a facility run by Our Lady of the Sacred Heart sisters and was opened more than 25 years ago as a home for mothers and children who were dying of AIDS. It was a last stop refuge where the sick were cared for in a loving environment and allowed to die a peaceful death knowing that their children would also receive comfort and care. We first visi

This year, as we were preparing for our annual visit to Africa, good friends gave us a bin full of Beanie Babies to bring along. We stuffed as many as we could into every available space, some even getting to ride comfortably in our carry-on backpacks. The Beanie Babies have made a happy addition to the Bakhita Outreach visits that we make each year. As we go out to villages to see the children being supported by Bakhita Charities, we take each girl her gift bag, specially pr

We met Molatelo when she came to Bakhita Village at age 7. She and her sister were living on their own after the death of their mother. Various extended family members occasionally offered help to the girls, but most of the time they were on their own and had to rely on neighbors for food and water. The two sisters were brought to Bakhita Village and Sr. Nancy welcomed them and gave Molatelo a reason to smile. That miracle was short-lived, however, as the Bakhita Village home