Sadza and Smiles

Ashlee Alley shares a bit from her experience eating dinner with the teen girls on Wednesday evening. 

We have been having a great experience here at Eden Children's Village!  One of my highlights so far is from our meal on Wednesday evening. We went in pairs to the various cottages to eat dinner with the children and their houseparents. Kids are placed in the various cottages and make up a sort of a family unit. There are a variety of ages in each cottage, from infant to upper teenager. Each has two house mothers, with one house having a married couple who live with the children. They really do function as a family unit. The houses are mostly arranged in a little village, with a common kitchen and bathrooms. The house I went to was the teen girls house. There were only 4 girls there: Lisa, Talent (who lives up to her name--she knits things beautifully!), Pauline and Shingatai. The house mom is Juliette. When Hayley and I got to their house, the girls were sitting on their front porch waiting on us. They were very hospitable to us, even if a little shy. They invited us into their house for dinner. We sat around their coffee table and they started the dinner ritual with hand washing. They held out a bowl and motioned for me to out my hands under it. They poured very hot water over my hands and apparently I washed my hands wrong--you are supposed to wring your hands, but I just cupped my hands...they laughed at me and then showed me how to do it correctly. After everyone's hands were washed, one of the girls served up out meal. It was a traditional meal of sadza, beef and relish (greens). We ate in the traditional way...with our right hand, using no fork!  They used our plates to scoop out enormous servings of sadza, at least half of the plate. Then they served a generous helping of beef and relish. I looked at it knowing that there was no way that I could eat it all. I pinched off a bit of the sadza, rolled it into a ball with just my right hand and used the sadza to scoop up some of the beef and relish. I braced myself, unsure of how it would taste and chomped down on a slimy piece of fat along with my beef. The taste was pretty good, but the texture was a challenge for me...and it was only the first bite. Our hosts all eyed us expectantly to see what we would say about it. Of course we both said, "It's good!" but I think that Hayley was more convincing than I was. We had been warned that Zimbabwean dinner conversation is almost nonexistent, so we were prepared for the awkwardness, but thankfully, they were curious about how we liked the food and how we liked Zimbabwe. We had a great time sharing stories and laughing with each other. 

Sadly, I was unable to eat very much of my meal...maybe only a quarter. But Hayley was able to eat like a champ!  After dinner, I passed around some candy, which they doled out with excitement. We played some card games with one another and then enjoyed asking each other questions. While we talked, one of the girls played with her cell phone, another looked at picture from my cell phone, and the others tried to outsmart everyone in cards. The girls were smart, funny, curious, and in many ways just like typical American teens. There were some significant differences, though, I suppose. They had all watched their parents die, mostly from AIDS.  They had learned what it means to become a different kind of family, and they seemed to have a trust in God for all their needs. We heard later that several teen girls had been leaving lately for work and independence that took them away from Eden. These girls may be contemplating leaving, too, but if they stay here, they can get more training, education, and support as they transition to independent life. 

While there are many differences between Zimbabwe and America, one thing that unites us is our desire for independence, community, and fulfillment. This place had our hearts before, but I think after we were so generously invited into their homes, we were even more taken by this place. We left with hearts and bellies full.