Moving Meeting with Parents/Guardians

Today we had a meeting with many of the parents and guardians of the MTM girls: mothers, grandmothers, uncles, etc. Wow, so touching. It would have been wonderful to just meet them but we got much more than that. They shared with us how much it meant for their daughters, nieces, granddaughters, etc. to be on scholarship for school. They spoke of the change they have seen in the girls. They prayed for us and spoke great things upon us. They really are greatly appreciative for the chance their girls have that they are unable to afford to give them. 

Macintosh opened the floor for questions and concerns as well as encouraging them to share joys. He spoke about how they can help the girls at home by making sure they get rest and not go out in the night time. He expressed how we are all family and largely stressed caring for all kids and not just those that are biologically theirs.  He is a great speaker with motivating words and such a heart for children, its so great!!

One of the uncles present asked why MTM only worked with girls and not the boys. A grandmother, Agnes (who made a point of introducing herself and thanking each of us before the meeting), stood up and asked if she could help answer the question. She explained the importance of educating females and how much it benefits families and that is how their country is going to grow. She said "if you educate a girl, you educate a nation." As you can imagine, this moment brought tears to my eyes. Below is a picture of Agnes, her granddaughter Azetta, and me.

I had a chance to share today and after I spoke Macintosh asked if they understood what I said. Their response? Laughter and "no, she talks too fast!" Haha. So, he repeated what I said so they would be able to understand. Mind you, we all speak English, just very different accents!

The people I met today were so hopeful for the future and value what MTM is doing for their community so much. It was an incredibly moving day, and I have done a poor job in expressing it properly to you.