Kindness: More Important Now Than Ever

This last week of social distancing was really difficult. I’ve been watching social media videos of other moms baking amazing things, making castles out of cardboard and looking fabulous while doing it. I’m not doing any of that! I’m actually on the other spectrum. I’m just trying to make it through this period.

I did my weekly check in with my teams in Senegal, Kenya and Ghana. Everyone was in good spirits and were handling their respective government social distancing mandate period well. My team in Congo said they were fine but they sounded so sad.

The following day I called Stallone to ask for the real news. He informed me that during confinement prices for food and basic materials went up exponentially. People are not able to buy basic items and are hungry. He was especially worried for those that are marginalized. During that call we decided to find a ways to help our community.

We decided to work through our foundation Les Amis de Mulunda et Georgette to reach out to organizations and see what they needed. I previously wrote about our foundation (10/27/2019 Blog Les Amis de Mulunda et Georgette). Maitre Djuma went to an orphanage and old person home to do due diligence. He asked about their needs and wants. We took back that information and quickly executed a plan. Two days later we were ready to deliver the goods.

The team woke up super early Saturday morning to load up a small truck with goods for both locations. I have to give so much credit to Stallone for his negotiation skills. We were able to really make the dollars stretch. We loaded all the items from our office and headed to Matete. Matete has a special place in my heart. It’s the township where I grew up. My house was on rue Kwenge and my primary school Bambino was and still is in Matete as well. I got a WhatsApp message in the middle of the night (NY time) letting me know that they were on their way to deliver goods and meet the kids.

The Director of the orphanage greeted everyone at the door. While Maitre Djuma spoke to him the team unloaded bags of rice, semoule (cornmeal for fufu), dried milk, soap, disinfectant, hand washing apparatus, paper towels and toilet paper. The old people home received the same items as well. Stallone had extra tshirts in the car that he was also able to distribute to the children. For the orphanage the food couldn’t come at a better time. They were down to their last bag of rice!

During our visit we explained to the kids about the importance of hand washing, how coronavirus is transmitted and the necessary steps each person can take to keep themselves and their community safe. At the nursing home we didn’t talk to the older people for safety reasons. We spoke to the Director and walked around and said hello to everyone while social distancing.

Best way to show you our visits is through photos and videos below.

During these times let’s not forget those that are the most vulnerable and have a hard time even when there isn’t a pandemic. Small acts matter just as much as big acts of kindness. I hope you are all staying safe and healthy. We are all in this together.

With Love,
Adolophine