The story of Biko
When I arrived in the small Lesotho village of Hlakoti for the first time years ago I met Biko…
It took me some time to get all my thoughts in order about our time in Lesotho.
When we arrived this time around, I remembered my first visit to this small village named Hlakoti.
A boy came towards me and I recognized him as one of the older boys that has been there since the first time I took a team there 4 years ago.
The scene played in my mind of when the nurse told me he was HIV positive when my FYM team took all the kids for testing at the local hospital, if you can call it a hospital. There was no supplies, we had to wait for hours in line to get
attention, 4 years ago...
Biko is now nine years old, and a very sick boy. He doesn’t know that he is carrying this virus that he got from his parents. It is remarkable that he survived on antiretroviral pills till this age. A miracle in it self!
When he saw me he ran to me, and a sadness came over me holding his body in my arms, realizing that Biko has a huge desire to run around and be a normal kid, but physically he is just not up to it.
He is number one in his class, a very clever boy. Always smiling and very polite. Every morning he walks 5 kilometres to school. He has only one lung functioning. He walks slow, but determined. And when he prays you can feel Christ in Him. Christ is his only hope that he is holding on to.
I found him singing praises to His Father in heaven, and when he sings it is remarkable. I crave a closeness to God like this boy has.
So, desperate to help this boy
Joy and Arno and myself took him to hospital.
On the way to there we made turns to carry him on our backs because the distance between the road and the taxi became too much for him.
Standing in line for hours, together with other grandmothers and family members, I realized that there are many AIDS orphans in Lesotho.
After several hours of waiting and many x-rays the doctor could not confirm his diagnosis, besides confirming that Biko is in the last stage of AIDS. And that he has very little time left to live.
"This boy is a very sick boy," the doctor said to me.
“This child needs help, or maybe a good bath and a play on the beach,” I said to myself.
Joy and myself started dreaming about bringing 3 of these kids to South Africa with us.
Miracle after miracle happened and we were able to bring Biko and other two other AIDS orphans home with us to Jeffreys Bay.
(And I didn't sneak them over
the border, like some of you thought I might have.)
Biko’s biggest dream is to become a white pastor. So Sunday morning we dressed him like one and gave him a chance to pray in front of the whole Deo Doxa congregation. I cried, knowing this was the best time in his short little life.
During this time we learned so much from these kids. To be happy about little things like seeing the ocean, playing in a park or a simple swing. Happy to feel worthy and loved and to be able to take a bath with hot water.
And they don’t have any parents or relatives, their living even without the basics.
We have so much to learn from these orphans.
The Crisis in Lesotho is growing. Pastor James and His congregation has 18 orphan homes, each looking after 10 children and
50 children in the surrounding village. This comes to 1080 children being looking after by one denomination.
We planted 3000 seedlings in the village to provide food for these kids.
Please pray with us for this situation. Pray for rain!
Our lives are changed forever ...
Anita