Sisters of Charity

Before we went to bed last night the xtreme team was given another xfile card. Which had what looked like to be a cut out of a diaper and a spoon with food on it, but we didn’t know what to expect in the morning. We all assumed we would be working with babies, but kept in mind that anything is possible.

We were ready around 7:30 am and most of us though surely that we would be going to an orphanage, but we were off. As we got on the highway we drove for a while and got off at an exit and drove some more till we reached an area that appeared to be another section of the city, but was nothing like that at all. It was a garbage city, people begin collecting garbage from all over Cairo when they are around 12 years old. When they bring it back they sort through it and recycle what they can. From that trash they make  their income, mostly picking up the trash using a trailer hooked up to a donkey.

As we drove through tight roads people all over sort through trash in the open. Sometimes there was trash blocking roads. When we made it to our destination which looked like an orphanage we opened the door and were overwhelmed by the smell of the garbage. Once inside we found that it was a daycare/orphanage run by Sisters of Charity (an order founded by Mother Teresa) and that most of the parents work in garbage city. As we got to spend time with the babies and toddlers, I could only feel bad for what situation they're in. Flies where everywhere, any place you went, they were there and crawling all over the babies’ faces and everything. As I fed and played with them, I just felt so helpless for them even though they smiled and played with you it’s hard to say that God's even there.  But God was there because we were there to help the nuns and the other staff take care of them, however we were not alone. A youth group from a church around the area was there to help as well so God was there to bring a smile to those kids, and to make an enjoyable day.

Editor's Note:  We were unable to take pictures while at Sisters of Charity.  Therefore we asked a few team members to draw their depiction of the day.