It could easily be said that this six-month-old beauty, Comfort, was born into poverty and misfortune. His mum died three months ago. It’s a reality that far too many children in Sub-Saharan Africa face.
Comfort’s big sister, Onesta, is part of the Living Compassion Girls Program. So instead of being left to grow up in dire circumstances, with the context of his life being “having no primary caregiver,” he is being embraced into a community of compassion.
A few years into the Living Compassion project in Kantolomba, we lost our first cooperative member, Christopher. He was in his early 30s. It was a blow for us. Almost no one we know dies in their early 30s. He died of AIDS. Soon we understood that this is commonplace. From reading grave markers in the cemetery adjacent to Kantolomba, it seems people born in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s were hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. We have lost a number of cooperative members in that generation—those whose health was too far affected by the time adequate interventions were available.
When Christopher died, the Living Compassion cooperative gathered around his family and took care of everything—from the funeral arrangements to making sure his surviving family was looked after. Theresa told us the rest of the community was amazed. It was the first public demonstration of the care and compassion of what was then a new NGO.
Today, Living Compassion has grown into a true pillar of compassion in Kantolomba. Onesta is the eldest of five siblings, including Baby Comfort. Normally, she would be expected to set aside her own hopes and dreams to raise her brothers and sisters. Instead, Comfort has become a “Living Compassion baby.” Each day he comes to the property, where he is passed lovingly from one set of arms to another, nestled against the backs of cooperative members as they go about their work. This means Onesta has the chance to continue her education and build a future she chooses, while Comfort is surrounded by constant care and affection.
This is what we, the entire Living Compassion community, make possible—a process and content reality where our greatest riches come from being in a community where we are held in unconditional love and compassion. Thank you for being part of that. May all beings be as fortunate.
In gasshō
jen
P.S. The Kantolomba team recently sent us a particularly inspiring News update, prompting the Guide to ask if there is a way to notify people when updates are posted. If you would like to opt into such a notification, please sign up here.