Riots

How much is an education worth? 

This week was the KG (kindergarten) registration.  Children from who-knows-how-far-away lined up at the compound gate Tuesday morning after word spread that the registration would happen that day.  Many kids even left their current school to vie for a spot at the Project Mercy school…why?  Because here they are fed 2 meals a day, have class in a well-lit, concrete building (as opposed to a mud structure with small windows that allow scarce amounts of light), and are virtually guaranteed an education through grade 10. 

By around noon the crowd outside the gate had grown to over 2,000.  The children sat apprehensively in front of the gate as the parents hovered on the outskirts.  They didn't have advance notice to fix their hair or wear clean clothes; they came just as they were.  One boy was wearing his father's shoes, it appeared.   Marta began the selection process, initially judging only by size; those who appeared to be around 5-6 years of age came through the gate.  This process of selecting by size proved futile as parents would instruct their child to get back in the line-up and try again if they were turned away.  So, the next plan was to bring all the children into the compound, leaving the parents outside.  The children streamed in through a doorway, but somehow the large gate slipped open and floods of people poured in… Utter mayhem…children were separated from their siblings and parents, terrified and screaming; parents were yelling for their children to get in the right line; children were losing shoes, but the they couldn't retrieve them for fear of being trampled by the crowd.  It was a horrifying scene.  These poor young children really couldn't comprehend what was happening or why.  Thankfully the guards were able to effectively get the crowd under control and send the parents back out of the compound.  Then there was a "manageable" group of about 1,000 children to sift through for the 200 KG spots.  The criteria really wasn't too demanding…the child needed to be between 5-6 years old, not registered in any other school, and live within a reasonable distance of the KG school.  They were each individually interviewed to find these things out. By 5:30pm, a list of 160 names had been compiled; there was room for more names, but this was sufficient to start with.  More children will still show up the first day of kindergarten, so a few open spots will come in handy.    

The very same day, a medical team from the San Francisco area held a mobile clinic in a village nearby.  The people were so desperate to see a doctor that the crowd became uncontrollable.  Some of the nurses were shoved into walls by the overpowering crowd. The team was unable to see as many patients, as a result. 

We just can't comprehend desperation.  Reason goes out the window.  It doesn't matter if your neighbor is bleeding or too weak to walk; your own needs take precedence.  And those parents just want their children to have opportunities not afforded to them.  We can be so quick to criticize these people as uncivilized, but until we've walked a mile in their shoes, or lack of shoes in most cases…