The Covid restrictions of this past year have been limiting for all of us, but I believe they are even more difficult for our children. For many children in Mozambique, school is the only highlight of their day. Children from every economic background put on their uniform and escape to a place where everyone is on a level playing ground. A place where they can leave their life of poverty and struggle behind. A place where they are valued as a student. A place where they are given the hope of a better life through education. Very few things have grieved my heart these past months than to see children sitting around with sad faces and no purpose to their lives. There is no opportunity for remote, online learning in a poor, developing nation like Mozambique. There is little to no chance that our public schools will even open this year- they lack bathrooms, running water, and space to provide the required social distancing. It appears that our already disadvantaged children will simply get a “free pass” to the next grade after having completed only 1 ½ months of study in their current grade. Thankfully the children in our Sunshine Houses have had more opportunity than their public school colleagues.
Our Sunshine children have done a stellar job in coping with the isolation these past 6 months. In the beginning, we didn’t let them out of the gate. They had to stay home and play. I recall arriving at our first house to find our Antonio sitting on one side of their 6 foot high protective cement wall talking and laughing with his friend, Ziadi, who was sitting on the other side of the wall. This was their only way to connect. As time passed, we gave our children permission to go play with the children in our other Sunshine Houses. This has melded them together into one big extended family. It is very common to arrive at one house and find children from another house there playing. They are flourishing and happy to have this interaction. Also, we had the foresight to hire a teacher who comes three times a week to tutor them. We are thankful to be able to provide for their academic growth during these times of restriction that are setting so many lives back. So three times a week, they come together for lessons. When they meet up together, they joke, laugh, and tease each other just like a family, but then they always settle down quite nicely when Professor Daniel calls them to class.
There are not many recreational places to take them to get away from it all, so I have had to be creative. I recently came up with an idea that proved to be a huge, unexpected winner. I brought them out to our Sunshine Nut Co factory for a day. My first objective was to simply get them out of the house and neighborhood for a bit of a respite. My second objective was that they should know how they are being supported. The mission of Sunshine Nut Co and Sunshine Approach Foundation are one mission. I wanted the children to meet the workers who go to work every day and process the cashews sold to support them. I wanted them to see their faces, interact with them, and know them. I also wanted our Sunshine Nut Co workers to meet our children. The children are their reason for working. These two groups of people are also intertwined and inseparable. Our visit to the factory only achieved these objectives and so much more!
I divided our children into 2 groups so as to make them more manageable…and to fit them into my car! When I arrived to fetch each group, they were ready to go in their best clothes. We arrived at the factory and headed to Papa Don’s office for a Power Point presentation on the company and its purpose. Proud smiles appeared on their faces as they saw their photos interspersed in the slides that Papa Don uses in his talks all of the world.
We then headed into the factory. As with any visitors, we asked them to suit up with a hair net and their masks. The hair nets brought out lots of giggles.
Our Safety and Health Manager gave them a tour of the factory…starting at the beginning where the cashews arrive, all the way through to the end where they are boxed and taken out to be stored in containers outside. The children were very curious and hung on his every word.
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We assigned them to work alongside our employees in various roles. Our employees went above and beyond my expectations of teaching them a job and coaching them through performing it. They were so kind and encouraging with the children. My heart was encouraged to see these two groups of people come together. We were led here to meet their needs to have opportunity, dignity and a better life. Seeing them come together was an experience for which no words can do justice.
Our children took their roles very seriously. Whether it was checking the bar codes on the packaging…
Packing our new shippers…
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Helping to haul the packed boxes to be wrapped...
Labeling the boxes for shipping…
Or filling the bags…
Each child rose to the occasion and outperformed my expectations…all under the watchful eye and encouragement of our employees.
In fact, when the bell rang for lunch, our children refused to stop their job until it was finished.
We then headed out to the outdoor lapa to enjoy a catered lunch of grilled chicken and fries.
As the day ended, each child received two individual packages of cashews to take home, as well as two packages for their mothers. As you can see by their smiles, they were proud and happy to have had a part in this day.
Not long after our field trip to the factory, Antonio, one of our children, accompanied me in the car as we took a plumber to get parts to make a repair on the pipes in his house. As we drove to the market, the plumber asked Antonio what he wants to be when he grows up. Without hesitation, Antonio responded, “A worker at Papa Don’s factory.” The plumber looked at him and said, “Oh no! Don’t you want to be a doctor? Or a lawyer? Or an accountant?” Antonio looked at him and calmly responded, “No. I want to be a Sunshine Nut Company worker for Papa Don.” Antonio, it will be our pleasure one day to see you working alongside Papa Don making the world's best cashews to make the world better. You make us proud.
