If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I have been asked this question countless times in life- especially at PC. During orientation, on Connections, as an OL, by my RA freshman year... it's one of those icebreaker questions that is most commonly used. So commonly used, in fact, that I even had a prepared answer: Africa. Now, I guess I'll have to change that answer... Australia? Somewhere in South America? Asia? I honestly don't know what the answer for me would be, but when I asked a group of Our Lady of Grace students that question today, I predominantly received one answer: All but two students wanted to visit the USA.

The reason we were asking in the first place was to have some biographical information about the kids who go to Our Lady of Grace but don't have sponsors. There are 48 students in that situation, and this morning we interviewed all those in primary. We asked everything from what their favorite color is to who lives at home and whether they have electricity (one girl did). It was hard to hear the stories of some of the kids I know so well, because they don't really talk about home ever. I don't think anyone has ever asked them that much about themselves before... some kids who I know to be outgoing and witty were suddenly very shy, but they were happy to share.

The kids we interviewed didn't know why we were doing so.. I'm sure they were confused, but we didn't want to remind them that they didn't have sponsors, let the kids who do have sponsors know exactly who doesn't, or give false hope to them that we would definitely be able to find sponsorship for all of them. I absolutely hope to be able to do just that, but I know that it's no easy task, so I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up.

The one thing that really floored me was what happened when I asked them when their birthdays were. Not one single child knew. Some of them aren't even sure how old they are. If you know me, you know how I feel about birthdays- I love that every person has his or her own day to celebrate how wonderful he or she is, and I think they're really important. In Kenya, most births are not registered, which not only causes problems later in life when someone needs a birth certificate, but also because children don't know when their birthdays are.

I hope I can help a few of the kids pick new birthdays- a lot of people celebrate their Saint's day, but a lot of the kids also don't have names that correspond to a Saint. My birthday in Kenya was really special, and the kids from Our Lady of Grace deserve special Kenyan birthdays too- and they deserve to know when they are.