Eliphas is the eldest of 7 (same father, different mother—apparently very common here) and the two youngest were home. During dinner preparation the two boys (ages 4 and 6) were in and out of the house. The saying “it takes a village to raise a child” must have originated here. The kids—some no more than 1.5 years old—wander around unsupervised. They will spend days and nights with other families and eventually find their way back home. The mamas seem to feed whoever happens to be around when dinner is ready.
There are no toys. The only “toy” to speak of at the house we are guests at is a car made by one of the children out of garbage. There doesn’t appear to be any discipline and there is no bedtime. When I asked Eliphas if the children are ever scolded he said “No—I’ve never heard of that.” “Only the teenagers who smoke the Bob Marley cigarette—sometimes the mamas think that is disrespectful and they get mad.” Though, in school it is a different story. When Eliphas was in middle school he was the class clown and was hit by a ruler many times.
Although there is very little job opportunity or likelihood of social mobility the village of Moa is unique in that they make school a priority. Small fees are collected for tuition and all children are required to go to primary school. Very few go on to secondary school—we heard 7%. The kids love school. Many walk 45 minutes through mud and up and down hills to get there. Since alarm clocks don’t exist kids will wake their neighbors up. The mamas are too busy with too many other things to be bothered getting the kids up and off to class. Sadly, the education is poor. The English teacher speaks very little English. The kids learn basic phrases through rote memorization—“Good morning m’am,” seems to be the most common (even in the afternoon or evening). Eliphas repeatedly told us that the two things most needed in Moa are better education and better health care.
