10 Nov. 21 - Dec. 4, 2009
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Gratitude from Page 1
Wright asked Dunigan for his card, and earlier this of her surroundings take up much of Wright’s upbeat
year emailed him with an offer to work at Aidchild for epistles, she doesn’t fail to note “the burdens this
a month. When Dunigan notifi ed her that her visit had country carries.”
been approved, Wright felt compelled to offer more. “When a child passes, all the children and staff
“I said, ‘I appreciate that, and I’m going to raise you come together and talk about the child. They discuss
$5,000 before I come.’” what would be the child’s favorite color, and a fl ag
Wright, an Air Force Academy graduate and the is made with the child’s initials on it. For two weeks
Arizona Air National Guard’s fi rst African American after the child is buried, the fl ag is fl own at half mast.
colonel, is no stranger to challenges. During the After the two weeks a small fl ag-raising ceremony is
next few months, she raised the promised money, held, and the fl ag is raised to its height where it stays
wrote a grant for Aidchild, and even managed to forever. I think this is such a lovely way to memorialize
fi nd a used microscope for the group. When her those tiny lives that left too early.”
co-workers learned of her mission, they pitched in as
Submitted photo
Wright adds, “This log is a little sadder than most
well, donating supplies for the orphanage.
SERVING COMMUNITY: Col. Wanda Wright of Chandler wrote a
grant, raised money and took donated items to Africa, where she
will be.”
“Being in the military, part of our calling is to serve spent time assisting Aidchild.
our nation,” Wright says. “But I don’t think people Coming home
would believe how many other things military people Wright describes the Aidchild compound as an 8.5- After a month spent setting up new computers
are involved in. We serve the military and we serve our acre site with a main house, three guest houses, an for Aidchild, lending a hand where needed and
community.” offi ce and a laboratory. “just mothering children,” Wright arrived home in
“The children sleep in dorms,” she explains. “The time for Thanksgiving – a holiday that she foresees
African updates site is fenced in and guards are posted at the gate 24 holding extra signifi cance this year. In a very real way,
With the support of her husband, Dale Clark, and hours a day.” however, her journey to Aidchild has already been a
her children, Tyler, 13, and Jordyn, 10, Wright boarded Around 40 children live at the orphanage, and others Thanksgiving of sorts.
an airplane in mid-October with “a suitcase with reside at nearby boarding schools. The compound’s “I’m grateful for what I have, and I want to do things
my stuff, and one suitcase just for the kids.” When older children attend school during the day, and the for others.”
she landed three days later, she wasted no time in “little ones,” ages 11 months to 6 years old, are cared To learn about Aidchild and how to help, visit
updating her supporters on her experiences, emailing for at home.
www.Aidchild.org.
photos and descriptions of the land, its people and “I spent some time with the ‘little ones’ yesterday,”
their customs. Wright shares in one missive. “They all ran up to me,
K. M. Lang is a writer living in Sun Groves, and may be contacted
“For the past two days it has rained heavily in the and each of them grabs a part of me. One hangs on
at
KMLang@SanTanSun.com.
morning, but by noon the sun is shining brightly and each leg, one each arm, one has an arm around my
the temperature has reached what I call ‘Africa hot,’” waist and we all hug for a few minutes. They try to tell
she writes in one email. In another she calls Ugandan me all their names, and I try to remember them. They
roads “especially crazy – think Phoenix traffi c times a fi nd the light on the watch quite fascinating.”
thousand.” While the beauty of the children and the strangeness
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