ARLINGTON – Tyler and Kim Anderson seem to have it all.
He has been a well-liked physician’s assistant in Arlington for 10 years, and they have four happy kids, ages 2 to 8.
Niki Desautels / The Herald
Theirs is the classic American home: a nice yard, swingset out back and shelves in the TV room packed with board games.
Their days in that home are numbered, though.
Soon, they plan to put it on the market. They’re selling and giving away many of their possessions, even a lot of the kids’ toys.
Sometime this summer, the young family will move to Uganda, with no set return date, to live in a village of orphans. The kids in that village, near Kampala, have all lost their parents to AIDS.
Hearing the stories of those kids, who are being raised by Ugandans and foreign volunteers through the Rafiki Foundation, compelled the Andersons to uproot their lives to help.
For Kim Anderson, 35, the orphans’ stories reminded her how blessed her kids are – Josiah, 8; Keidi, 6; Maggie, 3; and Clara, 2 – and how different their lives would be if they had been born Ugandan.
“For me, it definitely was the pictures of those kids there – the kids are on the street,” Kim Anderson said. “Someone Josiah’s age (would be) raising those three sisters, and that overwhelmed me.”
Tyler Anderson’s medical background helped him appreciate the scope of the problem.
“For me, I think it always comes down to the need,” Tyler Anderson, 36, said. “Africa’s got a disproportionate burden. It’s got 10 percent of the world’s population, yet 70 percent of all HIV cases in the world. Basic AIDS education can make a huge difference there.”
The swath AIDS is cutting through Africa is leaving in its wake millions of children without parents.
In the 10 African nations where the Rafiki Foundation works, the number of AIDS orphans hit almost 6.6 million by 2003, according to estimates by the United Nations, UNICEF and the U.S. government. At the highest range of those estimates, almost 16 million people could have had HIV by then in those countries.
Through a Bible study group in 2001, the Andersons first heard of the Rafiki Foundation, an interdenominational Christian group based in San Antonio.
Villages have been set up with electricity, water, schools and health care for 160 orphans. The orphans live in groups of about 10 per cottage with a surrogate mother from their country. Other volunteers help tend to their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. In addition to school, teenagers get vocational training.
The couple were intrigued by the Rafiki Foundation’s work.
“God sort of pricked our conscience,” Tyler Anderson said.
They attend Word of Life Church, a Lutheran Brethren church in Marysville. Now that their kids are all walking, the time seems right to commit.
“We either do it now or wait, because you can’t pull them out of junior high school,” Kim Anderson said.
Tyler Anderson will be the village doctor and Kim Anderson will work as a preschool teacher.
Josiah is excited to go because he likes to draw servals, a catlike African animal. “They’re fast,” he said.
“We’ve spoken to lots of people that have raised their kids overseas, and they’ve said it was a wonderful experience,” Kim Anderson said.
English is the official language in Uganda, so that will help somewhat with the culture shock, although Swahili and other languages are widely spoken as well. Rafiki means “friend” in Swahili.
The Andersons have raised about 70 percent of the $200,000 the foundation requires to support a family of their size for two years. The couple are not holding themselves to just a two-year commitment, though.
“We don’t know what the future will bring. We’re going into it open-ended,” Kim Anderson said.
“I could see us being there for 20 years,” Tyler Anderson said. He added a quick caveat that he felt pretty nave.
“Iowa’s our previous foreign experience,” he said.
As the last few months wind down with fundraisers, packing and saying good-bye to friends, leaving inspires a mix of emotions.
“It’s exciting to leave and hard to leave,” Tyler Anderson said.
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@ heraldnet.com.
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