Water, water everywhere, and finally safe to drink!!

Water is and always has been a huge problem at Nkoaranga orphanage. In fact, the nonprofit grew out of my very first project here - a well. When we arrived two years ago, the orphanage and hospital were frequently without water as much as one day out of three. On those days, the mamas would spend most of their time hauling water in buckets from the local school, or, if it was out of water too, from the river - leaving them no time for the kids. Just the basic tasks of getting them washed, fed, and hydrated, already no picnic with thirty children, became exponentially greater. The doctors couldn't wash their hands, inpatients couldn't bathe, and people died unnecessarily.

Little froggy Frankie trying to get into my water bottle

With the help of some other amazing volunteers, some generous donors, and the donated labor of a local driller, we were able to get a well up and running within four months. The nonprofit grew organically out of that first project, and the understanding of what a huge impact could be made with comparatively modest resources. The key has always been listening carefully and respectfully to the people we work with - they do this work every day, and they know best what they need!

Could you say no to this face?

Although the well has made a huge difference, the water saga has not stopped there. Drinking water straight from the taps in Tanzania means playing Russian roulette with typhoid, dysentery, amoebas, worms, and a whole catalog of other fun creepy crawlies. That means the mamas spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars of fuel on boiling water for the bottles and for drinking, day in and day out. Because of the thousand other tasks awaiting their attention, and the hours it took for boiled water to cool, there would frequently be periods when the kids were thirsty and we simply had no safe water to give them. There is nothing more heartbreaking than telling a child no to such a simple request - and it made us determined to never have to do it again.

Zawadi trying out one of the bucket filters for the hospital from inside - is it comfortable, Zi?

With our own Bethan Crisp at the helm, we took on Project Maji - which many of you contributed to! - to install a plumbed in water filter in the orphanage and a bucket filter system in each of the hospital wards. Inpatients and laboring mothers, already extremely physically vulnerable, were all drinking unfiltered water, seriously increasing their risk of complications. We exceeded our goal and were able to get a few extra filters for other places in need - hugely exciting! Click here for all the details and a list of donors.

Emily delivering the bucket filter to some very excited kids at Mama Jane's!

As of last week, the filter is permanently installed in the orphanage sink, meaning that not only can every child get clean water at the turn of a faucet knob, but in addition, that all the dishes and hands will be washed in clean water, limiting one more source of potential infection. Thank you from the bottom of our heart for helping us to make their lives healthier. In addition, the hospital now has filters in each ward (male, female, pediatric, and maternity), as well as in the local primary school, and at Mama Jane's, another nearby orphanage. In fact, they were so well received that we have been asked to bring over one for the secondary school and one for the outpatient department on our next trip! Lives WILL be saved by this initiative, and we are so very grateful for your support. .

Thank you from Stevie, Andrea, and David - and all of us!

And just for fun, here's a short clip of one of our biggest water fans - baby Filipo, at his favorite time of day.

Going Green and Improving the Playground

We'll have an update on the water situation coming in just a few days - first, I wanted to share with you the incredible progress that's happened on the playground and in the garden, thanks to your support! For those who are unfamiliar, the garden is a large plot that was given to us by the hospital last January at my request, in order to help increase the food security and independence of the orphanage. The entire idea is to insulate the orphanage food supply against financial shocks - if they're low on cash in a given month, we don't want to ever take the risk that they'd end up low on food! This applies to the chickens as well. It also ensures that the kids are getting the highest quality calories - lots of veggies, leafy greens, protein from chickens and eggs, etc.

Garden entrance

Delicious beans

Tons of corn and a growing mango tree

One of the few lettuces that eventually sprouted!

Green tomatoes - give them a few more weeks!

One week's onion haul from the garden!

As for the playground, it was a total mess last year - with the death slide and the carousel of death as prime attractions (ok, my own personal nicknames for them... but they were dangerous!). Then a falling tree took out the trampoline... it was definitely time for a complete redo!

We got lucky and met Millie and Mikarla, who had already raised a significant chunk to redo the playground, on the advice of the good people at KATZ volunteers. They took care of redoing the slide, seesaw, and carousel, getting a new trampoline and some more swings, and we added a tire swing, monkey bars, and spinning table. Check out the before and after!

Before: Post-tree destruction, old seesaw, old slide

Pray on the old trampoline, post-tree 

The carousel of death (or at least tetanus!)

The tree that started it all, and the death slide - that thing took out multiple kids' teeth!

Now: much safer slide, new trampoline, new swings, and turntable! 

Kids playing together on the new see-saw

Pray, Abdulli and Maureen on the new tire swing

David, Asimwe and Abdulli on the new swings

Nelvin, the fundi who did it all for us, trying out the monkey bars

And a whole bunch of kids on the turntable! 

And here are two videos - the first has Pendo and Tumaini singing and a good view of the new playground while it was in progress. The second has Dainess and Stevie going head to head on the monkey bars!

Thank you again for all of your incredible support - none of this would be possible without it.

Making a transition

 

Me and fashionable Ericki

We all have to make transitions. It's part of life; growing up and moving on.

It's not always that easy but we do it. And a lot of the time, we can do it because of the people around us, supporting, motivating and pushing us to do the best that we can.



With gorgeous Dainessi

Not everybody in the world, unfortunately, is lucky enough to have this strong support system that provides them with such courage, but, I think it is safe to say that the children of Nkoaranga Orphanage, thanks to the incredible Mamas, The Small Things and yourselves that keep us going, do have the ability to make the transitions that they face, successful ones.

Ericki, Stevie and Dainess have just started boarding school this week. A transition, that, for them, is most probably going to seem very surreal for some time - the orphanage is the only home they've ever known. It may take a little while to get used to, but, they have each other. They are amazingly smart and dedicated individuals with such bright and bubbly personalities that are going to hold huge places in the world. I know they can do it.



And with silly Steveni



I just started back at Uni this week; back to the bustle of London city life, where it still feels like a transition that at times I sit and think if it's where I want to be and what I want to be doing. Since, after coming back from such an awesome (but of course, very different) few weeks out over the holidays, spent with the kids, in a small village on the slopes of a mountain, in East Africa; you wonder what it really is around you that you need in order to be 'happy'.

But, this is life. It's often easy to get distracted or taken away by experiences and moments that feel too perfect and sometimes it's as if we really do need a pinch on the arm to bring us back to reality. We just have to be thankful for these moments and that they ever existed, thankful we had the opportunity and thankful that we have the memory. Admittedly, a University workload isn't fun, but then neither is a 9-5 job in an office, or trying to keep up a business when modern economic situations aren't making it very easy to do so. But it's these hard times that move us to the good. It's just about patience, determination, positivity and support.

Seeing the picture of Ericki, Stevie and Dainess in their new pajamas in their new school just re-inforced to me why I am studying and why living as a classic poor student right now is going to be worth it in the long run! This is a transition that I am currently making in order to succeed, gain qualifications and build life experience that I hope will give me further chances of beng back with the children and helping them to integrate as they grow up.

By seeing this simple but effective photo of the children, it just gave me the boost I needed. Writing this, I hope to boost any body else who just needs that positivity of not giving up if they are in a difficult place right now and to support each other and stay focused. These kids just supported me without even realising it!

Good Luck to Stevie, Ericki and Dainess with making your transition to USA Academy, and, good luck to everybody else who is beginning a fresh new year with new goals and plans. We can do it.

First day of school!

UPDATE: Here are the kids on their first night of school in their brand new PJs! Photo courtesy of The Foundation For Tomorrow on Facebook. 

"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes." ~ David Platt

I stole this quote from the Facebook profile of a friend who works full time at another Tanzanian orphanage (shameless plug, check us out on Facebook today!), and it's just beautiful in its simplicity and truth. Nothing is ever the same once the children become people to you, rather than statistics, and I'm truly grateful for that. 

I'm back in the UK now, girding my loins to start classes again tomorrow (eek!), and, of course, missing the kids like crazy. Tomorrow isn't just my first day back after break, though - it's also Stevie, Ericki, and Dainess's first day of school at USA River Academy with TFFT! We are so, so proud of them, and so grateful for all your help in getting them into school - these kids are going to go so far! 

From left: Ericki, Stevie and Dainess showing off their skills and saying thanks to all of you! 

Not to mention, they're multitalented - here are a few of the (many!) other things that make these kids particularly awesome. 

• They're absolutely fearless - that's (from the rear) Dainess, Ericki and Stevie piled onto the piki piki, and mad as heck that we wouldn't let the guy pull away with them for a ride! 

• Dainess has a face made of putty, and she never hesitates to show it off!  

• Stevie's ridiculously large mouth makes him a world class cake eater - you wouldn't believe his speed! 

• I harbor a suspicion that Ericki might have been bitten by a radioactive spider - he'll happily climb anything and everything, in this case peering through the window of the local school building after hours. 

•  They're hams. Plain and simple. But hams with some of the most gorgeous smiles I have ever seen. 

• They're athletic little monkeys - Stevie and Dainessi seen here on the brand new monkey bars paid for with your generous donations - more pictures and details to come. (Special thanks to Hazel Ross Russell for her support!) 

People frequently tell us that the kids are lucky to have us - I feel the luck goes the other way. I honestly feel so honored and proud to get to be a part of these fantastic kids' journey, to be part of helping them reach their potential. We can never truly replace their parents - but I know that, together, we feel as much pride and take as much joy in their growth as parents would - and I hope they know, tomorrow as they take this huge step forward and every day, how much they are loved. 

Things I learned this week

 1. Gracie LOVES standing up on her own, and can amuse herself for hours standing up and toppling over.

2. Frankie still makes funny faces when being weighed. 

 

3. Weight and age are not always directly proportional. 

Exhibit A: Zawadi, despite being a full year older, weighs exactly the same amount as Frankie. 

Exhibit B: Peace, who has doubled in weight in the last month! Hooray Peace!

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

4. Five years old is not nearly old enough to start school. I'm going to miss these boys terribly - although they'll be in fantastic hands, and I know they'll kick butt when school starts!

Me with big girl Tumaini (far left), Stevie (left) and Ericki (right)

 5. Big sisters are fantastic. Jealous I never had one! (Ok, dont' ask my little brother for an opinion on this item).

Loveness hitching a ride with Tumaini

 6. The inside of honey bees' hives are incredibly, and strangely, gorgeous. Not directly orphanage related, but I did learn it this week!

I have just a few shorts days to go with my babies, so I'm going to log off and get back to cuddling them ASAP. More substance on my return to the frozen north!