How are the kids developing?

Firstly, a huge thank you to Martin and Zandra for all their hard work over their time volunteering at Nkoaranga orphanage  They were fantastic with the kids and Mamas and will be really missed.

Neema (3) with her cheesy smile

This week we did some age/weight charts and developmental evaluations with the kids.  This involved consulting the developmental charts which had been developed by our board members David Ross Russell and Patty Harris (both qualified medical professionals) with the help of a pediatrician.

Bekka did the developmental checks with the help of two fantastic Swedish volunteers - Martin and Zandra - before they left this week.  They involved checking things such as: can the child write their name?  Can they do letters and numbers? Can they copy a loop or a line?  Can they stack blocks? Do they know the names of different body parts and animals?  Apparently the kids loved it all!!  Other stuff the volunteers knew just from being with them, such as how many words they can say, whether they are stringing several words together yet, and how they are with interacting socially with other kids.

Zawadi (3) in deep concentration in the schoolroom

Age/weight chart-wise, we are delighted to say that every single child is a healthy weight (aside from Neema Mdogo who is a bit overweight)!  On the developmental chart, the four littlest kids are struggling with some developmental milestones, but only a bit.  We think that this is attributable to the fact that Ebeneezer Mdogo was premature and struggled with health issues early on, and perhaps to the fact that babies are wrapped up for a lot of their first few months after birth, which might mean that they don't get some of the physical skills which we would expect.

Ebeneezer (1) chilling out on his bug-mobile

Bigger kids-wise, Franky is also a little behind: he has some social and verbal delays which are seen in the fact that he doesn't really play with the other kids or share, or speak much, despite the fact we know he does have several words under his belt!  We think this might be due to the fact that he had a total lack of prenatal care due to his mother being homeless and mentally ill, and hopefully he will catch up given some time.

Buuut, aside from Franky, it seems that the slight delays seen in the younger kids are more than compensated for as they grow!  Happily, the rest of the bigger kids are hitting their milestones, and at least half of them are hitting milestones of a year ABOVE their actual age, which is really great to hear (especially as growing up in institutionalised care has been known to affect the development of children)!

Saimoni (5) showing us how well he can write his name (lots!)

The upshot of these checks is that we are able to let the volunteers and Mamas know about what needs work with different kids.  Obviously the little guys are easier because any issues they have are with physical stuff - for example, Isaac needs to work on his pincer grip and passing things back and forth between his hands - whereas cases like Franky are tougher because its more difficult to target verbal and social skills.  The plan is to work on the verbal stuff and hope that the social follows - we'll keep you updated!

And this week we are pleased to bring you...

Snapshot of the Week!

Bekka and Riz have recently acquired two adorable puppies: Nusu ('half' in Swahili) has a half pink and half black nose, and Gnochi is exactly the colour of gnochi and just as round and delicious!  They've brought them to the orphanage a couple of times and they are very gentle with the kids and (after some initial hesitation) the kids adore them!  Baracka and Pray, especially, can't get enough of them!

Baracka (4) looking a mixture of pleased and excited!

Good news all round!

This week we have three snippets of good news for you!  So, settle back, grab yourself a biscuit and have a read!

Riz and Peace (1)

Firstly, and in keeping with the food reference, the Mamas-volunteers lunch!  This is pretty much as it reads - a lunch where the Mamas and volunteers can share food and spend time together.  And the best part?  It's held during nap time!  This means that - aside from the occasional little-one who couldn't sleep and joins in, snuggled on a lap - it means that the Mamas and volunteers are able to take time to talk and get to know each other, which is something that is difficult to do when there are lots of kids vying noisily for your attention!  Before eating everyone stood together in a circle, held hands and the Mamas sung a prayer, quite long, absolutely beautiful with truly stunning harmonies!  After this, everyone tucked into rice, kuku (chicken), chips, lamb, and vegetables (the food is paid for by The Small Things) and it was a great success, with conversation in both English and Swahili (mostly Swahili)!  We felt that these lunches were important to fund because developing and fostering relationships between the Mamas and volunteers is so important to ensure a positive experience for everyone.  In the past the Mamas have mentioned that they think learning people's names and taking the time to ask others how their day is important and respectful, and we hoped that these lunches would aid this process.  They are always a really lovely time!

Neema (1)

During this week, Bekka and Riz went to visit Neema ndogo's grandmother.  The reason was that a fantastic couple from Australia - names soon! - originally hoped to adopt Neema; however, they couldn't because the Australian government requires people to live in Tanzania for at least 14 months before doing so, which unfortunately they couldn't do.  In view of this, they decided that the next best thing do do would be to sponsor both Neema and her older sister, Anna, who is five and apparently has exactly the same face as Neema!  Anna and Neema's family are too poor to send Anna to school, so the couple are going to pay for her (fees, uniform, books etc) to send her, and will do the same for Neema when she is old enough.  Riz said that their grandmother was very happy when they told them, as I was when I heard!  An education is so important in Tanzania, and it is so amazing that the couple are able to help Anna and Neema's family to give the children it.  It will make such a difference.  Thank you!

Mama Pendo and Zawadi (3)

And, today is Mama Pendo's birthday!  Although birthdays are not a big thing in Tanzania, I thought that this would be a good excuse to include a little bit about what an incredible woman she is.  'Pendo' is Swahili for 'love' and their couldn't be a more appropriate name for a woman who is mother to and loves so many children.  She is able to tell you the names and stories of any child that you ask about, despite the fact that she has worked at the orphanage for 25 years!  It was beautiful when we visited USA River Academy (where the older kids attend school) and watched the kids all flock to the woman who has given them stability and love for lots of hugs!  There is so much more that I could write about, but for the meantime, some pictures!

Mama Pendo and Neema (3)

Mama Pendo and Zawadi (3)

Thank you for reading!

Peace (1)

On being back home to stay

It's been a while since I've written a personal post, but I sure do have a lot to say this time! Since early April, I've been living on the ground at Nkoaranga and seeing the kids every day. My husband and I are in the process of getting permission to foster Zawadi and Saimoni, and will be able to file for adoption three months later - keep your fingers crossed for us! In the mean time, we get to see them every day at the orphanage along with our other fantastic kiddos.

Things sure have changed since January, when I left last time! Then, little Ebeni and little Neema were just starting to crawl. Now, they're all over the place, walking with help, pulling to stand on their own, and zipping all around in the walkers we bought with your generous donations.

Isaac was just starting to respond to people - now he's sitting up and smiling at everyone.

Angel was just a few weeks old - now she's a big, beautiful little girl, although still incredibly tall and skinny - we keep feeding her, but she refuses to get fat, just keeps getting taller! At this rate she'll be 7 feet tall by the time she's 5 years old.

And of course, we welcomed our newest precious little girl, Priscilla.

Our bigger guys are growing and changing all the time too, although the changes are a bit less visible. Keep checking back here for more on their progress!

I'm now working on the ground full time for The Small Things. That means checking in with the kids and mamas, coordinating volunteers, buying supplies, and working on the next steps for our organization. It's more than a full time job, but I'm loving every second of it. Any job that means I get to see these gorgeous faces every day is the job for me!

Thank you Newport!!!

This week we have another wonderful fundraising event to report on. Last summer Claire Wyatt joined Bekka in Tanzania and spent some time at the orphanage where she was a great hit with the kids (of course!).

Claire and Loveness

When she got back to England, Claire helped to organise Charities' Week  at Newport Free Grammar School in Essex, where The Small Things was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the charities for 2012. 

Claire and her school managed to raise an impressive and much appreciated £872. A huge thank you from the Small Things to everyone involved!

Here, Claire tells us a bit more about it all:

"The first week of December marked the start of Charities' Week, an annual Newport tradition led directly by sixth formers.  This year’s festivities proved to be an undoubted success, with the whole school joining together to raise money for an extremely worthy cause: ‘The Small Things,’ which I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to visit in July 2012.

For five consecutive days all sixth formers took part in a number of different events including wearing their best fancy dress costumes - to the amusement of the whole school. From superheroes and villains to 150 Where’s Wally lookalikes, the spirit of fundraising was really captured by everyone involved.

Other notable events included the notorious Miss Newport, with some of the finest males the sixth form has to offer fighting it out to win the coveted tiara and title. Manliest Man also proved to be a real success, with 12 brave contestants pitting their wits against each other to complete a series of grueling challenges. The week was rounded off with a teacher talent competition, which included entries from Mr Hesketh, Miss Thompson and Mr Norman but with the most memorable entry being provided by the creative arts departments. Furthermore, the annual students vs. basketball had a good crowd come to see the staff show their stuff!  Newport’s Got Talent showcased the talent that Newport has to offer with bands and solo performers battling it out. The excellent attendance at each event from pupils from every year group demonstrated the real togetherness and community spirit within the school, and the unrivalled comedic value of the lunchtime entertainment.

As a volunteer at the orphanage I know how far this money will go to help and I’m glad as a school we have personalised this money for The Small Things; a lot of hard work went into organising these events from the Head girl and boy and senior prefects. I look forward to returning to the orphanage in future years and seeing where this money has been used. It is incredible to see what previous fundraising at Newport has done: having raised money to help fund Pendo’s education as a school it has been rewarding to hear how well she is doing at school."

And here are some great Charities' Week photos: 

This all looks a lot of fun, and the best part is that the children in Nkoaranga get to benefit from some Sixth Formers getting dressed up 6704 miles away! They are very appreciative:

Pendo (6) says thank you!

And the Newport Sixth Formers aren't the only ones having fun...

You may remember seeing pictures of the kids demonstrating their art skills – painting pictures and making paper snakes? This was all down to the hard work of a volunteer called Ashley Ferro – an art therapist who was working with the outreach project ‘Walk In Love’. This project is run by a fantastic woman called Aubree Packard who handles many other projects in the area. Unfortunately, Ashley has now returned home and so is unable to continue the joy and messiness that was the art classes.

However, Amani – the local man who is giving the kids music lessons (see our Facebook page for anecdotes from their class this week!) helped Ashley run these classes, and has asked if he can continue to run them himself! He said that he's studied art for years and would love to continue that with the kids, since he really enjoyed doing it with Ashley during her volunteer period. In the future, he wants to be a music, art, and drama teacher. We are really excited that the classes will hopefully be able to resume, and look forwards to telling you more about them (look forward to Bekka’s blog update next week!)!

Until then, some pictures from the amazing classes which Ashley ran, helped by Amani!

Ashley with Reuben and Rehema

Loveness showing us her painting.

Maureeni is proud of hers too.

Pray is armed with a paintbrush - everyone watch out!

Ester working hard.

Two fantastic fundraisers!

'Help them play, romp, live in some comfortable shoes!' - Melissa Hale

 Do you remember that a while back we blogged about how Melissa Hale was raising and awareness about the importance of the kids having new and good shoes?  Well, we are delighted to tell you that she has raised $607 or £390!

Neema (3)

This has allowed Bekka (who is now living in Nkoaranga and acting as our on the ground board member, in case anyone missed that post!) to buy lots of beautiful and, more importantly, sturdy new shoes!!  On her CrowdRise page, Melissa wrote: 'There are 30 children living there and I 'd like to raise enough for each of them to get a pair or two of new shoes!'  We are so proud of her for achieving this and very grateful that search for shoes that fit (and that each kid likes and will concede to wear) will now be significantly easier and more fun!  Thank you so much to everyone who donated, and especially to Melissa!!

Ericki (7)

We've been extremely lucky in these past few weeks to have several people taking on fundraising for us!  You may remember Carly Charlebois, Amanda Roberts and Ashley Pollari from Camosun College in Victoria, BC who did a candy-gram fundraiser for us for Valentines Day.  They have been busy fundraising again, this time with a bottle drive!  Here is what they have to say about how such a simple thing can raise a lot of money!

"In February we got together to raise money through our Candy Gram sale for Valentine’s Day. However, we wanted to do more for The Small Things, so we fundraised by holding a bottle and change drive, which proved to be extremely successful.

Over the course of two weeks we collected bottles and cans from friends, family, and businesses. We put posters out around the college about our project, which explained how people could help The Small Things by donating their cans and bottles. In order to raise the funds we provided a pickup service for those who wanted to donate but weren’t able to drop them off on the day. We also received a large amount of bottles from Hillside Centre and the Westin Bear Golf Resort & Spa.

Our bottle drive was held on March 24th, and we raised $536.00 by picking up and sorting bottles and change throughout the day. This fundraiser took a lot of work as we provided a pickup service, which meant spending a lot of time driving around Victoria collecting the donations. As well, we spent a fair amount of time raising awareness about our project by talking to businesses and putting posters up in different neighbourhoods. We think one of the key components of our fundraisers was how we were able to connect with people and talk with them about the issue of HIV/AIDS healthcare in Tanzania. Working with The Small Things enabled us to spread that word about the wonderful things they do everyday for Nkoaranga Orphanage and the children they help.

We are happy that we have been able to support The Small Things this year as part of our service-learning project for College."

Neema (3)

So this week, a HUGE thank you to all those who have been fundraising for The Small Things!  You are all amazing and we greatly appreciate everything you are doing!