Of Christmas trees and calendars...

The New Year is starting to look very close right now. January 2014 will be an important time for The Small Things, as we will be opening the pilot house of our children's village where Loveness, Pray, Anna, Queen, Isaak and Auntie will be living as they start school. This is a huge thing for them, so a massive thank you to all those who have signed up to sponsor them. The response to the appeal from the Girl's Gone Child blog post has been wonderful, so thanks also go to Rebecca Woolf for all her help getting the word out.

Opening the pilot house to the school-starters is also a huge step for us, as we branch out from the orphanage. It should be a very big year for The Small Things - hopefully we will have lots of successes to look back on this time next year as we move towards setting up the children's village.

We'd like to take the opportunity to celebrate the success of our Holiday Sponsorship drive and to thank everyone who has signed up as a sponsor. There is no way we would be able to continue our work without your support. The 'small things' that you are all doing are going to make a huge difference. 

Look how much our tree has filled up since November, when there were only a few children its branches! The picture is actually looking even better than this, thanks to the sponsorship that has come through for Isaak just in the last couple of days. 

It's not too late to get Shalom, Irene and the twins on the tree, and we would love to get the full set!

Calendars 2014

You may know already that our 2014 calendars have been on sale for a while on the website, but we now have a couple of previews for you so that you can see just how much you want one in your home! If you haven't got your calendar for the New Year sorted yet, then we can definitely help.

Coming up in January, we have Peace looking happy and warm in the ball pit, with little Neema on the trampoline:

Then in May we have the wonderful Mama Pendo, who holds the orphanage together. Loveness is really showing how much the children love her, but the rest of them seem to be a bit more interested in her birthday cake! We also have Brighton at the top and Big Maureen showing us her strength with that chair:

Finally, my personal favourite has to be October, which features a happy Isaac, a standing Shujaa, and babies with bubbles:

The calendars are selling for $20 in the US, £12 in the UK and $25 elsewhere in the world, and there should still be time to order before the New Year! Go to http://www.thesmallthings.org/helpprojects.html and scroll right to the end to order.

For those in the UK there is also another option - the desk calendars. These are new for this year and we're interested to see how they go. They will be £6 plus delivery and we won't be able to sell them through the website, so please drop me an email on megan@thesmallthings.org with your address if you would like one. Or, just maybe, you could win one on Facebook!

Again, here is a little preview:

The front cover

March pictures Loveness looking very beautiful and reflective as she hold Isaac.

Thank you all for reading and Happy Holidays!

Part 2 - PLAYGROUND TRIP!

Because so much has happened over the last week I thought that two smaller blogs might be easier to digest than one mammoth one.  The volunteers and Mamas took the kids to a really cool playground -  Tiger Market which is near Njiro (Arusha).  Needless to say, the kids were super excited and had a fantastic time!  Bethan has been amazing with updates of this week, and here she shares some of the most memorable (and funny) moments of the trip!

"The day trip to the playground near Arusha was great!  The playground had a climbing frame, two big trampolines, a large model aeroplane that the kids could climb up and sit in (Saimoni liked to pretend his was the pilot!). There were about nine swings and two large swings that fit about six children and a mama.

"All of the children had a fantastic time (although Shujaa was pretty grumpy!)!  As stated on Facebook, it was Queen's first time on many of the things, and it was so nice to see her running around and jumping around pain free from her injuries and just having an enjoyable day.  Peace particularly loved the ball pit, in fact I think that was the kids' favourite part!  They loved burying themselves and each other under the balls.

"There was a big inflatable slide that the kids climbed up first ad then slid down into the ball pit.  Little Maureen was apprehensive about going down it at first, but as soon as she got the courage to do it once there was no stopping her!

"There was even an electronic aeroplane ride and  an electronic train ride! Brighton was not a fan of the first electronic ride. He got in the seat and cried his eyes out and had to come off.  Luckily he seemed to like the train ride much better!  It was great seeing that he is now settled in well enough to really enjoy everything.

"We made peanut butter sandwiches and they had juice for lunch which went down very well and Franky was still munching away whilst in the ball pit. As long as his sandwich was safe, he didn't care about anything else!

"They were all exhausted in the car, with most falling asleep right away, (I was almost asleep myself with my head resting on a sleeping Ebenezer Kubwa!).  They each had a biscuit as they arrived back at the orphanage and they then had their afternoon nap. After a tiring day, the evening shift was pretty relaxed and most went to sleep quickly that night."

Thank you from us and from the kids for helping to raise the money to make day trips like this possible!

Two Miracles

Early days, he was so little!

Thanksgiving has just passed us here in the US, where I am visiting my family for a week. It has been a great visit, but I have spent a lot of time thinking about two little guys who are still far away. The two things I'm most thankful for in the past year - little Ebenezer and Peace. This time last year, we were just raising the money to implement one-to-one care for the first time for a premature baby - little Peace - who was at that point over a month old, and just 4 pounds (2 kilos). We were hopeful that it would help, and worried that it wouldn't - it was at that point an untried strategy. I was counting down the days until my next trip to Tanzania (still am!), but desperately worried that he wouldn't be able to hold on until we arrived. 

Tiny little boy

Well, those days are over. Peace is one of the fattest, healthiest one year olds I have ever had the privilege of knowing. And such a happy boy! He spends most days with Shujaa, his buddy and partner in crime, smiling and playing and exploring the world. I will never forget hearing giggles coming from the baby room, entering to investigate, and finding him happily clapping his feet and laughing at the world. His progress - his survival - is all down to your donations and Mama Linda's hard work. This boy would never have made it through this amazing year without your help, and the world would have been a much poorer place for it. We love you Peace!

Eating him up as he got chubby

David cuddling Peace at 6 months

Happy boy showing off his teeth!

Loving the spoons

You talkin' to me?

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME???

Crawling!

Almost spherical little face! 

I got to know our second little miracle over the summer. Little Ebeni was also premature and also benefited from our one-to-one care program. However, when a cold swept through the orphanage in July, his lungs were too underdeveloped to handle them, and he developed a bad, treatment-resistant pneumonia. We were so worried about him! He ended up in the hospital in town for almost two weeks - something we would never have been able to afford to pay for alone. Your donations meant that he got the highest quality care at the best hospital in the region, and now he just keeps getting better - his teeth are coming in, he's working on crawling, and is generally just one of the happiest and nicest babies you could hope to meet. 

Newborn preemie Ebeni

A few weeks in

Beautiful smile!

Mama Pendo and Benny at the hospital in Arusha

Adam visiting Ebeni in the hospital

Little boy is chubbing up now!

Such a big, handsome, smiley baby!

We couldn't be more grateful for his continued health, growth, and development. These two kids are concrete proof that what we are doing matters, that this work matters, that a few dollars can make a big difference. These children will never be anything but a blessing to us, and we can't wait to see them continue to thrive. We hope that you'll continue to come along for the ride! And if you are inspired by these little fighters, please donate so that we can continue to provide the best possible care to all of our kids, today and every day. What better reward could their be than their smiling faces and chubby thighs? 

Batman and Robin

Happy Peace

Peace (11 months) and Shujah (13 months) are two little guys who have only been with us for a short time, but have made a big impression on everyone they've met. Shujah literally means “hero” in Swahili, and these two are definitely a double act, so I've started referring to them as Batman and Robin. They are just two months apart and completely inseparable – not to mention painfully cute! 

Sweet Shujah

They had very different starts in life – Shujah was born full term and healthy, while Peace was very premature and had us all worried for a long time. Shujah has been incredibly sweet and smiley since day one – when I was here in December he would sit in his baby chair and flirt with everyone who walked by. Peace has taken a little longer to get there, although he has always been an extremely laid back baby. In fact, his original name was Daoudi (as you might remember), but the mamas renamed him Peace because it fit his temperament so well. It was several weeks before I even heard him cry!

The boys in December

Since then both have gained weight at an astonishing rate – they are just the cutest little butterballs that you can imagine. They're both also supremely cheerful kids nowadays, impossible to ruffle, thrilled to play with anyone who will come hang out with them. Shujah is now crawling, although only if baited with an appropriately exciting toy, generally someone's cell phone. Peace is up on his hands and knees and rocking, but doesn't seem to care if he ever moves beyond that. I think it's part of his laid back style – he's generally pretty happy wherever he is, so why go to so much effort to move? Both are babbling, although without recognizable words – we frequently come into their room to find them talking to each other through their crib bars, so they seem to have an understanding!

Big fat Peace today

I wanted to write about these two today for a few reasons. First, of course, they're beautiful and a joy to be with, photograph, video, or write about. More importantly, though, Peace was the very first baby we implemented our one-to-one protocol with, where we pay for an additional mama to be one-on-one with premature babies until they have reached a healthy weight and size. Peace didn't gain an ounce his first month before this was implemented – he doubled in weight his second month and has been growing almost as fast ever since. I wanted to show what a difference that policy has made, and how incredibly lucky we are to have this gorgeous boy with us. It's also a bit of a bittersweet moment, as we look back at Reziki and Rehema and other children that we've lost along the way, and think of how big and beautiful they might have been. However, I'm confident that we're doing the right thing with this program, and that we are doing everything we can to give these kids the start in life they deserve. Employing a mama full time for one-to-one care costs just a few hundred dollars, and it gave us this incredible kid. Thank you to all of you for being part of that.

Now on to the fun stuff: 

 

Peace blowing kisses 

 

Batman and Robin chatting to each other 

 

Peace blissed out over his favorite toy 

 

Shujah crawling 

 

Peace playing peekaboo

I can't wait to write a post like this when little Ebenezer has come this far. We're so proud of you both, little guys!

Greetings from Nairobi!

Peter and Andrea

Greetings from Nairobi! I'm currently on a brief trip up north to Kenya to drop off Riz at the airport – I'm going to miss him! The kids loved hanging out with the “big boys” this summer, and they'll be disappointed now that Peter, Adam, and Riz are all gone. Andrea and Simoni were especially thrilled to hang out with them – there are some very cute pictures of them together. All three guys are hoping to make a return trip at some point, and we also strongly urge any guys considering volunteering to take the leap – it's a really wonderful experience and the kids benefit hugely from having positive male role models around.

It's been a rough week at the orphanage – everyone still has the flu, and it's hit the little ones especially hard. Ebenezer is still in the hospital in town, although his fever and vomiting have subsided, so now we're just waiting on the diarrhea to stop so he doesn't need the IV fluids. Peace is also in the hospital, although he's been able to stay at Nkoaranga – the fever that was mild and transient in the other kids has been high and persistent for him. However, we're hoping he'll also be out soon. Medical students Martina, Lorenzo, and Daria (from SperanzaTanzania) have been of immeasurable help with keeping a watchful eye on all the kids, going on hospital visits, and helping us to figure out when to seek more help.

Riz and his baby Peace

I had the flu early and so was out of commission most of last week, but have been available now that more of the kids have been hit. That said, we've been having lots of meetings and hospital visits, so it has been busy for me too! Meanwhile, many of the mamas have also come down with the flu, and since we've needed even more staff than usual to stay in the hospital with sick kids, many of them have worked straight through it. We are so grateful for their superhuman strength and dedication!

Mama Pendo has started her management course, and is enjoying it despite having to get up very early in the morning to make it to Arusha on time! Although we and the kids miss her daily presence at the orphanage, it is worth doing without her for three weeks for her to attend such a prestigious program. We're confident that it will help all the staff and kids in the long term.

In completely unrelated but fun news, Chundvi and Pili Pili (our rabbits) have apparently been having fun together in their hutch – I'm told Pili Pili is pregnant! Once she gives birth, we'll be separating the males and females to avoid a rabbit overload. I'm excited to hand raise a few of the babies to be pets for the kids – it's good for them to learn responsibility and compassion, and it might just keep them from trying to chase down the chickens! The other rabbits will eventually be either sold or eaten – while I am officially neutral on which course they choose, I would prefer not to be present for the eating of the bunnies! That said, anything that leads to better nutrition for the kids is a plus in my book.

Anne with Neema

Anne has been busily at work on some great English/Swahili books for the kids, most new ones and a few translations of our favorite classics – currently working on “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. Leave a comment if you have any ideas for good books with simple vocabulary that might work for the project! It's going to be really useful for instilling an early love of books in the kids, and for volunteers who want to improve their Swahili. We're very lucky to have Anne working with us!

I'm in contact with Mama Pendo and the other volunteers daily, and I'll let you know as soon as possible if there are any changes with the kids. Keep them in your thoughts!

Parties and playing

The internet has been an elusive creature for the last week or so... power outages seem to magically time themselves precisely for my arrival in internet cafes. It's downright uncanny. That said, I have a lot of exciting news (and, as always, adorable photos) to share.

One of Mama Pendo's oldest with one
of the youngest!

Last Saturday we had a real treat – a local community development class graduated and held their ceremony at the orphanage. They provided a HUGE meal, and thanks to your donations, we were able to supply transportation for a number of older kids to come back to Nkoaranga from the places they are currently living. We had a group from USA River Academy (the kids who are enrolled with TFFT), as well as a group from SOS Children's Villages, which included Farajah and Aroni! We also had some kids from SOS who had been at Nkoaranga 16, 18, or even 20 years ago, when the orphanage had JUST gotten started, and was mostly just Mama Pendo in a small building next to the mortuary trying to take care of a few abandoned kids! Needless to say, it was fantastic to see them all back – and SO much fun to see the reunited kids playing together. It reminds you how much they really have grown up as siblings – being separated is difficult for them, and they are thrilled to be back together. Zawadi in particular jumped on Farajah and refused to be moved for most of the rest of the afternoon, even to come to me! She missed her “little mama.” All the kids also loved the cake – especially Neema, who ate four or five pieces!

Neema blissed out on cake 

Mama Cantate with Wema, Farajah, Pendo, and Aroni

Stevie with the memory book I made for him
with the help of many former volunteers' photos!

Ericki with his memory book 

The USA River Academy kids performing 

Overall, the day was wonderful – a pleasure to see all the kids, to see their excitement at the improvements in the orphanage (especially the playground!), and to see Mama Pendo honored for her many years of hard work.

Adam with Loveness
(top) and Baracka

Riz and Simoni

Adam and Riz have both arrived, and the micro-grants project is in full swing. In the last two days they've already done eight interviews, and are off today to (hopefully!) polish off the rest. Although many families just want chickens or other basic livestock, a few have really creative ideas – and we're hoping that bringing these families together will allow them to collaborate and share ideas and resources. The first class is later today - we will keep you updated on how it goes!

Adam and Neema

Of course, not all the time is dedicated to work on the grants project... Adam and Riz have also been loving their time with the kids, and vice versa! The kids are always so excited to meet new people, and especially when those people are “cool guys” - they don't have much exposure to positive male role models, so we are thrilled to give them a few. If nothing else, they love being thrown, flipped, and turned upside down – and the guys have been happy to oblige, and tire a little slower than I do!

Peace

Shujah and Peace are working on crawling, although they are currently most talented at spinning in circles on their tummies. Ebenezer and Neema are growing and thriving, and are now both sharing their beautiful smiles with us! Poor Ebeni was a little off this morning, and he seems to generally struggle a bit with digestion – we are hoping that the gentle preemie formula coming over with Claire, Dorothy and Patty on Sunday will help soothe him a bit! Neema continues to be a little stunner and captivate everyone when she bats those big brown eyes.

Neema

Filipo took his first steps last week, which was incredibly exciting. We had all been trying to coax him towards it for a while – but of course, it was Mama Pendo who finally got him to make the move. I swear she has baby magic. As soon as he got up, he hasn't looked back! Frankie is now all alone sitting on the floor – although even he took a few steps last week. Unlike Filipo, however, that hasn't tempted him towards full-time walking. He still prefers to be carried everywhere, and bawl loudly if that desire isn't immediately satisfied!

Mama Marie and Frankie

It's also been a huge pleasure to hang out with Marie and her mom - their donations have and continue to be thrilling and hugely helpful. Special thanks to the big, beautiful box of gorgeous organic kids' clothing from . As you can see, the kids also enjoyed just playing in the bags it was brought over in! They've also taken on the very exciting project of rebuilding and expanding the chicken coop - it is about half done and will be fully finished soon, allowing the kids to eat meat at least once, often twice a week! Huge progress.

Marie and Neema

Mama Pendo, Marie and the clothes donation

Ebeni and Frankie playing in the suitcase

Half finished new chicken coop

 And now, just a few of my favorite shots from the last week, because why not?

Beautiful Ebenezer

Me and my baby girl!

Coming up: A Wednesday kids' safari to the Arusha snake park and Mount Meru Game lodge, the arrival of Dorothy, Patty, and Claire, and a report from the first grants class. Stay tuned!