Telling you a bit more about our beautiful Dainessi, Stevie and Eriki

During my 6 months at Nkoaranga, I got to know Dainess, Stephen and Eriki and the funny, clever and beautiful children that they are. Each of these children is special in their own way and all deserve the chance to go to school and show us their full potential.

Whilst we currently have the full sponsorship for Eriki, and the yearly sponsorships for Dainess and Stephen, we are still to raise the 3 years up front required for the latter two. So I thought I would use this opportunity to tell you all a little bit more about these wonderful children....

Dainessi

Dainess, or known as Dainessi to most of us, was one of the first children I bonded with at the orphanage. The second I walked into the orphanage, she jumped at me, enveloping me in a massive hug and I've loved her ever since. She has been referred to as 'a force of nature' and I couldn't agree with this statement more. She is one of the most determined little girls I have ever met and I know her confidence will shine through when she goes to school.

Over the 6 months I was at Nkoaranga I saw Dainess grow and mature; she showed that she was way ahead of her years (5), as she took every opportunity she could to help the Mamas with feeding and caring for the younger children. She loves pleasing everyone else and, like any little girl, loves receiving praise. She loves to dance and if there is ever any music on, I can guarantee that she will be up, giving it her all, shouting your name to show you her energetic and impressive moves. She quite a tomboy and is extremely loud, but every so often, she would tap me on my shoulder, not saying a word, but pointing to the pretty shoes she has put on or the scarf she has wrapped around her head, and I will respond with 'una pendeza sana!' (you are very beautiful!), and she will run off with a massive grin on her face.

One of the best things about Dainessi, is her incredibly dramatic facial expressions; you know something is wrong when she pulls one of those faces, but can't help but giggle at how cute and dramatic she looks. Dainessi is a smart, funny, loving, kind, cheeky and incredible little girl and I can't wait to see what she does in her life.

Stevie

Stephen, or known to all as Stevie, is an energetic, cheeky, creative and smart 5 year old boy, who has brought us such wonders as 'wewe chakoula' and the 'bubble gum stuck in hair' incident. I grew incredibly close to Stevie during my time at the orphanage, and every day he did something that made me love him even more. He's a very smart little boy and loves to invent new games.

I will never forget the day that he was chatting away to us in Swahili, when one of the other volunteers, whose Swahili was much better than mine, started laughing. When I asked them what he had said, they replied with, 'nothing, he is making up words to confuse you'. The cheeky little monkey was making up Swahili to try and muddle us up! That's the kind of smart, cheeky and inventive boy Stevie is, and his incredible imagination is going to take him far in this world. He is always making everyone laugh and, as this story shows, has a wonderful sense of humour.

Now don't get me wrong, Stevie wasn't a troublemaker, he was a bit cheeky sometimes, but he was also incredibly kind. When Mirium first came to the orphanage, she was very shy and terrified of the other children and it took a while for her to settle in. One day when I was sat with her on my lap, trying to encourage her to play with the toys, Stevie came and sat down next to me and handed Mirium the toy he was playing with. He then showed her how she was supposed to play with the toy and they started to play together. This was such a magical experience to see, as not only was Mirium beginning to feel more comfortable in her home, but it also showed me the mature, selfless and beautiful boy that Stevie is.

Stevie was one of the children I became the closest to whilst at Nkoaranga, and, though I found it ridiculously difficult to leave the kids, I found it especially hard to leave him. When Stevie is upset, he becomes very quiet and hardly says anything; the night I said goodbye to him, he didn't say a word. Stevie is a confident, funny, smart, loving, imaginative and extremely cool little boy and when he gets to school he is going to show us all what he is really made of.

Eriki

Our beautiful Eriki is already sponsored, but I felt he is such a kind, helpful and funny little boy that you should all be given the chance to get to know him too. Eriki was another one of the children that I became the closest with, but I didn't get to really know him until later on in my placement. He is a very sensitive little boy, as he has a very emotionally straining past, but the more you get to know Eriki, the more comfortable he becomes with you and the louder he gets. He can't stand the idea of disappointing anyone, so if he ever thinks he has hurt anyone, he becomes extremely upset. However, this also works in reverse, if he ever thinks he has pleased anyone, he becomes extremely happy and has a HUGE grin on his face. He is a very helpful little boy and I can remember many different occasions when I found him sat in the laundry room helping the volunteers to fold the clean clothes.

Towards the end of my time at the orphanage, Eriki and I became very close, and he would often come and sit on the edge of the changing table as I changed one of the babies, chat away to me and play with my camera. He loved choosing outfits for the children and would scale the shelves to find the perfect outfit for the baby I was changing.

Seeing Eriki cry was one of the hardest things I ever experienced, as he only cried if he was really upset or thought he had really hurt someone else. When I said goodbye to him he cried hysterically and it made me wonder whether us working at the orphanage was really worth it as it caused so much pain when anyone left. But then I remembered all the times we had made the children laugh and the unbelievable amount of love that the volunteers showed the children, and I realised that, when they look back on their childhood, though it won't be what is seen as a 'traditional upbringing', they will still remember a blur of constant love from all the volunteers that have cared for them over the years. And some of those volunteers, such as Bekka and Bethan, and hopefully myself, will go back and visit the children as soon and as often as possible, because there is no way we were able to leave those beautiful children without knowing that we will see them again soon. Eriki is a funny, sensitive, clever, loving, loyal and enthusiastic little boy, who will throw himself into any activity he is given and so will do some pretty impressive stuff when he gets to school.

Each of these children are special in their own way, they're all hard-working, smart, funny, kind and amazingly loving. Please help us give these beautiful children the chance that so many don't get, and help us to send them to school.

 

An example of 'una pendeza sana!'

Stevie and Eriki showing us their brilliant impressions of Babus (old men or grandfathers).

Thank you to our latest donors, Lily Maisel and Rasmus Houmann Korfits! We're getting there!