Blessings

An example of the unwrapping phenomenon at work -
I feel sorry for whoever will change Miriam's diaper! This picture
was taken today at the orphanage - thanks Amy!

Maureeni cuddling with
Emily in her nappy

Today I arrived home to a HUGE package in the hall - and I opened it up to find it stuffed to the brim with incredible, super high quality nappy wraps (their great Snug Wraps line) and organic baby wash, all donated Liz, John, and the team at Real Nappies! Real Nappies is a fantastic New Zealand company that encourages modern, responsible cloth diapering. At the orphanage, we are constantly struggling with nappies that have simply fallen apart - they are generally not particularly high quality to start with, and then they are used and washed and re-used to within an inch of their lives! The outer wraps are constantly falling open and leaving the nappies to unravel... leading to predictable unpleasantness, and even more work for the mamas washing more clothes. These nappies will make a huge difference in the day to day lives of the kids AND the mamas, which is what we're all about!

We might hold off on
this advanced Kozy
technique for a few
weeks!

We also have two Kozy Carrier slings and fantastic Kiddy Kozies in the mail from Kristi at Kozy Carriers - these high quality slings will make it easier for mamas and volunteers to wear the babies while they go about their chores. Babywearing is widely acknowledged to be one of the best ways to stimulate development, which is crucial given how big of a problem developmental delays always are in an orphanage setting. As you can see from Andrea's photo below, the kids already LOVE to tie their "babies" onto their backs and pretend to be mamas - they will be incredibly excited to have mini versions of the mamas' slings to practice with! A huge thank you also goes out to Anna Black for helping to connect us with Kozy Carriers - and for her amazing work helping us to analyze the kids' progress and develop low budget developmentally stimulating activities for the babies. We are profoundly grateful.

Little daddy Andrea with his "baby"

Another thank you goes out to Rebecca Woolf of Girls Gone Child (AGAIN!) for her care package including some preemie formula that she (thankfully) didn't need for her own gorgeous twins. As you can see from the photo of Daoudi taken today, he will still need some extra TLC by the time we get there in December - and this type of donation can make the difference between life and death for another child like him. Rebecca, Molly, and Tracey are also helping us out with some Christmas gifts for the kids - because we're passionate about giving our kids not just enough to survive, but a full, happy, and healthy childhood.

One more way to be a part of that is to buy a holiday gift through Elemental Threads, a gorgeous handmade design-your-own handbag company. Just enter code "TheSmallThings" at checkout to have 25% of your purchase sent to the Nkoaranga kids as a charitable donation. It's a great way to take a gift that's already fantastic and make it that much more special. Orders must be in by 11/15 to guarantee delivery for the holidays! Alternatively, please also keep the option of gift donations in mind as you plan your gifts. Your loved one will receive a beautiful card letting them know that you were thinking of them.

Little Daoudi this morning

As you know, we're a small organization, run completely by volunteers. Seeing people from all over the world come together to help our kids confirms my faith in humanity daily. Thank you for being part of that, and, as always, for caring about our kids.