Board Bio: Bethan Crisp

My name is Bethan Crisp. I am 21 years old and I am currently studying Anthropology at Brunel University in West London.

In the Amazon!

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to pursue my studies and career in Law. That was until I began planning some time out of studying in order to travel to Tanzania. Suddenly, my head was filled with adventure, spontaneity, getting ‘out there’ and experiencing the world, (as cliché as that may sound!)

I visited a few universities  and it was during one visit that the realization fell upon me that spending the next, however many years in a dull, brown bricked classroom, (which is how this one particular Law department looked!) was just not for the person I was becoming.

I changed my course and I could not be happier with my decision. I have been on an inspiring placement to Ecuador where I lived in an indigenous Quichua community in the Amazon for 6 months and the confidence it has given me is brilliant and extremely encouraging.  

Anyway, how did I get to Tanzania? I originally went to Tanzania through the organization “Oyster Worldwide” in September 2010 as part of my gap year between college and university. I taught English at a primary school to a class of 70 students for 6 months, until meeting some amazing volunteers in Nkoaranga, also there through Oyster, who took me on a visit to the Orphanage. I fell in love with the children and from that moment, I just knew it would be impossible for me to keep away.

Big Franky with Pray and Fillipo during music class

Such happy faces make working for The Small Things and being a volunteer at Nkoaranga so rewarding!

I was nervous at first to meet the children. Before Tanzania, I had never really been a ‘children person’ or very natural with babies. The children at Nkoaranga completely changed me. They were so welcoming and full of love that I had no time to be shy. They were just such brilliant characters and made an immediate impression and I suddenly felt like I had come to the place that I was destined to go to since arriving in Tanzania. Something had always been missing and until I met these children at Nkoaranga, I didn’t know what that missing thing was.

This year whilst I was back in Nkoaranga, I saw the arrival of baby Hope. It is a very bitter sweet situation to witness the arrival of a new resident of Nkoaranga Orphanage; to be able to hold and interact with such an amazing form of life but to have to wonder about the tragic circumstances that have brought him or her to us. It was fascinating looking at such a small bundle of 'Hope' in her blankets with her eyes closed and thinking about her future. It was very emotional for me as I stood in the baby room looking over at all of the small, sleeping little people. I can only be glad that they are in a safe place surrounded by love and people who will be there for them for years to come.

Baby Hope in her bundle of blankets, the first day I met her. 

I didn’t expect to become so involved and connected to the orphanage. I think that may have been due to every time in England if I was given a baby to hold, he or she would immediately cry their eyes out! Here, at Nkoaranga, a baby would stop crying and feel content if put into my arms. I felt needed. I felt infinitely responsible to care for them and ensure I could be a part of their lives and a part of giving them a future they deserve; a future that any child deserves.

This is why I now work for The Small Things. It gives me the opportunity to do just that – have the ability to contribute to the livelihoods of these beautiful individuals from England when I can’t physically be there with them. I was first in Tanzania for 10 months and I returned for the Christmas and New Year of 2011. This year, after 18 months, I made my third return and saw such a wonderful difference. Such big, gorgeous, healthy children! I had the opportunity to visit the older school children at USA River Academy who had been at the orphanage on my previous visits. How amazing to see them as such flourishing individuals, learning, happy, running around on the grass together and absorbing life.

Visiting the older children at USA River Academy this year. I first met them in 2011 in Nkoaranga Orphanage. It is so great to be able to see such wonderful, physical changes and pure proof of development.

Life at Nkoaranga Orphanage is tough, to say the least. The mamas and, not forgetting, big Franky, do outstanding work. I'm sure many parents would say that looking after one or two children is hard enough. But imagine two mamas a day with over 20 babies, toddlers and young children craving their attention, not enough toys to go around, or not enough of the same toys to prevent any arguments! Sounds challenging, right? 

Loveness taking care of Isaac. The older children can be so helpful when there aren't enough hands to feed a hungry mouth or to sooth a crying baby.

I grew very fond of big Ebenezer. It seems so ironic for him to now be named 'big' Ebenezer (now that we have another little Ebenezer in the orphanage too,) considering he was so tiny and so sick when I first held him back in 2011. I feared for his life. So to see him again this year was indescribable. He is such a funny boy who absolutely loves a cuddle and although he seems relatively sweet and innocent, he definitely has his cheeky moments! He certainly knows how to win your heart, even after you send him to bed and wait for an apology after he has misbehaved, he quickly makes it up to you with a kiss on the cheek!

A tiny, premature baby, Ebenezer,  who became so sick that it was touch and go as to whether he could pull through. 

....But he did! And he is such a fun, lovable, beautiful and, most importantly, healthy little boy today! 

I love a good challenge and what better motivation to complete one, than to do it for the kids? Upon return from Tanzania my first time, I conducted 'Project Maji' which raised over $1,000 for water filtration systems for the orphanage and hospital. 
Then, I went a step up and in December 2011, planned for myself and 4 other previous Nkoaranga volunteers to jump out of a plane and skydive! I still to this day have no idea how I managed that. I not only have a fear of planes, but also of heights! So if THAT wasn’t a challenge, I don’t know what is!
This April, I also took part and completed a sponsored half marathon in aid of The Small Things. I’m not a huge fan of running, especially a run that goes on for more than 2 hours! But I did it and I would do it all over again for the children.
I am of course now thinking and planning my next challenge; something bigger and better. Ideas are on the cards so you will have to keep a look out to see what I plan to get myself into next time!

Success of Project Maji! Stevie, Andrea and David drinking safe, clean water.

High up in the air! A terrifyingly amazing experience.

At the finish line! My first half marathon which I plan to do again next year and beat my time.

  

There are too many amazing memories of the children and Nkoaranga Orphanage for me to go into here. This is why I would tell you to go to Nkoaranga and experience it for yourself and to make your own memories!

 
I am very grateful to be a part of The Small Things because it allows me to play a part in the continuing development of the present and the future of these children. I am a member of the communications, fundraising and volunteers committees and I love being able to assist and help prepare new volunteers who are set to travel out to Tanzania. I am thankful to have met such devoted people and to work as part of a team where our strength grows immensely due to the support of all of you who take the time to read our blogs, keep updated on the children, provide feedback and donate to our projects.

Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement to The Small Things but also to the steps of my past that led me to where I am today. 

Happy Birthday Frankie, Maureen, and Gracie!

Three fantastic kids have turned two recently, with three more to go in the next few months - brings back memories of the crazy time when we had seven kids under six months at once, NOT something I'm hoping to repeat any time soon! Gracie turned two June 21st, shortly after I got here, Frankie turned two on Friday and Maureen a week before him. These three actually arrived on the same day, on one of my very first days at the orphanage.  They've changed a lot since then! 

Gorgeous Gracie

Gracie day one

And big girl Gracie today!

Brilliant Maureen

And our big girl Maureen (who can
count to ten in Swahili and English) today!

Sweet Frankie

Frankie day one

And reluctantly walking Frankie today!

We are so proud of them and can't wait to see what comes next! 

Consider the Night Lit!

Consider the night officially lit!

We are thrilled to announce that all the solar lighting is fully installed in the orphanage and maternity ward. There's not a lot to show in pictures, since the panels are on the roof and the wiring is in the walls, but the solar lighting has already been used for several deliveries and been extremely helpful with our newest tiny guy, who eats every hour.

Isaac

Speaking of which... welcome to our gorgeous new little man, Isaac. He's just two weeks old but doing beautifully – healthy at 3 kilos and with a gorgeous head of hair. He loves to be held and is currently eating once an hour, which is great for him if slightly less fun for the mamas!
 

Do I HAVE TO walk? 

Litte Ebenezer and little Neema are doing great, both healthy and happy – Neema in particular has developed a belly that would make Buddha jealous. Big Ebenezer is much improved after the attempt at flying that knocked out his front teeth – he's fully healed and extremely smiley again. In fact, that whole age group is doing great. Frankie is finally WALKING, after taking a million years to decide it was worth the effort. Maureen just turned two, and is talking in full sentences and can count to ten in Swahili and English (CRAZY). Filipo has been going through a major developmental growth spurt, and is now talking his little head off and has gotten infinitely more cheerful and interactive.

Vicky's serious face

Grace is moving up to the big kids' room to make room for Shujaa to move into the toddler room – he has started standing up in his crib, so it's time for something with higher walls! Peace said his first word yesterday – “Acha,” or “Stop it,” quite common choice for the orphanage kids (if you had 23 brothers and sisters it would be your first word too)! Vicky continues to be gorgeous and sweet and make hysterical faces.

Big Maureen kissing her BFF, Miriam

Moving on up... Ester continues to test everyone's patience by refusing to use the potty and using her pants instead, but she's so cute it's difficult to stay annoyed for long. Neema, big Maureen, Baracka, and Miriam are all healthy, happy, and enjoying school.

Simoni with his great grandparents

This week Mama Pendo and I took two trips to visit Zawadi and Simoni's families... and after great visits, they have agreed to let me move forward with their adoptions! I could not be more thrilled or honored.

Loveness and Pray are happy and healthy, no significant news about either of them. Andrea, David, and Pendo have all learned to write their names and are practicing that new school on every surface! They are ready to start school in January and are absolutely raring to go. Abdulli has been trying very hard but still isn't quite there – we're still trying to find a specialist to come out and test him so we can make concrete school plans, at which point we will need to find him a sponsor! The big kids are now back at school, although we had a fantastic day painting with them (along with volunteers from Speranza Tanzania, check out more pictures on their post, although Google Translate will be your friend!).

Painting with the school kids

We also have a bunch of great new volunteers, welcome to Emma, Tess, Christina, Sophie, and Ashlee. The kids are really benefiting from all the extra attention. Even the chickens are thriving – we have eight new chicks and more hatching every day.

Basically, life at Nkoaranaga is hectic but wonderful, as usual, and I am loving it, and dreading having to leave in a few weeks! In the meantime, I'm going to get back there and hug some babies. Thank you again to everyone who donated to Light Up the Night, including everyone who participated in Kristina's event and the MPA's fundraising – we couldn't be happier!

Then and now

It's amazing how fast time flies at the orphanage... sometimes, history repeats itself, and some things never change!

Frankie 2010

Frankie 2012

 Frankie's cheeks are still for the ages!

Me holding Pray and Simoni 2010

Me holding Pray and Simoni 2012

I still adore this funny little pair, who couldn't be more different from each other if they tried, despite being just a few months apart in age...

Baracka (left) with bubbles 2010

Baracka with bubbles 2012

Baracka still loves bubbles, but has moved up the totem pole, and now gets to blow them rather than just pop them!

Simoni grinning 2010

Simoni grinning 2012

 Simoni still has the world's best happy face...

Eman 2010

Eman 2012

Eman is still way cooler than I will ever be, and he still likes chilling on the trampoline...

Stevie (far right) as a baby with volunteers (thanks Amy for the photo!)

Stevie (far left) 2012 with volunteers

Stevie's mouth still exerts its own gravitational pull... 

Tumaini with Zawadi 2009

Tumaini with Peace 2012

And you still can't keep Tumaini away from the babies. Ok, so a few concrete updates on the kids - Peace is out of the hospital and back home with us, missing only a little of his belly chub. Big Ebenezer has taken his daredevil antics to the next level and smashed out his front teeth - poor boy! Little Ebenezer is doing much better and should be discharged from the hospital tomorrow (yay!), so our whole little family should be at the orphanage together as of tomorrow! Thank you so much to everyone who donated for his care - he was in about ten days altogether, so his bill will be high. We continue to gratefully accept contributions towards his hospital bills. 

And as a final bonus, a lookalike feature: 

Which of these pictures shows our gorgeous boy Shujaa, and which shows a Japanese Kabuki crab ? Both are surprisingly fuzzy on top. 

Nani's Guest Post!

Guest post from Nani, another fantastic volunteer we were lucky to encounter during our trip, who we hope will stay involved with the kids through The Small Things for many years to come! 

Nani with the kids and Mama Ayo!

Over my summer holidays I decided to take on Africa for 3 months, a month of which I would be spending at Nkoaranga Orphanage. I guess we’ll start at the beginning then: I reached the orphanage in one piece after what would become one of many interesting dalla rides up the hill to Nkoaranga, being only slightly concerned by the amount of coffin makers along the way. So anyway, as I got closer to the orphanage the cries and screaming became audible, and for a moment I stopped and asked myself what I had gotten myself into, but took another breath and stepped into a world of babies, kids, nappies, endless laundry and constant play-time. On my first tour of the orphanage, I made the mistake of picking little David up and subsequently having to put him down to his great disappointment, making it very clear and audible. I also said hi to the babies, and one of them grabbed onto my hands, pulling herself up and walking with me for a little while, as I looked around and asked the others there if she could walk they said no. Looking back it must have been Vicky or Gracie because both are keen on walking and are known to get quite upset when put down, which of course I had to do to continue my tour. In due time I would spend many hours with them walking up and down the halls, and even tackling stairs on occasion.

Peace (left) and Shujah

The next day I arrived at 8am at which time the 6 babies (Franky, Filipo, Gracey, Vicky, Ebenezer and litte Maureen) were getting changed and the other kids stood atop the counter while the Mamas cleaned the floor. The kids were bouncy and very happy to have a new face there, and I was suddenly jumped on, trying not to drop any of them, as well as not have any of them fall off the counter. But miraculously most of the time the kids don’t hurt themselves, not seriously anyway and normally recover pretty quickly. I never knew how resilient little kids were until coming to the orphanage. It’s cute watching the kids interact with each other, especially with Shujah and Peace who seem to be the toughest of them all- being carried around, bounced up and down on their little chair, fed solid foods as the older kids just want to share but don’t understand they can’t eat it yet. Those two were the sweetest babies I have ever come across, they never cry if something is not really wrong, are very patient with feeding, smile and giggle just when you come up to them- it’s the nicest reception and made my heart melt. Thinking of Shujah now with his amazingly soft and curly hair and his adorable grin makes me miss him so much, but I’m gone knowing he’ll bring that pleasure to many other volunteers.

Shujah's short lived mobile

Often, because he demanded so little, it would be possible to leave him in the chair, or on a mattress to look out onto the world but I realised after a while that he was understimulated. So one day I   decided to make a colourful mobile for him, out of bits and pieces from around the orphanage- he loved it! But so did the other kids and it didn’t last much longer than a couple of hours! But nonetheless, that was an easy thing to do, and could easily be made again. Also something the kids really need are walkers or play toys that help them walk, because The 6 who were all around one a half years old while I was there were not walking yet, and only Vicky and Gracie were bothering to attempt this big milestone. I think the main problem is that if no one is willing or able to walk with them, they can’t practice, so it would be great if something like this could be found for them as I looked all over Arusha and couldn’t find anything like it. Also a little support which I’m not sure what it’s called (jumping joey maybe) allows babies to become comfortable with the idea of standing, which is what the kids desperately need! Also the baby bouncer broke while I was there, and now Shujah and Peace, the Two Tinies as I call them, have nowhere to lie down but the mattresses.

Frankie with the older kids

Now to move on to all the wonderful people who work at the orphanage, the Mamas and the volunteers; amongst them Frankie. The orphanage without Frankie wouldn’t be complete- he is a wonderful 18 year old local who is wonderful with the kids, often taking the bigger ones out for a walk or game of football, and he also happens to be deaf. It’s funny to see how the kids act differently around him when trying to explain things to him they do it with more exaggerated hand movements but in complete silence! The mamas love his help, especially with putting the kids to bed! The mamas are amazing women who mostly have their own families and work together to raise this big family of orphans together with all the love and attention they can manage amongst their other jobs of cooking, cleaning, feeding the kids, nappy changes, laundry, bathing and cleaning reusable nappies without complain or disgust as far as I can tell. They have amazing jobs, and really seem to enjoy their work, and always get on with whatever needs to be done with smiles on their faces!

Frankie and Frankie blowing bubbles together

I had some really amazing moments with the kids- three kids stacked onto my lap while on the swing, having the kids come to me with open arms waiting for me to dump laundry in to them, feeding 6 kids at once with 6 separate spoons, bringing out my huge Australian blow up ball and watching them chase it and aim it at a cow which they found hilarious as it was so shocked! The list could go on forever…It really is a great place to be, if only for a month, surrounded by babies. It’s also great the freedom with which you can work there and what changes you can make, your time there is whatever you make it!