Project Riziki: Helping Hope

As you may have recently read, baby Hope has been suffering from an unexplained illness for quite some months now. Hope benefited from our 'Five Baby Challenge' last summer upon her arrival at the orphanage which, with your help and support, enabled us to fund one-to-one care for her to ensure she gained weight and strength to get her off to the best start during a very vulnerable stage in her life. However, there have been ongoing problems with her health, which we still cannot definitively explain or begin to fix. You may remember that young, beautiful Hope was fighting for her life. After several weeks in the Lutheran referral hospital in Arusha, she was believed to be on the mend. However, after just a few days back at the orphanage, she had to be rushed to a larger hospital in Moshi with a high fever.

Precious little Hope last year, not too long after her arrival at Nkoaranga Orphanage

Over the past few years, The Small Things and our partners have been able to vastly improve the living conditions, daily care, and survival chances of the beautiful kids at Nkoaranga Orphanage, thanks to your support. Hope's health problems are still a mystery unsolved. Therefore, we would like to ask for your help again in raising money for Project Riziki. 

The current situation:

Last week, Hope was admitted into hospital again with a fever, with the source still unknown. Nobody in Tanzania, so far, seems to be able to figure out exactly what is going on with poor Hope. She is now out of the hospital and back at the orphanage and doing well with Mama Fanueli; but this is almost certainly not the last of her problems. We want to do everything we can to ensure Hope is in full health and not having to suffer from these continuous fevers and chest infections any longer. 

We have recently found out about a clinic in Hai which can perform some tests that we thought would require travel to Kenya, which is thrilling!

Why we need your help:

In order to bring Hope to the center, we would need to ask Mama Fanueli to accompany us so that we can get Hope back to Nkoaranga the same day. If the consultation for Hope in Hai is unsuccessful in finding out the source of these ongoing problems, we will need to take her to Nairobi, Kenya as soon as possible. That would mean getting an emergency travel document through immigration to bring her to Kenya, which is a very complicated and costly prospect.

Hope, still tiny but growing.

With the memory of the losses of our little boy, Riziki in 2011 and our little girl, Rehema in 2012 in mind, we now ask for your help and support in our attempt to give our kids the best possible medical care they can receive here in Tanzania when circumstances require. We don't want to remain in the position of having to scramble for funds each time medical needs occur, as we have in the past. We have instead sought to create a standing fund - 'Project Riziki' - for hospital bills as well as any necessary transport, food, and overtime for Mamas accompanying the child, in memory of our little angels Riziki and Rehema, so that money will not be an obstacle to a child receiving the best care available.

Therefore, any donations that you are able to make towards Project Riziki would be extremely helpful. Not knowing what exactly Hope is suffering from means that we do not know what the future holds for her. We absolutely do not want to lose her, and that is why we plan to do everything we can. Just a few months ago she was still so weak and small. She has continued to put up a strong fight, and has now gained weight and is active, but we cannot predict the future without knowing the full picture. 

Thank you for anything you are able to give. Whether it is $1, $10 or £10, every dollar or pound will go a long way and will contribute to potentially saving the life of our little girl Hope. 

Please click here to donate towards Project Riziki

Thank you.

Guest Blog: Emily Butler - 6 Months Alcohol Free for the Nkoaranga Children

As you heard about on Facebook, the incredible Emily Butler has been undertaking a lengthy fundraising project for us - six months, in fact! Returning from her third time volunteering at Nkoaranga Orphanage in September, she decided to really go the extra mile (or month!) in raising money for the children she cares about so much in a very inventive way - she decided to give up alcohol for six months, with all donations going towards us!

When Hope became ill, she decided to dedicate the money raised towards her care, with any extra money raised going to the care and support of any future children who need it.  She is so close now to completing her goal and half a year of dedicated fundraising has really paid off - she has raised £471!  With just 10 days to go, please consider donating to this very worthy cause and support Emily in supporting Hope.

Click here to sponsor Emily - thank you!

Emily Butler with baby Hope in the summer of 2013

"One question that I keep being asked by everyone is, ‘Why alcohol?’ So here’s my answer:

I just want to start by saying that I am not addicted to alcohol. I’m a student, and drinking alcohol kind of comes with the title. Before I did this fundraiser, I was about to go into my final year of university so I knew I needed to focus. I spent my summer in Nkoaranga, introducing my family to those beautiful children and having the most amazing time. When I came home I felt, as I always do when I come back from NK, a little lost. Being in Nkoaranga can be like stepping into another world. Everything is so different and yet you feel right at home. The children mean so much to me and I couldn’t bear having to say goodbye to them yet again. So, when I came back to England, I decided I wanted to raise some money for them, as a way of me helping them from all the way over here; a sort of connection.

  

The amazing children of Nkoaranga Orphanage; the motivation for Emily to give up alcohol for 6 months

So, as I said, student = alcohol, final year = need to focus! And what better way to raise money for those beautiful children and to stop myself from procrastinating in the pub than to give up alcohol?

The second question I keep being asked is, ‘Why 6 months?’

The simple answer is that 1 month didn’t feel like enough of a challenge and a year just seemed crazy! So I went for the middle ground. I knew that by giving up alcohol for 6 months, I would be taking part in final year freshers, Halloween, bonfire night, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and end of exams all completely soberly. And boy, what a challenge it has been.

Christmas was my biggest worry. I don’t know about you, but our Christmas tends to be surrounded by the consumption of various types of alcohol: Mulled wine, gin and tonic, bailey’s, a nice bit of cheeky cava. I knew that the Christmas festivities were going to be my biggest obstacle and there were times, in particular when I was pouring out a glass of Baileys for my Grandma, when all I wanted to do was sneak into the kitchen and start swigging from the bottle. Pathetic or what? But, I stood strong. I even had to be careful about food; it’s amazing the amount of Christmas food that’s filled with alcohol. The amount of chocolate truffles I had to turn down because they were filled with rum. And that really is my idea of heaven: chocolate plus alcohol. Don’t get me wrong though, I still had an incredible Christmas. I was able to explore a range of soft drinks: Shloer, cloudy lemonade, lime and soda water. And all without the hangover! I did feel rather smug whilst my family moaned about their ‘slight’ hangovers on Boxing Day and I was sat there fresh as a daisy. Then it hit the evening and they cracked open the alcohol, again. I didn’t feel quite so high and mighty at that point.

Emily reading a story to some very eager children!

Needless to say, Christmas was a bit of a struggle. But this has been nowhere near as hard as I thought it would. I think I’ve just kind of gotten used to it now. Though, having said that, there really are times, in particular that past few frustratingly hard weeks of dissertation writing at university, when I’ve just wanted to be able to sink into the sofa with a nice glass of white wine and a good book. I have to say, that is something that I am really looking forward to. No matter how tempted I have been though, I haven’t touched a drop. I just think of the wonderful children and Mamas that I am raising this money for and the temptation for a nice cold cider is gone.

I have decided to donate the money I raise towards the hospital fees for Baby Hope. She has just come out of hospital, which I am so pleased to hear about, but is still under investigation, so the money you wonderful people have donated is going towards finding out what is making her so ill in the first place, and supporting her in keeping strong and gaining weight. Baby Hope has been through so much in her short life so far. She has had health problems from the start due to her being so premature. We were so pleased to see her improving and gaining weight, so it really came as a shock when she went into hospital at the end of 2013. But, that little girl is a fighter and is getting stronger every day. The Mamas have been incredible, as they always are, and Hope will be getting extra special care from Mama Fanuelli now that she is back home.

Mama Fanuelli taking excellent care of Hope

I want to say a special thank you to all of the wonderful people who have sponsored me in my 6 months  alcohol free fundraiser. You are incredible and your constant support and generosity warms my heart. 

Thank you so much for anything you can give! There is just one week to go; I can practically taste that glass of white wine waiting for me!"

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. 

Climbing Mountains to Save Lives

Working with The Small Things, I never cease to be amazed by all of the brave and slightly crazy things that people are willing to do in order to help those in need. There are many wonderful people out there, who work unbelievably hard every single day to help people they haven’t even met, care for those who need them the most, and take part in ridiculously courageous challenges to try to raise money for charity.

One such person is Danielle Carr, a 19 year old student at Manchester University, who is willing to push her body to the limits and attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in order to raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation- a brilliant cause.

Here, Danielle tells us more about this incredible project:

“Hi, my name is Danielle, I’m 19 years old and from Newcastle. I currently live in Manchester and am in my second year at the University of Manchester studying Management, specialising in Marketing. This year I wanted to do something different and help to raise money for charity, which is why I’ve taken on the challenge of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The charity I’m raising the money for is the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF), which helps to fund research to prevent meningitis and septicaemia in order to improve survival rates and outcomes. It promotes education and awareness to reduce death and disability, and gives support to people affected. This disease can kill people within hours and those who survive it can be left with problems that can dramatically affect their lives. I’m sure you will agree that MRF is a great cause and the work they do really does make a difference. The money I raise will go directly to the charity in order to help them with their research and in return they will fund the costs of flights to get there. I have a target of £2500 to reach and I would love to be able to exceed it.

The reason that I’ve decided to do this project is that I wanted to achieve something that was challenging. The climb will be in August this year so I’ve got a lot to do in preparation such as raising the money and doing some training so that I am fit enough. I’m nervous, but very excited. It will be such an amazing experience and so rewarding to know that I’ve helped raise money and awareness for Meningitis as well. To sponsor me or to find out more about how my fundraising is going then please click here. Thank you so much for anything you can donate and for supporting me along the way- I really appreciate it."

I really admire anyone who is willing to face such a challenge in order to raise money for people who really need it. Climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the rooftop of Africa, is an incredible achievement and I can’t think of a better reason to raise the money. Every year thousands of children are affected by meningitis, including some of the children at Nkoaranga Orphanage.

Please join us in supporting Danielle in tackling this mountain of a challenge (Get it? Mountain? Oh dear...). Thank you so much for anything you can give.

As a thank you, please enjoy this beautiful video of our gorgeous boy Ebenezer - who was desperately ill last year with malaria, pneumonia and meningitis all at once - showing us just how far he's come. Give these kids a chance and they will move mountains.

Thinking Small to Think Big

Unless you've managed to hide under a a rock for the last week (and if so, kudos to getting internet under your rock!), then you probably know that the world population hit 7 billion. That's some terrifying stuff, if you ask me - and I adore kids! But I think everyone can agree that there are some serious issues with exponentially increasing population growth, both in terms of our ability to care for the needy, and in terms of the earth's ultimate carrying capacity. At the end of the day, neither of these are unlimited - and if we want happy, healthy lives for the children who are being born, population growth is a serious concern. 

That said, population growth as an abstract concern will never, and should never, change the way we see living, breathing children. Every orphaned child, every child period, deserves to grow and thrive, and our mission and passion here at The Small Things continues to be to make that happen. 

Reziki - we will never stop 
missing you, little man. 

Still, there was a part of me that was worried about reconciling the two. I knew that the kids would always come first, that I would never be able to accept loss of an infant's life as anything other than an absolute evil, no matter how bad population issues got. I worried that that made me a hypocrite - a label I would have accepted a million times before shifting my position.

Then I stumbled across Hans Rosling's TED talks on population growth, and more importantly, this video in which he looks at the specific interactions between child mortality and family size. It's a very quick video but amazingly intuitive - and he talks about Tanzania specifically, which I always love to see!

Hans Rosling Breaks Down the Impact of Child Mortality on Population Growth  - and a slightly different, 10 minute version here - "Child survival is the new green"

As someone studying development, I've understood for a while that poverty alleviation can help to counteract population growth, in that as median income goes up, average family size tends to go down. I originally understood this primarily in terms of education, especially for women - higher education tends to lead people to delay having children until later, and choose to have fewer. Still, it took this video for me to really understand the effects that reducing child mortality specifically has on population growth. And now that I think of it that way, I feel stupid for never recognizing it before - the hallmark of a great piece of educational media! 

The truth is, I would have cheered as that blue dot plunged on the child mortality index, even if average family size had been shooting up. I know this about myself - I recognize that my feeling for individuals will always trump abstract principles, and I wouldn't have it any other way. But what a blessing, to know that sometimes you don't have to choose - that doing good on one axis can help create positive change on another. 

We all do the small things that we can, and the big picture will come together, with or without us seeing it. 

These smiles will never be anything but a blessing. 

Buying gifts for the holidays or donating to charity doesn't have to be a zero-sum game, either - through our partnership with Elemental Threads, an amazing design-your-own handcrafted handbag company, you can enter code "TheSmallThings" at checkout and have 25% of your purchase donated to the Nkoaranga kids. Please also consider making a gift to The Small Things in honor of your loved one - they'll receive a beautiful card letting them know that you were thinking of them. Thanks for reading and for caring about our kids! 

Board Bios - Emma Shaw

This is the first of a series of introductions to our fabulous board members - meet the lovely and talented Emma Shaw! 

My name is Emma Shaw and I came to Tanzania through the organisation "Oyster Worldwide" as part of my gap year between school and university. After considering many other countries including Patagonia, Nepal and Zambia I chose Tanzania because of how much the placement had to offer: teaching English to both primary and secondary school children, voluntary work at the local hospital and, of course, care work at Nkoaranga Orphanage.

What I didn’t expect was that I’d become so involved at the orphanage - that I would be the one trekking across the hospital grounds at night, carrying a small, unwell child huddled in blankets. It made me realise that, when it’s a child in your care that needs treatment, the hospital is no longer an ‘interesting place to gain medical experience’. When you’re scared for a child and in need of help you don’t care about any of that. You just want them to make your child better.

It was moments like these that made me realise that volunteering at Nkoaranga Orphanage wasn’t going to be something I could just drop and move on from once home. I really didn’t expect this, and I have no idea why! I didn’t realise how important making sure that the children have a safe, happy future would become, which is why I’m so glad to be a part of The Small Things, and so determined to do all I can to give them as bright a future as every single one of them deserves.

Although my hardest moment physically at Nkoaranga orphanage was the morning after my first night shift when we were helping to wash all of the big kids – I remember feeling almost sick with tiredness (a first for me) - it gave me a whole new appreciation of the incredible work the mamas do every day. However, my hardest moments overall were definitely when I was scared for a child. I was scared when Gracie (normally so placid and sweet tempered) was crying so unstoppably, hysterically and harshly and we had no idea why, and I was constantly scared about losing Ebenezer. He was so sick, tiny and premature when he came in - then months later, after he had come so far, he got profoundly ill again and reignited all that fear. I found changing him very hard as there was no escaping how much weight he’d lost and how tiny he’d become. I was scared I’d break him. 

Ebenezer shortly after his hospital stay -
still back and forth twice a day for IV medication

On the other hand, another thing I found really hard was refusing the children water because there wasn’t any that had been purified and I’m so excited that, thanks to the success of Project MAJI, that will never have to happen again!!!

I had SO many amazing moments with the children – all of them hilarious, touching and unforgettable. For me, it was so rewarding to see Pendo settle in, and this sometimes cheeky, sometimes serious but always beautiful, kind and sweet girl emerge from her shell – and give everyone lots of kisses on the cheek! I always found putting the big kids to bed really special. They’d call my name and I’d go over and crouch down under their mosquito net to have a whispered talk with them, before kissing them goodnight, wishing them sweet dreams and telling them I loved them. It meant so much to be able to do that for them. 

Pendo cuddling with her buddies Farajah and David

And then I have tons of hilarious memories, such as the time one of the schoolchildren, Tumaini, and I were searching for socks in the pile of laundry in the sink and, being the adorable but clumsy girl she is, she switched on the tap, soaking everything! Her eyes went wide and her “Ohhh…pole! (sorry)” couldn’t have sounded more shocked (or amused)! Being there for Ester’s first steps; Frankie’s inevitable bawling at my lack of speed whilst feeding him; hanging out the washing and realising that the two little boys helping me were helpfully “rinsing” everything in a muddy puddle before passing it to me…the list is endless!

I think the thing which concerns me most at the moment is ensuring that not just the children ready to go to school this year, but that all those in the coming years will be able to go to school and have a good education, hopefully through our partnership with The Foundation for Tomorrow. While the children are at Nkoaranga orphanage I feel happy knowing that, between Mama Pendo, all the other Mamas, and volunteers looking after them, the children have people who care about and want the best for them. What worries me is when they leave and have to fend for themselves, and the life that awaits them. As we grow and develop as an organization, it is a challenge we will have to face. 

However, I think it’s impossible to say what the most important work to be done is in the long term, because everything that contributes to a healthy, happy childhood for the children matters: it’s important to have the filtration system fitted so that the children don’t have to be denied water, or risk sickness from drinking it straight from the tap; it’s important that mosquito nets are correctly used to avoid malaria; it's important that formula is available to keep babies healthy, and to aid recovery if they do fall ill; it's important that the hospital is also supported because all children need healthcare at some point; it's important that any psychological issues that a child has are addressed, and it's important that when they do go on to school, they are happy, healthy and fully ready to do so. Our job now is to try to balance those many important jobs to be done, and we hope you'll come along with us for the ride! 

Internal organs have terrible timing

In keeping with my body's tendency to stage revolts at important moments - see Mysterious African Fever and Underwear Based Head-Gear and The Good News Is, I'm PROBABLY Not Dying for my body's spectacular ability to generate inexplicable ailments during crucial stages of the well project - my gallbladder has had all it can take and it can't take no more. It will be making a break for freedom on Thursday (if not earlier via emergency surgery), and until then I'm unable to eat anything but rice cakes, which is not ideal blogging fuel. HOWEVER, we had an EXCELLENT board meeting this morning where we addressed various upcoming projects, including our partnership with the gorgeous and talented Bethan to install a water filtration system at the orphanage and hospital - very exciting, more on that to come - as well as our progress in getting Stevie, Ericki and Dainess ready (and funded!) for school. So blogging may be light for a little while as I recover, but rest assured that movement is happening behind the scenes. Look out in the next few days for a comprehensive post on the new water project (Water Part II: The Filtration - sounds like a summer blockbuster!). In the meantime, a favorite video that I don't think has been shown here before - the incredibly sweet Maureeni giving kisses. In related news, she and Miriam have apparently become attached at the hip and will not go anywhere without each other - real best friends.

On the plus side, this gallbladder situation has made me glad not to be in Tanzania for the first time in several months! So there's a silver lining!

Ebenezer

Turns out our little man is fighting meningitis in addition to malaria and pneumonia. He came in the same day as Reziki, and he was actually the weaker of the two - most of the mamas didn't think he would make it this far, and he has proven to be a fighter. All we can do is hope that he will keep fighting. The malaria is no longer showing in tests and the pneumonia is going, and reports on the ground (thanks to the incredible Bethan, Jasmine, Emma, Megan, and Emily) say that he's smiling and responding, which is a good sign. Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I don't believe in prayer - but I can't be there, and neither can you, and for once I get the idea of needing to feel like we're doing SOMETHING. So keep him in your thoughts? He will never be out of mine.

Extremely premature

Little fighter four months later - putting up his dukes.

P minus 9 hours!

So I am currently just kind of running around in the manner of a headless chicken trying to make sure everything is set for the arrival of the 'rents - we have quite a lot lined up already so I hope it's not too hectic. I really want them to see the Tanzania I've fallen in love with, not to mention my babies. It feels almost like having set up a blind date and waiting anxiously to see if they even like each other - except this blind date cost, erm, significant money for the tickets alone, and is two weeks long, so they better damn like each other. Says I. Not much I can do now but wait! In the meantime, here are some snapshots of the past week.

Knew that good health streak wouldn't last... malarial Baracka FAAST asleep in the hospital

Our little fashion plate, Loveness

Don't mess with the chick with the bear. Even Ester looks scared.

Gracie got bored waiting for her turn to be changed and decided to take matters into her own hands

 

 Neema is WALKING! Thrilling, although it's probably a good thing Zawadi doesn't understand any of the things I say to her to encourage, erm, healthy competition to get her walking without help too! 

Dianess and Gracie in perfect audience/performer symbiosis

P minus 7 days

That's right, the lovely David and Dorothy will be arriving exactly a week from today, and I am very excited - trying desperately to stay focused on being excited about that rather than thinking about the fact that it means I am three weeks away from leaving my babies. So instead let's not think or talk about that at all, kay? The kids are mostly doing wonderfully - Z is standing on her own (albeit for only a few seconds before toppling!), the toddlers are all utterly fascinated by mirrors, and the good health kick seems to be continuing for now, although the toddlers have been wracked by a prodigious outbreak of ringworm - their hair is all falling out in little circular clumps, which I guess is ok since they shave every few months anyway. Not beautiful, and not fun to get the antifungal on squirming kidlets twice a day.

Movie star Neema practicing her pout

Sweetheart Maureen giving a kiss

Simoni thinks the whole thing is hysterical

And Zawadi being her cheeky self, as usual.

Standing alone for the first time! With the inexplicable but omnipresent shoes on the hands... don't ask me.

However, I'm NOT thrilled with the way the school kids looked upon returning to the orphanage a few days ago - they come here first and then Mama Pendo brings them individually to their homes and checks on all the conditions before leaving them. After only four months, some of these kids had lost significant amounts of weight, and all complained that there was never enough food and they were beaten all the time, and most said they disliked school because of it. These are five and six year old children, GOOD kids, not just the ones who are mischievous - all reported being beaten regularly. So that's absolutely not ok, and I'm getting in touch with several people to see whether this is something that's fixable at the school or whether we need to look for another school for at least Ericky and Steven, both of whom are being sponsored by family and friends of myself and other current volunteers (thanks Rita!).

Immanuel at Christmas

Immanuel now, all his clothes falling off

I also spent yesterday with the palliative care team, since my parents will be working primarily with them, which was... quite an eye opener. The team consists of three women with minimal medical training, overseeing another thirty volunteers in the villages, taking care of over 700 patients, with conditions ranging from cancer, to HIV, to diabetes (which is a terminal condition here) to children without caretakers in dire poverty. They are provided with medication, but it is drastically inadequate - tramadol, which is a medicine commonly used for back pain, is the most extreme painkiller they have available, even for women like the one pictured below. Her cancer is covered by her scarf, and out of respect I'm not going to post the uncovered picture, but it is about the size of a cantaloupe and visibly open and painful, distorting at least half of her face - and all they can offer is tramadol.

Using an antiquated BP machine - in most cases the only care they can provide with current equipment

Meanwhile, these patients clearly cannot work and often have been abandoned by their families (especially HIV patients), and so lack even a few thousand shillings, a dollar or less, to buy soap and disinfectant. Meanwhile, the women running the program, who are in no way, shape, or form wealthy themselves, scrape up a few shillings from their own pockets in almost every home to help them out. Even more heartbreaking, if that's possible, was the diabetic patient we saw - apparently maximum life expectancy for diabetics is about 30 years here, and the hospital owns a single glucometer, which they do not lend to the palliative care team - so the team goes out into the village and is unable to even test the sugar of the patients, and instead must try to evaluate their condition from their reports of pain, etc. Cancer and HIV are often killers even with the best care, but to see such an easily treatable condition taking lives is deeply upsetting. I am hoping that we can help formalize the structure of their program, donate some supplies, and then work on raising some money to help support their work, as they are currently almost completely unsupported, internally or externally, and run by local volunteers.

Just what I need, another big project I want to get involved with weeks before I leave...It's all worth it though, and I WILL be back.