18th and 19th February 2012
We had 2 nights in Diani Beach before heading back to the orphanage. We had arranged to go and see another orphanage “Upenda Children’s Home.” The African manager picked us up and took us there – we had to pay the fuel which was no problems. It wasn’t far as was in Ukunda, and we had a good look around and saw many things which we really liked. It was set out as villages are which was good and they baked their own bread, had a cow and chickens. There were 35 children that are homed here – all happy and smiling. A small little Masai boy took to me and followed me everywhere. He was still very malnourished but they hadn’t had him long. One little girl had been thrown in the garbage heap in a plastic bag still with her umbilical cord attached to her. Amazing that she was found before she died.
Seeing photos of the other children when they arrived and how thin they were breaks your heart. We are making many connections here which is what we need to do. We arrived back up at the orphanage with the kids so excited to see us back again. “How was Tanzania?” over and over again rang in our ears. Kerry wanted to hear all about our visit to St. Judes so we sat and chatted for quite some time. No water again, so everyone very frustrated. Sally the other volunteer had arrived from UK and been there a week while we had been gone. She was with Kerry the day George, Mary, Eliza and Jane were collected and brought to the home, so it was lovely that she was there for his 2nd birthday. She has watched the children grow as she has come twice now like me to the orphanage, and prior she had been in Kenya twice doing volunteer work for Camp Kenya. Kerry had to go and assess some 2 children in the bush some distance away and we waited for the chief to arrive so he could direct us there. The road was horrendous, and we came upon 3 mud huts and several children with dead eyes, and a girl amongst the boys who was so terribly thin, and her feet horribly overtaken by jiggers, the burrowing worm things here. Not only were they in her feet, but also her fingers, and her feet had become deformed from having them so long and changing her way of walking. Over the last few months Kerry had been getting visits from the children’s uncle who was looking after them. Their mother had 18 months ago, and he had 4 children of his own, and was also taking care of the father which has chronic epilepsy which is not understood here really. Villagers see it as the person being ‘possessed,’ and witchcraft is still very much alive here. The Uncle had walked several times the distance to Kerry’s place – about 25km – 30km there and same back to ask to take the 2 children that were his brothers. The brother with epilepsy was now in hospital with a broken arm from falling down during a fit and he wanted the children to be taken as he cannot take care of them.
Much ‘business’ was discussed in English and Swahili and we looked where the little girl Rachel and her brother Robert were sleeping and dogs in Australia have better sleeping areas. The most urgent was to have the little girl taken to a doctor and have her attended to and Kerry agreed to take the little girl first – get her terrible jiggers under control and then reassess the boy. Another sister and brother had already been taken by another children’s home. Kerry is returning on Friday to collect the little girl. Oh her eyes were dead and when asked had she eaten – she had only had wimbi porridge the day before we got there. She had to walk to school – when she was able to make the distance with her feet in such pain about 8km there each day and 8km back, but because of her condition she wasn’t attending school and they didn’t know for how long that had been. The boy Robert also had the dead eyes but was still thin but nowhere near as bad as his sister and was attending school fairly regularly. The little girl was called to carry something for an aunt I presume and she struggled to carry it on her head with her feet in such a bad way. This world is so cruel. You just wanted to bring her now. You sit and you wonder what do they think with us here – the children always look very scared at mzungus. They gave us 2 huge bunches of bananas and coconuts and the old grandmother wanted us to sleep there – she couldn’t speak a word of English and the grandson interpreted and said she wanted us to stay and sleep a night.
I wasn’t up to that. Your heart weighs heavy when you see what we’ve seen again and there is no way I could not go back to Australia and not continue what I am trying to do. It would just seem so horribly wrong. I’ve never turned by back on a stray dog or cat, or injured animal and these are human beings – little children who have been so badly neglected their emotions are just shutdown, and it’s not because their parents don’t love them, they either can’t feed or look after them or they are dead.
The children absolutely loved the drum Lesley had bought them in Ukunda and the rhythm that night with the dancing was just magic and we all danced to our own beat! It was good to do to get the weight of what we had once again seen today – so many children in desperate need here and knowing how ‘alive’ these children have become from love and nurturing is nothing short of the most amazing feeling.
POST SCRIPT – RACHEL IS NOW PART OF FOOTPRINT’S ORPHANAGE SHIMBA HILLS AND SLEEPING IN A BED IS A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE FOR HER. SHE SMILES EVERY DAY AND IS BECOMING SOCIAL SLOWLY WITH THE CHILDREN, IN CLEAN CLOTHES, A FULL STOMACH, SHELTER, LOVE, AND HER JIGGERS GETTING TREATED.
