So, on Saturday I was working the night shift, this means
that I had the day to relax and do nothing until 6pm, so I was lying in bed
writing some e-mails when Rachel comes
and asks if I want to go with them to the villages (4 of the children were
being taken to visit their families) at first I said no, because I didn’t want
to miss out on lying in bed. But as I thought about it I was like, “really
you’re gonna miss out on this because you’re lazy? How many times in your life
are you gonna get to go to remote African villages?” So I grabbed my bag and
ran out of the door.
Funny how being lazy can stop us from so many opportunities!
It was amazing to see the kids re-united with their
families, they were all so excited to get to spend a few hours with uncles,
grandparents and siblings! It also bought the harsh reality about where these
kids come from though, we drove down dirt ‘roads’ ( more like footpaths) which
were miles from anywhere and would take the families hours to walk to markets
or main roads, and when we got there the house? Well a mud hut with a grass
roof was what me us as most of the houses, but the kids didn’t care about that,
it was home and that’s what was important!
As we were travelling we were asked if we could go and visit
another house because there was a baby that they thought we could help. We
arrived at the house, it was smaller than my bedroom and home to 9 people,
lying on a mat by the door was a skeleton. Well actually it was the mother, she
was dying of AIDS because she had stopped taking her ARVs (Medicines which help
maintain your immune system) she really was nothing more than skin and bones,
most of the time she was unconscious and she had no awareness of anything that
was going on around her, her husband had also died of HIV and 8 children were
left to look after themselves. In situations like this the oldest girl becomes
responsible for caring for the family, in this case she was 14. She had not
been in school for over a year because she was caring for the mother, baby and
the other 6 children (2 of which were older boys) She was exhausted! The
children, neighbours and grandfather agreed that it was best if we bought the
baby (Nelson) who was 1year and 4 months old, to Amecet at least for a few
months, this would enable the daughter to care only for the mother and bring
her some peace and relief, when (and I say this because it seems inevitable)
the mother dies, the children will receive support from other families who will
help care for them, but unfortunately while the mother is still alive the
children must struggle on alone!
We made the journey back to Amecet with a frightened Nelson
(who had probably never been in a car before) 2 excited children and 2 chickens
(presents from their families) John’s grandmother had been so excited to see
him and was so grateful that we had taken him to visit, it was a beautiful, yet
short time but it was amazing to be part of that experience!
After that long day I proceeded with the night shift! Nelson
had a fever of 40.2 which is very high and we were preparing ourselves for a
long night! Luckily it was pretty quiet and power was there however I dionly got 3 hours of no contiunous sleep and so I was exhausted I lay in bed on Sunday morning
unable to turn my brain off! I was lying in bed thinking about magic stars, jam
doughnuets, cheese toasties and mac and cheese! Things I still have to wait 3
months to eat! And as I lay there I thought wow mothers really do have it hard!
They go through the sleepless nights having o get up every 3 hours to feed
screaming babies and they have over 9 months of not eating certain foods and
getting weird cravings, so I guess it’s something like how I’ve been feeling
and mannn it sucks! Sorry mothers!
At 3 I headed back to work and even though I was extremely
tired it was an amazing afternoon! Rose managed not only to stand up by herself
but also to take her first (and only) step towards me! I was so excited and so
proud of her! Rafael also stood by himself for a few seconds and Apio is
starting to sit by herself and hold her cup! We also had the new shape sorter
out and Rose really worked out the cylinder shape and both children loved
clapping when they got one in, I was really enjoying my time until Charles bit
me! Now all of these children are underdeveloped and should have started doing
these things months ago, but we finally have hope that they will make it! Nelson
was tested positive for Malaria and had to go on a drip which meant he was
stuck in a chair for most of the day!
We had a crazy worship session after dinner which is always
an amazing time! The kids were all singing, dancing and going crazy Rose and
Apio were clapping along and even Nelson was out with a smile on his face!
After dinner Nelson had to go back on the drip and... it
wasn’t working, nothing seemed wrong but the IV wasn’t flowing properly, there
is a doctors surgery next door and we managed to get one of the doctors over to
insert a new catheter, I could feel the boys pain but on the second try it was successful and the IV worked fine! Nelson
is now so much better and has been walking around with the stroller and really
loves the swing!
It amazing how if you put time and love into a child they
can really progress, it makes me wonder why even more isn’t being done to help
them, how much is a child’s life and progress worth?
By Monday night I was certainly ready for bed, with a lot to
think about!!!
p.s I still haven’t caught up on sleep and so if this makes
no sense sorry! And I’m sure I’ve misses something!
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