Out and About with the Kiddies

This week I went to visit another orphanage to get some ideas on how to better organize Save Africa.  The kids were so well behaved at the Hill Crest Orphanage and the volunteers did a great job decorating the walls with posters and pictures to help the kids learn. We have a few posters on the walls at Save Africa but they are all ripped and faded from the sun.  After work on Friday, Karina and I went shopping for some supplies so we can make posters and index cards with more English words.  We will be hanging posters with the days of the week, names of the months, weather patterns, and numbers.  The kids only know a few words in English that they learn from the alphabet song so hopefully this will help expand their vocabulary.

I had a great conversation with my project manager on Friday about the needs of the school so we can better prioritize our goals.  There are 4 or 5 kids at the orphanage who are too advanced for the classes there and should really be placed in primary schools.  Unfortunately, either they come from really poor families who cannot afford to send them to school or they live at the orphanage with no family at all.  I am trying to think of some creative fundraising ideas to sponsor some of these students so they can get the proper education. Let me know if you work for an organization or company that would be interested in sponsoring a child’s education for a year! 

Face paint Friday :)

The next thing on my list is buying sheets, blankets, and pillows for the orphanage.  Right now, the kids sleep two or three to a bed without anything but a thin, foam mattress.  I nearly started crying when Pascal showed me the bedrooms again and I realized they didn’t have anything to sleep with- maybe I will buy a few teddy bears too.  It gets really cold here at night so I can’t imagine how uncomfortable they are.

This is one of the bedrooms, 4 or 5 of the little ones share this bed

We are also looking for exercise books so the children can practice writing, reading, and math skills.  They only have blank notebooks that they copy down exercises from the board- this is when the mayhem ensues because there are not enough pencils for all of the kids to work at the same time. On Friday, Karina and I took 6 of the younger kids out of class so we could review the alphabet with them and let them practice holding pencils, coloring, and writing.  This method is so much more effective because we can give them special attention and help them to develop their handwriting skills.  They are so happy when they learn to write a new letter or number, its adorable.

Karina teaching Hadija how to write her name

We are buying more spoons, cups, and plates so they have enough for all of the kids, a thermos for tea, and buckets for cleaning. I think we are going to try to buy big bags of rice, beans, flour, etc so the mama’s can cook a variety of meals for them.  I was so sad when Pascal told me that some nights the kids just have Chai tea for dinner and then go to bed.  On Friday, we took 7 of the oldest kids out to lunch- they were ecstatic!  Pascal played a joke on them and told them they were in trouble so we were taking them to the river for a punishment.  They knew he was joking but the suspense of where we were really going was killing them.  They all ordered chips mayai with meat and vegetable on top; chips mayai is a traditional meal here, basically it’s an omelet with french fries in it…really good and unhealthy. The plates were so huge that Karina and I turned to each other and said, “there is no way they will be able to eat all of this”.  Well, they proved us wrong by basically licking their plates clean and fighting over the chicken bones we had left on our plates.  I heard my Grandpa’s voice saying “There are starving children in Africa, you must eat everything on your plate!!”- a line  he famously used at every family party when we were younger.  At the end of the meal, they were all very full and happy.  It was such a treat for them to be taken out to lunch and be fed a proper meal; I will never forget the smiles on their faces that day.

Out for lunch!

Since I get so upset thinking about what they do on the weekends, Matt and I decided to visit on Saturday too.  They never leave the school area except for Sundays when they go to church.  I wanted to give them something to look forward to on the weekend so we told them we were coming to take them out for ice cream on Saturday afternoon.  I brought balloons, stickers, and a beach ball that we played with for a little while- “Teacha, puliza! Teacha, puliza!” (Teacher, blow up my balloon!)  After a half hour of craziness, Matt and I walked to town with 14 kids, Pascal & Francis.  They were in awe of everything going on around them- music, stores, animals, food vendors.  Most of them had never seen town so Pascal asked if we could just walk around for a little while so they could take it all in.  Once we got to the ice cream stand, they very patiently waiting for us to hand out the cups of Tutti Frutti ice cream.  I was shocked at how well behaved they were!  It was nowhere near the chaos we witness during porridge everyday.

Saturday afternoon fun

Ice Cream Outing!

At school, the children are so loud and crazy because they are competing for our attention and it is a place where they feel safe. I found it very interesting to observe them in smaller groups when we brought them outside their comfort zone and into town.  They are timid and shy and much better behaved.  I am so grateful we were able to spend extra time with them and learn more about each individual; its so hard to do that with 50 kids jumping all over you.  Each and every one of them is amazing in their own way and I want nothing more than to provide them the opportunities and memories that all of us were given during our childhood.