Pole Sana!

So sorry for not updating this earlier.  Things have been a bit all over the place, some days I feel I'm making progress and have something to write about... but then those are usually the days that I'm just too exhausted to write!  There are now three of us volunteering at the children's home, which is making a huge difference.  We organized a yard clean up afternoon for the older kids yesterday.  Gave them all gloves and we all ran around for a couple hours picking up all the garbage in the yard.  It went fairly smoothly, we didn't have enough gloves which caused a bit of a mess, but they were pretty well behaved (mostly because a teacher was helping us, we just have no control of the munchkins!).  Picked up mad amounts of garbage, although it's clear that the kids weren't too sure about the difference between garbage to toys, the garbage can was full of sticks and rocks as well as junk.  Then they all got there hands wiped with antibiotic cloths, and the teacher explained why its important to throw away the garbage, instead of eating it.   We had seen one little girl sucking on an old milk bag, which gave us the initial idea for cleaning up the yard.  As a treat we baked them rice crispy squares (chocolate, sugar, and a whole lotta love!).  Unfortunately, the young ones found the garbage after we had left, and before it had been burned, and redistributed it throughout the yard.  So I guess yesterday was just a practice run, but at least it gave the kids something productive to do for an afternoon!  As well as picking up the garbage, we are going to re-paint the equipment, and fix the swing set. 

Now that idea's are starting to take hold and turn into projects, the countdown to my departure seems to be coming too fast.  There is a toddler at the home with a squint (one eye will focus, while the other will wander) and I'm hoping to get her assessed by an eye doctor.  The question is whether to go the express tract, where you make an appointment, or to go through the general clinic, where you wait 5 or 6 hours with the hope of getting in, and she's not able to be booked for surgery until February.  However, the express route is 7x as expensive.  So suddenly, only a little more than a month left is just not enough!  One of the other volunteers at the home, also named Jessie, is staying for six months though, so I can get her to bring the girl in for the surgery, if its needed. 

I'm getting to know the children better, and I've spending lots of time with one little girl, baby Janet, who has rickets and whose legs are quite underdeveloped.  So I've been taking her for 'walks' around the baby room, trying to get her to use the muscles as she is usually just sitting in her cot all day.  She just lights up the moment I stick my head in the door.  Moments like this are priceless for me.  The days are exhausting, but it's a good kind of exhaustion.  And I try to think, if the home is wearing me out, how must it feel for these children, who have to be there all day, every day?  I can't even imagine.  So even when they are being little devils, I remind myself that they have to act out in order to survive in such an environment.  For them even bad attention, me getting cross because they've hit another child, is still attention. 

So that's a little bit of what I've been up to.  Hope all is well at home!  Miss you and love you!

jessie