Saturday night we came to the baby home to dance with the mamas. They all taught us their traditional dances from their different villages, and it was so fun to dance with them and make them laugh! After they finished teaching us all their dances, they asked us to teach them, so I taught them some ballet and tap and it was so precious. We had such a good time with them!
Monday I got to go visit the boy I took to his dad a month ago. Charlie and I made the hour and a half drive out to this boy's village to bring him clothes and shoes and food and soap and toothbrushes and all kinds of goodies and to check on him to see how he's doing living with his family. As we got closer and closer and I knew we were on the road to his house I started remembering the squeaky little sound he let out when he was trying not to cry and the single tear he had running down his face as I made this drive with him last time. I got more and more nervous to see him and had to fight back tears until we pulled up in front of his empty house. The nice thing about villages is that when the parents have to go to work they just leave their kids with the neighbors, so he wasn't far away. It turns out he'd gotten malaria and had to be admitted to the hospital and had just gotten discharged the day before we came.
When he saw us he showed no excitement... in fact he looked a little scared. Charlie and I both started crying when we saw him and held him and told him how much we miss him and love him. We sat down on a mat with him and gave him some biscuits and he said he was liking his family and being there with them. Word spread pretty quickly that there were mzungus around, and soon we were surrounded by 30 or 40 village kids. As soon as I stood up to greet them they all jumped back five feet and looked terrified. I was really tempted to shout "Boo!" and scare them all away, but instead I let them warm up to me and shake my hands. Their faces when I touched them looked as though they thought the white might rub off on them, but most of them were excited to see a mzungu.
I got to see this boy's brothers and father and they all said that he was adjusting and doing well. We showed him pictures of the kids back at Amani and told him how much they miss him, and he seemed excited to see them, but not at all sad. Even when we were leaving he didn't cry and he was very sure that he wanted to stay, so I think it went better than I'd expected. It was hard seeing him covered in dirt and seeming so unsure about us, but it's good to know that he is happy there and he's not wearing rags and he looks well fed and well cared for. I'm so glad that he didn't cry or want to come back with us cause I don't think my heart could've handled that.
I am soooo happy that I was able to go visit him and see that he is doing well and seems happy and loved. I feel like that is the reason that I stayed this long, so I'd be able to fulfill my promise to him that I'd come back and check on him. On our way home we stopped by another village where the two children Natalie wrote about many weeks ago now live with their mom. They have come by Amani a few times since they left for various reasons, and their last visit the boy was covered in sores all over his body that were itching and oozing and bleeding and it was awful to see him that way. I guess it's common for children to have lots of health issues when they leave Amani and go to live in a village because they haven't been exposed to all the different bugs and things that can harm them that other children are immune to.
When we stopped by their home it was such a relief to see that his sores have all gone, but he's covered in scars from whatever it was. They both cried and ran to their mom when the saw us, I'm assuming because they were afraid we'd take them away with us... which I guess is good... It's just so hard seeing our kids living in these dreadful conditions when they've lived at Amani where they are just so spoiled. But they are happy and loved, and I'm learning that that is what really matters. It is amazing to me that these kids are happier having a family regardless of the conditions than they are being at Amani where they are given constant attention and have lots of clothes and food and love and running water and electricity and material things that our kids in America wouldn't dream of living without. I would think they would be dying to come back to Amani and all their friends, but it just goes to show that family is even more important than all of that. When it comes to basic life necessities, maybe having a mother and/or a father that loves you is more important than getting three meals a day and having a well rounded diet and being able to take a warm bath. Can you imagine? It blows my mind.
I have more to say but gotta go so I'll update with more very soon!!!
xoxo,
Alea
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