Another new baby
We have a new baby in the Nursery now, her name is Jody, named after a recent visitor. Jody is 2 1/2 weeks old. She was 2.9 kg at birth and she is very healthy and happy now. Her story is as follows. The nurses at the local hospital said that they thought the mother may have been raped by a relative. After the mother gave birth in the hospital, she just said that she wanted her baby to be adopted out. She did not even look at Jody once, she just left the hospital. May was in the hospital getting blood tests done for two of our HIV children, and decided to go and check out how the nursery was going. She met up Jody and another tiny baby that was too small for her to take. May has been taking formula into the hospital so that tiny baby can be fed. The hospital does not give formula, but does give straight cows milk from the carton! Will keep you posted. The pic (right) is Eunice looking after Jody. Eunice is one of our girls. She is 15 years old and has been with us for 10 years.
School Holidays:
School holidays are here again. The children have worked hard all year at school so now it’s time to have a break. We already have 4 boys in secondary school, 1 in 1st grade and 3 in 2nd grade. We had 2 of these 2nd graders attending the “Menengai High School”, but we have decided for 2009 that they will be joining the other two at the nearby “Uhuru High School”. We also have 6 of our EAMO Primary School children joining the boys and attending Uhuru High School too this coming year. With 10 of our children going off campus now, we have decided to purchase a used Nissan Urvan for their transport.Jack, our Assistant Manager and Accountant has recently obtained his driver’s licence, so he will be driving the 10 children to and from the school. EAMO Primary School on our campus will continue on with a small change in a few of our teaching staff. Management has big plans to uplift EAMO Primary in 2009, so we are all excited about it. Please don’t for-get that we are still looking for experienced volunteer teachers either currently in service or retired. We have mentioned before, that we are really keenly seeking people to come and teach and supervise our teachers in and effort to give our children the best quality education possible. Please write to us if interested.
Testimony from a Visitor:
As I entered EAMO I observed the entrance sign at the gate. It is a picture of smiling, laughing, and healthy children. A three-some combination that my travels through Kenya, in the past month, have shown hard to find. As I spent two weeks at EAMO I saw the picture on the sign as a reality. During my stay I spent most of my time with the babies. EAMO currently has 16 babies and I was amazed everyday at their capabilities, care, and progress. Each of the babies comes to EAMO with a past of no smiles. Each was struggling to survive. Now 16 babies have smiles and yes also tears, but these tears are typical childhood tears.
I saw these smiles during my hours I spent helping and playing with the babies. One of my favorite moments with the babies was prayer time before a meal or to close worship. To see the eight older babies kneel, fold their hands, and then repeat their simple prayer to God was a special moment. When there are 16 babies, the task of care is enormous. Imagine 16 babies getting a bath every morning. This means four in the tub at a time. I found this to be a picture perfect moment. Also imagine nine little potties lined in a row with nine babies learning how to be potty trained. Potty training nine at once is a big job. Outside we would all go for a walk with one baby holding each of my hands and two holding the sides of my skirt. I enjoyed the walks and challenged myself to teach the babies something new each day, maybe a song, a new English word, or even how to count to ten. It is through all these moments of prayer, worship, bathing, potty training, and numerous others that I saw the entrance sign picture as a reality. As the babies said, “Bye Auntie Shan, a hug Auntie Shan” I felt the love that these babies are being shown and the love they are learning. As I exited EAMO I waived good-bye to the smiling, laughing, and healthy children. As the laughter and activity began to fade I thought EAMO is accomplishing its motto of “We put back the smiles on faces.” It is these smiles and happy moments with each child that I will remember.
