Plans don't always go according to plan...

As mentioned before, many of our bags didn't make it when we made it. We were missing 16, which contained many of our own personal hygiene items...needless to say, many of us rushed into the showers as quickly as possible. After cleaning up, the real work began. We needed to organize the donation bags and decide what we would be bringing..

We loaded onto the bus later than anticipated, and got on our way to the Nyumbani Orphanage. This orphange is a home to kids aging from pre-k to young adult that have all been diagnosed with HIV to receive the very best care that their family wasn't able to provide. While in this home they receive education, medical treatment, emotional support as well as social support. We were informed that there hasn't been a child pass away from HIV there in over 5 years, but more on that later... The smaller kids are divided into four different homes, consisting of up to 15 children, and one house mom. The young adults, aged 14 and up, are also divided into four homes: boys and girls. The individuals aged 14 and up are all in charge of cooking their own food, washing their own clothing, and going to school. The school for them is outside the orphanage, where they take a bus to and from daily.

Our day at the orphanage began with a wonderful gentleman talking to us about the orphanage and how it all started. After that brief introduction we walked down to the homes and got a tour of where the younger kids live. We talked with one of the house moms, and she told us about their daily routines; where she informed us that the kids were required to take a two hour nap daily. I wish I could do that everyday!

As our tour of the home ended we were introduced to the kids. They ran out of the school, and one of the sisters asked the kids to sing us a song. We got the pleasure to listen to two songs, but as soon as those ended the real games began. The sister yelled out, "okay kids, find your new friends!" and we were attacked. The kids came running to us, and we suddenly had our new friends.. we all joined hands and ran in a circle. Duck, duck, goose was in store for us, but we quickly learned there were a different set of rules these kids played by. The next hour was filled with lots of games; hide n go seek, tug o' war (They totally kicked our butts by the way) and red light/green light..

We moved on and toured the rest of the facility. There is a cutting edge lab on site, filled with state of the art machines to help diagnose HIV, TB, and many of diseases. Many of those machines are the only ones in the country. This is where we learned all about the treatment these children recieve, the medications they need, and the staff that helps make their successes possible.

In the morning we packed a bag full of donations, which included some new soccer balls! We ended our day by handing 3 of them out. The excitement was such a rewarding feeling.



to be continued...