Oh baby!

When we got back to TCDC, we had almost two hours before supper, so seven of us went next door to the Cradle of Love orphanage, knocked on the door and asked if we could help. To our delight (and their surprise), they were more than happy to find tasks for us to do, which basically included playing with and feeding the children. Basically, they told us, “Pick up a baby. Dinner time is in 45 minutes,” and trust me, there was no second bidding needed. The orphanage is home to 35 babies ages 4 months to 3 years, and while some of them had mothers who died in childbirth and still have fathers who alive but cannot care for them, others were either left there or are orphans of HIV-AIDS victims. I played with Yasini, Allie, Nema and many others (and I’m working on finding a photo for this entry because my pictures from there were somehow deleted…very disappointing, but one of the other girls may have one I can use. For now, here’s one of me wearing my new Maasai headwrap - random, sorry). :)

Feeding time was a madhouse! All the babies were crying or pounding on the tables, and you just had to find a bowl of what looked like Cream of Wheat and a baby whose face was too clean to have just finished eating. :) Afterwards, we washed and rocked them while the nannies (the orphanage's full time employees) changed their diapers and clothes into PJs. The youngest baby, Rachel, is four months old and only weighs six pounds – very malnourished and absolutely tiny, but the most gorgeous little girl ever. One of the oldest children, Korey, not only loved getting his picture taken (primarily because he could see himself when the picture was played back) but also spoke English very well for a three year old, considering he'd only learned it through volunteers who spoke it to him over the years. All the babies are adorable!

My heart is still melting, as each child is so desperate for love and attention, holding out their arms and begging to be picked up anytime they see someone with an empty lap or open arms. One of the volunteers commented about how the children treat lap space like real estate, and they'd do anything for it. I loved every minute of my time there and hope to find an orphanage in Dar es Salaam where I can also volunteer my time to the young ones who simply want attention and love, if only for a short while. And on a totally unrelated note, today was day 4 of wearing one of my shirts. I supposed I should figure out this hand-washing business soon - oh dear....