Light in Africa orphanage

It's less than an hour's drive from Kili Airport to Light in Africa's Mailisita House (volunteer house) along the Arusha to Moshi Road. Mama Lynn the British woman who runs the organization is there to meet me and introduce me to my fellow volunteers. There's 3 Brits - Vinny about 37 who is an outdoor education teacher back in Grimsby (has been here since Jan and will be leaving in a week), Florence from Bedfordshire about 20yrs on her Gap year (arrived in Feb and will leave in May), and Grace from Kent also about 20yr on her Gap year (also here till May). Funny thing is that both Florence and Grace don't know each other but are both going to be attending the same university in September and are both here at Light in Africa for about the same amount of time. Peter's from Malibu is in his early 20's (leaving tomorrow) and Ulli from Germany also in her early 20's (arrived in Feb and will leave around the same time as me). Ron and Sue a retired couple from Merseyside are away for a few days in Zanzibar, so I'll meet them later (have been here since Jan and are leaving next week). There's a large common room for the volunteers to use during their off time so we just sit around talking tonight. Vinny has just gotten back from a safari so we start to compare our trips and it ends up that on a few occasions we must have been in the same area at the same time like when the male lion was standing on the kopje since our photos are identical.

The volunteer accomodation is very basic like a budget hotel. Some of the rooms have a bathroom but we don't have any hot water so I have to get use to taking cold showers. The metal framed bunkbeds each have a mosquito net on them since some of the outside windowscreens have holes in them. I've been warned that sometimes the power goes out so to always have a candle or flashlight handy.

This morning I have breakfast at 730am by myself. The others have already had an early start going out to the mining town of Merarani and picking up the HIV/Aids people who will be brought to the Moshi Hospital to see the doctor and get some of their meds. Mama Lynn and some of the workers are preparing lunches for these people which will be picked up as they pass Mailisita on their way to the hospital. I help in cutting up some drawing paper and getting crayons so the kids will have something to keep them busy as they have to wait to see the doctors.

Later in the morning, Mama Lynn gives me the orientation and tells me many sad stories about how some of the children have managed to find their way to Light in Africa. We also have a few elderly and dying people in the building who have been taken in so they don't have to die in the streets after being abandoned by their families which is the case with a lot of Aids people. Where I'm staying at Mailisita is the volunteer house and the nursery house. In Boma about 15-20 journey down the road is Malika House (girls) and Pilgrim House (boys) plus the new property called Tudor Village. It is Mama Lynn's hope to build about 10 buidlings at Tudor Village and have all of the operation out of one location but it may take a few years to get enough money to build everything. One house is almost complete and the second one has been started. In the mining town of Mirarani, there is Fleece House orphanage and a feed the poor program and medical/social problem outreach program going on that volunteers assist with. There's also is a farm that has been started so once Tudor village gets going they hope to raise a lot of their own food.

After lunch, Mama Lynn walks me over to the nursery. There are about 15 children there. Susy is about 2 months old, cute as a doll and was found abandoned. She has dimples when she smiles. There's toddlers, Irenie, Cheddy, Frankie (HIV), Martini, Sara & Joe. They are all walking and it seems like they all want to be held at the same time. Junior and Pamela are brother/sister and they both have HIV and TB. Pamela's breathing is laboured and Mama Lynn decides to take her to hospital. Junior is a real sweetheart. He is about 4 I think but increadibly thin compared to the other kids but now that he is on his meds hopefully he will fatten up a bit. Joseph has downs syndrome and there are 2 others under 10 with severe disabilities and you get no response out of them. Beatrice is about a year or 2 and probably weighs no more than 10 pounds. She's severely malnorished and is just skin and bones. Two older children have cerebral palsy and are in wheelchairs. The older boy is usually at Pilgrim House the home for the boys but he has recently broken his leg. During their nap time, I found a mountain of laundry, mostly very worn clothes and old towels used as diapers. Once they are up from their naps, I play with them after their bath times. I help out with feeding them around 43opm then it's time to head back to the volunteer house for a shower and dinner.

This morning, the 4 of us girls went over to fold laundry in the nursery. Mama Lynn came over and asked if Grace and myself wanted to go see Tudor Village since the other 2 had been over before. Peter's church from Malibu gave Light in Africa the money to buy the land. I come to find out that Peter's church recently burnt down during the bad fires a few months back in California. The first home has all the tiling down and just needs to be painted, have glass put in the window frames and put in the bathroom plumbing and kitchen before moving some furniture in. The 2nd house is just the cement frame and tile roof done. Some of the hedges and other plants like bananas have already been planted to get a start on growing. All the workman are sitting down when we arrive and seem to be having an extended break. It appears that if you don't have a foreman to keep everyone working it takes an incredibily long time to get anything built in Tanzania. This afternoon Grace and I took 2 of the older boys (Kevin 17 and John 12) into Moshi and met up with Vinny, Ulli and Flo at the internet cafe and went to a local restaurant for lunch trying pilau, a rice and meat dish.

Can you imagine just throwing your child away. John has a mom and dad. They divorced and both remarried other people. Seems neither parent wanted John in their new lives so they tossed him out on the streets. Here's a 12 year old with no place to go, eating out of garbage bins. He was found in Boma and brought out to Mailisita house where he currently lives. He is starting to put on a bit of weight but is still very thin. He is bright, has had some schooling and speaks quite a bit of English. Vinny has generously donated money for John to start boarding school in a few weeks. I guess it has taken a bit of time for John to settle in but all the volunteers enjoy spending time with him and he is a good interpreter if we need one when we go into town.