_As I mentioned before, we'd met some people, Katie and Sawyer, who were adopting an African baby, Grace. When Barbara had first introduced us to them at Chat 'n' Chino, the Western cafe in Mbale, they had explained to us the St. Kitozi Baby-Home for abandoned babies where Grace was from. Sawyer was volunteering there while Katie was doing work, and Mom was eager to know more about it. In the end we had arranged to go to the baby home for a few days and help Sawyer and Katie manage some four and five years olds and bring them to a hotel pool!
So, two weeks later, we pulled up in Katie's car with Katie in front of the baby home. Sawyer had stayed home to take care of Grace. As soon as . . .
So, two weeks later, we pulled up in Katie's car with Katie in front of the baby home. Sawyer had stayed home to take care of Grace. As soon as . . .
_I entered the baby-baby room, which was built for twenty-five but held forty-five, I was handed a baby. At first I was really uncomfortable and didn't know what to do with a baby. But after a while I got more used to drooly faces and became in charge of three babies (not officially, it just happened), Blendina, Scovia and Marcie. Blendina and Scovia are twins, but Blendina is much fatter and happier. Their mother died at birth (it was a home-birth) and the father's second wife had had a baby that week, and she couldn't feed three babies at once. So they sent them to the baby home and decided that they'd take them back when Scovia and Blendina were both able to walk. Scovia is very attached to music, and whenever they turned the TV on she would start rocking to the beat.
_The TV was a big mistake. The baby-home has a lady in Europe who gives them anything they say they need. Apparently they needed a TV. It's really just something the women there can watch, and the kids get zoned out in front of it so the women don't have to work.
Marcie, I admit, was my favorite. Katie told me she was sick and hadn't smiled in a week. But as soon as I pickd her up and bounced her she was beaming. She could stand up (almost - she only needed a little support) and gurgle away. Somtimes her drool would mess her clothes up, but naturally, who cared?
Marcie, I admit, was my favorite. Katie told me she was sick and hadn't smiled in a week. But as soon as I pickd her up and bounced her she was beaming. She could stand up (almost - she only needed a little support) and gurgle away. Somtimes her drool would mess her clothes up, but naturally, who cared?
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_Feeding time! Mashed potatoes and gravy for two-months-olds? Seriously? Yep, I'm serious. And it's their only meal for the whole day, so they know to eat what's given. Shoveling food into Blendina's mouth was hard - she kept spitting it out and spewing the stuff all over her shirt and mine. Long after all the babies had finished stuffing themselves (actually, we stuffed them, but they vomited as a sign), Marcie was still eating furiously.
Bath time was an assembly line - undress, rinse, dry and clothe. No playing in the bath, no tickling, no nothing... No love. I was in charge of dressing (and a little bit of un-dressing, but I learned baby poop is GROSS), and that's when I learned and saw Jollia, a small, poor two pound baby with no meat on her bones.
Jollia had a thirteen-year-old mother, and a fourteen years father. The mother was very sick at birth, and as the boyfriend rushed her to the hospital, she died on the motorcycle they were riding. Katie said they came, the boyfriend supporting the dead mother with his arms and driving, with the dead mother still clutching her sick little baby.
Now here, photographs explain more than I can...
Bath time was an assembly line - undress, rinse, dry and clothe. No playing in the bath, no tickling, no nothing... No love. I was in charge of dressing (and a little bit of un-dressing, but I learned baby poop is GROSS), and that's when I learned and saw Jollia, a small, poor two pound baby with no meat on her bones.
Jollia had a thirteen-year-old mother, and a fourteen years father. The mother was very sick at birth, and as the boyfriend rushed her to the hospital, she died on the motorcycle they were riding. Katie said they came, the boyfriend supporting the dead mother with his arms and driving, with the dead mother still clutching her sick little baby.
Now here, photographs explain more than I can...
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_Nap next. Putting them to bed wasn't hard. Just lay them down in the crib and leave - it was a little sad to see them just staring up at the ceiling, but Katie called us to the car and we loaded in in six four and five-year-olds. They only go out of the compound onc a year, so they were extrremely excited. Hey, I would be too! The names I remember are are Kate, Paul and Charles. There were three more girls. Sawyer met us at the pool, with baby Grace.
Katie told us later that Kate had AIDS, but didn't know it yet. She would probably die by the time she was six. It was so sad to see her and another girl dipping a plastic bag into the pool with wonderment.
What a discovery the ladies washroom was! Within moments Paul and Charles had knocked over as many things was they could, and the floor was suspciously wet...
Katie had bought some $1 bathing suits for the girls, and Paul and Charles just went in their underwear. Charles was afraid of the water at first, but after a little encouragement and patience on Mom's part, he was splashing and dunking under very soon. Paul was enthusiastic from the start and dertermination to splash Charles as much as his flimsy arms could manage helped him in learning how to stroke, but controling his legs and kicking was harder.
Katie told us later that Kate had AIDS, but didn't know it yet. She would probably die by the time she was six. It was so sad to see her and another girl dipping a plastic bag into the pool with wonderment.
What a discovery the ladies washroom was! Within moments Paul and Charles had knocked over as many things was they could, and the floor was suspciously wet...
Katie had bought some $1 bathing suits for the girls, and Paul and Charles just went in their underwear. Charles was afraid of the water at first, but after a little encouragement and patience on Mom's part, he was splashing and dunking under very soon. Paul was enthusiastic from the start and dertermination to splash Charles as much as his flimsy arms could manage helped him in learning how to stroke, but controling his legs and kicking was harder.
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_Katie and Sawyer bought them lunch, as well as their first soda (Fanta!) and some french fries, or as they called them, chips. A couple who had finished their meal sitting at the table beside us offered us the leftover gravy, and soon the kids were all over it. Not to mention the discovery of ketchup - oh, heaven on Earth! Paul and Kate stuffed themselves with anything they could grab, even the salad that came included with the french fries! I was surprised at that... I won't touch the icky stuff! I guess they knew this was their last meal of the day, despite it being three in the afternoon. All dinner was was tea, and if they were lucky, biscuits.
_Now, here comes the icecream... Talk about a mess! Oh, yes, mess, mess, mess. On the first bite of the chocolately stuff Kate had almost ruined her green plaid dress, but thank goodness for Sawyer's quite napkin skills. And it was definetly a good thing Paul still wasn't dressed, because the fudgey goop was all over him and his belly, but he was definetly satisfied.
Back to the baby orphanage now... Sawyer was disgusted at a song the women at the orphanage had made for some event when a bunch of wealthy Ugandans come to see the babies. One part goes like this;
Dear Parents,
Don't throw us away!
We're not garbage.
We are special, made by God!
I mean how horrible is that? Pretty bad, I'd say. especially when they grow up thinking that their mother's are actually the Ugandan ladies who help out at the orphanage.
The adoption works out okay, because Ugandans want toddlers, while usually foreigners would adopt a baby to make a fresh start with. But what happens when toddlers grow up to be my age? Well, they get kicked out and live on the streets. A lucky orphan got a sponser and is now ten years old, and goes to a boarding school.
Now, here are some of the orphan's stories:
A girl about five years old, whose name I don't know, had her picture posted on the St. Kitozi Baby Home website. A women saw her and after contacting the home decided to adopt her. To prepare the girl for this new mother the baby home showed her pictures of the women, and told her it was her new mommy. Then, when the lady finally did arrive, she changed her mind and decided to adopt another toddler. Overall, the women really just wanted a child for it's looks, not at all for it's personality. Imagine how hard it must have been for the girl to know that she wasn't wanted!
Many babies were left in the hospital because it's so close to the home. That's what happened to Marcie, after her Mom died at birth. Then people report them and the home sends someone to come and pick them up.
One baby, about a year old, named Francis was left at the church. He wandered around for the whole day and finally someone noticed that he shouldn't be there. He arrived a few days before we came to the home, and thankfully he only spent a week in there and was adopted by a non-fertile women along with Charles(!).
A few days after we left Bududa and Mbale, Katie and Sawyer told me that Jollia had been offered one sponser and one adoption - but her family refusd to let her go. Then they asked the baby home if they could bring Jollia back to her village for just two days, for a 'traditonal' seremony to get the devil out of (which she apparently possesses). They believe that because the mother died at birth, Jollia has some evil spirit within her. Anyways, the baby home said they could either take her forever or leave her legally with the babyhome. They chose to bring her back to the village, and the hard truth is she's most likely dead by now, as the family doesn't have the money for formula and such.
Kate had a twin when she was a baby. She is Kenyan, and her family once got caught in a war. Kate's mother literally exploded from a bomb and her father ran them through the hills, trying to escape into Uganda. Kate's twin froze to death, and Kate was left at the baby home. Four years later her father came back, but he didn't seem stable, and although he asked for her back they lied and told him she hadn't made it. They suspect he was going to do creepy things to her.
Grace's (Katie and Sawyer's Grace) mother died from an infection from a problem at birth. She died a few days after Grace was born and the father gave her to the baby home. He having thirteen other children and a second wife, it made sense that he couldn't care for her, especially with the cost of formula being so high.
Katie and Sawyer said that she spent her first month staring at a corner on th cieling in hre crib... She wouldn't make eye-contact, and in fact, even when you removed her from her crib she still wouldn't take her eyes away from the direction the corner was in... As if her eyes were glued. And when you snapped or talked directly into her ears she didn't make any sign that she could hear it. They figured she was either deaf or blind, so they took her into a special place in Kampala.
It turned out she was neither, and with some love and care and personal attention she would come around. The baby home decided to put Grace into Katie and Saywer's care, and they would've sent Jollia too, but Jollia's family wouldn't allow it. Soon after Grace went home with Katie and Sawyer, she was a normal baby, google-gaggle-goggling away. Soon they were very attached to each other, and even though Katie and Sawyer wouldn't admit it at first, they wouldn't be able to leave her at the baby home and let her suffer.
They brougth Grace back for a day to the baby home, and she immediatly got sick. At one point she was going to die, but the Mbale doctors refused to help them, claiming that Katie and Sawyer just weren't taking care of her, sticking to grudge just because they were white and she is black. Thankfully some Belgen doctors were coming to Bududa that weekend and volunteering medical aid for anyone who needed it. Katie and Sawyer came and got the information they needed.
A week later, with several enimas, Grace was all good and healthy, supporting her head once again. She's such a chubby baby, she's almost unrecognisable, and she's growing out of her old clothes!
Bye,
Allie
Back to the baby orphanage now... Sawyer was disgusted at a song the women at the orphanage had made for some event when a bunch of wealthy Ugandans come to see the babies. One part goes like this;
Dear Parents,
Don't throw us away!
We're not garbage.
We are special, made by God!
I mean how horrible is that? Pretty bad, I'd say. especially when they grow up thinking that their mother's are actually the Ugandan ladies who help out at the orphanage.
The adoption works out okay, because Ugandans want toddlers, while usually foreigners would adopt a baby to make a fresh start with. But what happens when toddlers grow up to be my age? Well, they get kicked out and live on the streets. A lucky orphan got a sponser and is now ten years old, and goes to a boarding school.
Now, here are some of the orphan's stories:
A girl about five years old, whose name I don't know, had her picture posted on the St. Kitozi Baby Home website. A women saw her and after contacting the home decided to adopt her. To prepare the girl for this new mother the baby home showed her pictures of the women, and told her it was her new mommy. Then, when the lady finally did arrive, she changed her mind and decided to adopt another toddler. Overall, the women really just wanted a child for it's looks, not at all for it's personality. Imagine how hard it must have been for the girl to know that she wasn't wanted!
Many babies were left in the hospital because it's so close to the home. That's what happened to Marcie, after her Mom died at birth. Then people report them and the home sends someone to come and pick them up.
One baby, about a year old, named Francis was left at the church. He wandered around for the whole day and finally someone noticed that he shouldn't be there. He arrived a few days before we came to the home, and thankfully he only spent a week in there and was adopted by a non-fertile women along with Charles(!).
A few days after we left Bududa and Mbale, Katie and Sawyer told me that Jollia had been offered one sponser and one adoption - but her family refusd to let her go. Then they asked the baby home if they could bring Jollia back to her village for just two days, for a 'traditonal' seremony to get the devil out of (which she apparently possesses). They believe that because the mother died at birth, Jollia has some evil spirit within her. Anyways, the baby home said they could either take her forever or leave her legally with the babyhome. They chose to bring her back to the village, and the hard truth is she's most likely dead by now, as the family doesn't have the money for formula and such.
Kate had a twin when she was a baby. She is Kenyan, and her family once got caught in a war. Kate's mother literally exploded from a bomb and her father ran them through the hills, trying to escape into Uganda. Kate's twin froze to death, and Kate was left at the baby home. Four years later her father came back, but he didn't seem stable, and although he asked for her back they lied and told him she hadn't made it. They suspect he was going to do creepy things to her.
Grace's (Katie and Sawyer's Grace) mother died from an infection from a problem at birth. She died a few days after Grace was born and the father gave her to the baby home. He having thirteen other children and a second wife, it made sense that he couldn't care for her, especially with the cost of formula being so high.
Katie and Sawyer said that she spent her first month staring at a corner on th cieling in hre crib... She wouldn't make eye-contact, and in fact, even when you removed her from her crib she still wouldn't take her eyes away from the direction the corner was in... As if her eyes were glued. And when you snapped or talked directly into her ears she didn't make any sign that she could hear it. They figured she was either deaf or blind, so they took her into a special place in Kampala.
It turned out she was neither, and with some love and care and personal attention she would come around. The baby home decided to put Grace into Katie and Saywer's care, and they would've sent Jollia too, but Jollia's family wouldn't allow it. Soon after Grace went home with Katie and Sawyer, she was a normal baby, google-gaggle-goggling away. Soon they were very attached to each other, and even though Katie and Sawyer wouldn't admit it at first, they wouldn't be able to leave her at the baby home and let her suffer.
They brougth Grace back for a day to the baby home, and she immediatly got sick. At one point she was going to die, but the Mbale doctors refused to help them, claiming that Katie and Sawyer just weren't taking care of her, sticking to grudge just because they were white and she is black. Thankfully some Belgen doctors were coming to Bududa that weekend and volunteering medical aid for anyone who needed it. Katie and Sawyer came and got the information they needed.
A week later, with several enimas, Grace was all good and healthy, supporting her head once again. She's such a chubby baby, she's almost unrecognisable, and she's growing out of her old clothes!
Bye,
Allie
Here I am admiring some good sized jack fruit.
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