Day 3

*Warning: I have not had time to proofread this! :)

I’m sitting in the most amazing hut in Wollisso as I type this. The ceiling is made of some sort of flexible sticks and twine and looks absolutely brilliant. I’ve never seen anything like this in America. I can’t believe I’m here, in Africa, on the other side of the world! It is still quite surreal. I feel so far from home, yet so right at home at the same time. I just adore the Ethiopian people, everything about them. Of all the countries I’ve visited, I feel this is definitely where my heart is most comfortable.

The Mother Theresa Orpanage - Home to 400+ HIV Children

We started the day going to the Mother Theresa Orphanage. We had been warned this would be a difficult orphanage to visit because it’s a government run orphanage and most of the kids never get adopted. When we pulled through the gate, I was shocked at how enormous this place was. It was like it’s own little town. Approximately 400 kids live at this orphanage ranging in age from newborns to teenagers. What we didn’t know until we got there was that all 400+ children were infected with HIV or AIDS. The campus is funded mostly by the Catholic Relief Society. It was actually much nicer than I had anticipated. The thing that was very obvious though was the lack of adults and “nannies.” We saw hundreds of kids and only just a handful of “nannies.” The campus included several dormitories where the kids eat and sleep, a few schools, a clinic, a place for the nuns to sleep and pray, an art hut, a library hut, a incredibly run down playground, a building were children make scarves for money, a big sports field, and a few other random buildings. All in all, the buildings themselves were not all that bad, just very simple. We viewed the girls’ dormitory. There were about 30 beds to a room. Basically the place was everything you would think of in a stereotypical orphanage

I was told by a college girl from North Carolina that was volunteering there for a few months, that these children do not get a lot of visitors. When we arrived, there were some children wandering around, others playing soccer, and some going to school to finish their final exams. Our plan was just to be with them for several hours, do a craft with them, play sports, and just show them the love of Christ.

These children were different from the children we had visited the day before. First of all, many were sick. Not visibly sick with HIV/AIDS, but sick with colds, coughs, warts, broken bones, etc. Tissues are few and far between so crusty and dripping noses were common. Warts are also common among HIV/AIDS children we’ve seen here. I don’t really know why this is. It was very sad. The clinic probably does the best job it can, but there are just SO many children.

One little boy about 5 years old cut his head while we were there. Amanda took him to the clinic to get it treated. When she took him in to the nurse, the nurse told him he couldn’t cry or she would not treat him. Amanda said the nurse wasn’t necessarily mean, but that she was pretty rough on the boy’s head. Amanda even had to leave the room after a short while because she couldn’t want to watch. She said the precious boy never moved or made a sound. This just absolutely ripped at my heart. This child need a mom to hold him close and reassure him everything would be all right. Instead he sat there silent, trying to remain still so he could get his head bandaged up, all alone. Also these children had much more of a survival instinct alive in them. Some would steal tings from one another, lie and tell you they hadn’t done the craft so they could get another one, and grab ziploc bags off the floor like they were gold. They weren’t mean. They were precious actually. Just trying to survive in a home with 400 other kids and very few caregivers. These kids have nothing.

I had a blast at the Mother Theresa Orphanage. In addition to doing the craft, we taught the kids a few songs. African kids seem to love to sing, and they are good at it! They pick songs up in seconds that aren’t even in their language. A group of girls between the ages of about 8-12 decided they wanted to teach me one of their little hand clapping rhymes. They pulled me over and pointed to me and said, “Wait. See. See.” They were telling me to wait and watch them so I could learn it. I caught on and joined in pretty quickly. They seemed quite impressed that this tall while girl could learn their game. It was so much fun! We did that for over an hour I bet. I can’t wait to teach my girls the hand clapping games I learned. Most of the boys played soccer and sports while we were there. We weren’t really supposed to take pictures, but I got some great video clips while we were there. I’ll post soon…hopefully.

The Orphans Singing "Happy Birthday" to my daughter Ellie who turned 6 while I was away.

While at Mother Theresa, all the sudden it hit me like someone knocked me upside the head…This is what the Gospel is all about. It was odd. I just had a complete strong sense of truth overwhelm me. Jesus LOVES the least and the lost. And we are called to be His hands and feet. I was so immensely blessed today. These children need love. And even if it was only for a day, we were able to give that to them.

Most of these children will never be adopted even though HIV/AIDS is totally treatable nowadays. One good thing about this orphanage is that these children have to take their medicine every day at the exact same time. This is essential for them. By doing this, they are able to live very long, mostly healthy lives. If they lived in a place with proper health care that would greatly increase their quality of life any many of the colds, warts, etc could be properly treated.

Children here also make scarves and jewelry and sell them at the office. They told us the money that each child makes is put into a savings account for them that they can withdraw when they leave. What a cool idea! We saw one boy about 11 or 12 sitting in a dimly lit room making scarves. The teenager leading us around told us this kid is the most brilliant boy there. He had just completed the 5th grade. And would be starting 6th grade in 2 months. Once the children start 6th grade, they attend an outside school the campus based on their ability. Most likely they told us this brilliant kid would end up having a shop on the road somewhere selling scarves his whole life. That would be considered a great success for one of the Mother Theresa orphans. I couldn’t help, but wonder what this kid could be. What talents and gifts God had given him that, if nurtured, could grow into something amazing? And what about the kids that weren’t considered brilliant that would go to a not very good school? Where would they end up? To my knowledge, these kids are adopted, but just not “wanted.” Too many cards are stacked against them. They have AIDS; they are not in a nice private orphanage, etc. etc. Please pray for these children that God would continue to touch them despite their circumstances.

On the Way to AHOPE. A store front in Addis Ababa.

After finishing at Mother Theresa, we went to AHOPE International. There we were with kids mostly under the age of 8. Many were toddlers. I think there were about 30 kids and all had HIV/AID just like the Mother Theresa Orphanage.

Children's Beds in AHOPE Orphanage

Although this facility was definitely lacking, there was much more love in this place. It’s a private orphanage with many nannies who really seem to care for the children. They love on them, kiss them, hold them, play with them, etc. Not the same as a mother’s love, but better than no love at all.

Painting Fingernails and Doing Crafts with the Kids

These kids are all-adoptable and seemed to be quite healthy. We saw on newborn that was about 3 weeks old that was absolutely precious! A few of these kids already had been matched with families and were just in the waiting process. However, I assume most will likely never get adopted. AIDS has robbed so many children of their parents. My mind can’t even comprehend how many orphans there are in Ethiopia alone. 4 million is the number I believe. 4 million! We have seen probably played with about 500 so far and that number by itself overwhelms me. It’s just a number until you see 500 faces. 500 little people looking back at you, alone in the world. It rips apart my heart and brings tears to my eyes. I try to imagine standing on a hill with 4 million little people below me and knowing they are all orphans. I don’t even know what 4 million people look like. I’ve never seen that many people at once. And the thing that is so hard is that these are children. 500 seems massive. 4 million seems unfathomable. Thankfully there is a God in heaven who loves them more than any mother could, who knows the hairs on their head, the scars on their faces, and the loneliness in their hearts. One day their lives will be redeemed. For most, it will not be on this side of heaven. But thank God there is a heaven. Thank God for Jesus.

Crazy Rain/Hail Storm on the way to Wollisso

Our third venture of the day was to travel 2 ½ hours outside of Addis Ababa to a village called Wollisso. We ended up traveling through a massive rainstorm. It was the craziest car ride I have ever been on. Let me try to paint the picture for you. We were traveling in a van probably about 20 years old or so with no seatbelts and 14 of us piled in, plus “Z” one of the translators, and our driver, 16 people in total. As we left the city, we could see the enormous rain clouds rolling in with sheeting rain in the distance. There are no real driving rules in Ethiopia. It’s kind of a free for all. Our driver is quite skilled except for the fact that he ran into a guy the other day and knocked the mirror off. The guy was fine. Anyway, so we’re all piled into this van with no seatbelts and it starts raining. Just nice rain at first. Then it starts to pour with continuous hail and the temperature drops at least 20 degrees. There is no defrost for the windows so they are all fogging up, including the front window. The people in the front seat kept having to wipe the window to be able to see. Then the sun goes down and it’s pitch black with no street lights. There was hardly any visibility at all. Many people do not have headlights or tail lights so that makes it extra interesting, not to mention the frequent crossing of goats, donkeys, horses, and people. There was probably 2 inches of hail on the road and land at times. It was like driving through wintertime slush. Crazy!! It was like a roller coaster, but without the safety. I took some funny video that I hope captures the essence of the road trip. It was great! And we all made it alive.

We arrived at the Nagesh Lodge in Wollisso. We couldn’t see much because it was so dark and wet, but it was very nice. We ate a much-needed dinner and then they walked us to our huts. So cool! Now I was feeling I was in Africa. More to come tomorrow!