Amanda and Danielle both sponsor little girls through Compassion International. They paid to have their kids brought to Jinja so they could meet them. Amanda’s little girl has a twin so they also brought her. What beautiful girls! We hung out with them for a little while and both Amanda and Danielle gave the girls quite a few gifts such as Bibles, clothes, jump ropes, etc. I think the jump ropes were the highlight. The girls were about 5 and 10, and it was clear they did not have experience with jump ropes. It was great seeing the joy on their faces while they tried out a new toy.
Danielle’s little girl had a very interesting story. She is a 10 year old and her caregiver came along with her. Apparently this little girl, Sharon is her name, didn’t do very well in school when she was younger because she missed too much. Her parents ended up taking her out of school and then reenrolling her later. She didn’t do well again so they sent her away at the age of 9 to work as a housekeeper for a pregnant lady and also live with her. The lady she went to work for said she was too young to be working and decided to enroll her in school herself. She also made the decision to enroll her in the Compassion program. These were life changing decisions for Sharon. This lady is now Sharon's caregiver. The thought of sending away a 9 year old to work full time is completely unfathomable to me. She was a shy, quiet girl who couldn’t even write her own name. She just got involved with Compassion one month ago so they didn’t have too much to tell Danielle in regards to her progress.
Amanda’s little girl and her twin were also shy, but became more outgoing as the day went on. Their mom is a single mother of 5 or 6 kids and is 33 years old. She came along and was sweet and reserved. Amanda took these little girls swimming for what I’m sure was the very first time in their lives. They loved it! We also went on a short boat ride to the source of the Nile River with everybody.
After lunch (which took 3 hours!), we made our way to the Amani Baby Cottage where there are 55 kids ranging in age from newborns to age 5. Most of them appeared to be under 3 though. There seemed to be tons of people working there, but there were babies constantly crying. The caregivers, “Mamas” and “Aunties” as they are called, truly loved these kids just like many other orphanages we have seen. The people that ran the orphanage were also wonderful. I believe it’s an American woman that runs the home and also an American nurse who runs the clinic there. In addition to the paid employees, there were also many college age girls there for the summer to volunteer. All of the children are up for adoption and about 5 or 6 currently have pending adoptions including 2 or 3 from Nashville. Way to represent! Some of the children here have special needs. They seemed to be cared for and loved well. But as a mother of 2 children that I adore, my heart was yet again broken. Just when I think my heart can’t possibly get broken again, it does. Despite the great and loving staff and 14 extra pairs of hands from our team. Some kids were running around in peed on clothes, had snot running down their faces, and would cry for quite a while with no one picking them up. I don’t want to say anything negative about Amani. They are truly doing a great job. It’s just not the same as having a mother and father. No matter how great the staff, it’s still an institution. Children were not meant to live in an institution. Amani’s goal is to get all these kids adopted out. Would you possibly consider making one of these children your child? There was one little boy there. I don’t know if I can share his name because he has a pending adoption, but he was just precious. He was probably about 4 or 5 and he had a photo album that his new parents had sent him with pictures of them as well as his new siblings, his house, his new bedroom, etc. He was so proud of this book! He literally went around showing every single picture to anyone that would pay attention. I was so excited for him! His new life would begin soon. But what about the other kids? Would they have mother and father one day?
A Guest Blog Post by Danielle Patteson
Amani Baby Cottage
I saw the face of hope today. A young boy, maybe three or four, was insistent to find the small , red, 4x6 album of his family. Once he found it, he shared it with every member of our team. Each time he looked at the photos with equal excitement. He pointed to his mommy, his daddy, his two brothers and sister. He delighted in the photo of his own bed. To one of us he said, “I am leaving Friday.” To another he replied, “I am leaving tomorrow. I luf them.” “Xavier” is one of the fifty five orphans that I met yesterday. His future adoptive parents sent him hope wrapped up in this album, and he is clinging to it.
I saw the face of need yesterday. Although there were an incredible number of workers and volunteers, the need of the children was greater than the workers could provide. My mother’s heart broke. I am so thankful that I have the resources to provide for my own son. Soon after I arrived, two little arms reached up for me. Of course, I picked the toddling boy up. So many babies sat on the tile floor. I tried to set this little one down after holding him for 30 minutes with the intention of loving on another. He wailed. I scooped him up and he nestled in my chest for the rest of the hours we were there. These children need the individual attention that only a family can give. More mommies and daddies are needed for these precious children.
I saw the face of Jesus yesterday. My promise is in Matthew 25: 34-40. Read it. I know these children are not destitute. They are not abandoned. Christ knows every hair on their heads. Still, their need is so great that it is overwhelming.
