Hey Everyone! Well the trip is winding down very quickly and
so we figured it was about time to tell you about our time at Upendo! Due to
the celibration of Ramadan the school was supposed to be closed on July 28th
and 29th but instead the holiday got moved, since the moon wasn’t
right, to the 29th and 30th. Because of this we all got a chance go up to
Upendo. Half of us had never been to the
orphanage since we had been at the school the first day of going out to our
work sites. The first day that we all
came we sat watched as the little boys and then the girls come out of their
separate areas in a very straight line hand and hand. The workers were singing a song in Swahili
but you could tell all of the kids were trying to figure us out. We went to grab hands with some of the kids
and join their procession out to a play area.
The play area was a little smaller than half of a football field and had
a Jungle Gym, three slides, three sets of swings, a Merry-Go-Round contraption
and two Tetter-Totters. There were also
three benches that became a lifesaver sometimes when you got just plain
exhausted or a crying kid. Upon
arriving, for what was for many of us our first day at the orphanage, it was
easy to see the excitement on the kids faces as they recognized some of the
faces they had seen previously along with some new ones. As soon as we passed though the gate playtime
had instantly begun. The swings were an
instant go-to for many of the kids followed by the slides. As the day went on it was amazing to see all
of their personalities come out though their actions, especially since the ones
who could speak only spoke Swahili nevertheless, we were instantly reminded how
far a smile could not only take someone else but how happy and warm it made you
feel as well. As the morning went on the
first day we started to get to know some children and then were left for
someone else then another child would come up and grab your hand to take you to
play. As we meet new children we tried
to ask them their names and then when they wouldn’t answer we would ask one of the
worker. This worked pretty well but we
later figured out that we were saying some of the kid’s names wrong…oops! Part way though the day we got to take the
children in for milk time and then bring them back out again for more playtime
before lunch time and then a nap. One
thing that we were allowed to do, and some of the kids really liked, was taking
one or two kids at a time to go see the animals. Upendo has a small farmish area in the back
were they keep pigs, cows, goats, turkeys and chickens. It was interesting to see how most kids liked
the chickens most of all and frightened by the pigs, especially when they would
jump up on the gate. We got to go to the
orphanage as a group three times. Two
out of the three we were able to take the kids outside the other time we stayed
in an open roofed area where the kids were able to play with various balls and hula-hoops. Somedays we meet other people and groups from
around the world such as Belgium and Ireland, which has been really cool. It has also been really nice that most of the
children are pretty well potty trained (although not entirely) also, not all of
the children have gotten down the idea that people are not for biting or
hitting but, we are all hopefully they will eventually learn.
Overall, leaving
Upendo is incredibly difficult. Baba
Dick has told us many times that our work is the most important thing that we
do here and he is right. It was not only
important for us to go out and help the community but it definitely made some
of us appreciate our families even more.
Most of us found at least one child that stole our hearts with their
giggles, smiles and the hugs, cuddles and even a few kisses that we have
received. Since you need to live in
Tanzania for three years before adopting a child it is hard for us to let some
of the children go, knowing that the chances of them being adopted soon are
slim. However, if the people of Africa
have taught me anything it is that there is always a reason to be hopeful and
happy, no matter what. We might be
physically leaving the orphanage but we have all, hopefully, left positive
marks on the children at Upendo and they have certainly left their marks on
us. Not only in our memories but also in
our hearts.
To my parents: Thank you so much for this opportunity!! Words
really don’t describe how thankful I am for being able to come here! If we
could move here for around three years and then adopt the little girl who I
fell in love with that would be great! I can’t wait to see you guys but it is
going to be really hard to leave and I definitely want to come back someday! I
can’t wait to see you soon and tell you all about it! Love you!
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