Sometimes it's hard to think of things to write about because life over here in Yako has become so normal. I wake up and eat my cereal with the locally made yogurt that is delicious, drink my tea, read my Bible, and talk with Nichole. I make it outside around eight-thirty or nine. It'susually closer to nine. And I hang out with the toddlers/preschoolers for a while. We play with blocks, draw, and color pictures. Lately I've been getting out books for our kids to look at. None of them can read, but I think that this exposure to books is good for them. Books are rare in Burkina. Most of the books we have are expensive and are shipped in from France. Most people, even adults, don't know how to take care of books (which is strange because we are all taught from young ages how to take care of books) and because of how many people handle things here and the dirt, things tend to get ruined more quickly. So we keep all the books in the office, and I get out six or seven (I have adifferent helper every day to help me choose) and I'm trying to teach them how to take care of them. They are doing pretty well. The first few days they didn't know what to do with the books, but they are learning. One boy inparticular, Ferdinand, has begun to make up a story that corresponds with the pictures. Which is what kids at home do that can't read. It's what is supposed to happen. It's good for their little imaginations.
Imagination is one thing that we need more of here....the people are not taught to think outside the box or to use their imaginations which is hard for us to imagine. Beginning when we are little we are taught that we can do anything we want..."reach for the stars!" but not here. Here you do what your family or the government tells you to do, and it's not questioned. We have some kids who are very smart but only have vague ideas of what they want to do because they think that #1 it's unattainable or #2 they've never even considered what they would want to do.So all that to say, I'm glad our little ones are using their imaginations.
After playing with them for an hour or so, I spend some time with our"big" babies (the ones older than a year). Jeanette is doing well. Her leg is healed, although not correctly so we are going to put her in traction. Isaaca is walking a lot. He smiles all the time, and loves to tell stories. He talks a lot. Lydia lets you know what she wants. She smiles and laughs when she is happy, but if you do something that she doesn't like, she starts screaming! Serata is fat, and it's good to see fat babies here. She doesn't move a whole lot because she is so fat...and she's mostly a happy baby...she's still young. Ibrahim was sick and sad and had no personality when he came about two and a half months ago; but because of the love and attention of Nichole, he iscoming around. He's getting healthier and he's smiling and walking some now...whereas before he could walk but refused to and was mostly lethargic. Alfonsine is not normal. She's beautiful beautiful beautiful, but she was abandoned in the Ivory Coast along with her twin brother, Alfonse, who has since died. Some days she is fine, happy, smiling, laughing, talking... but all of a sudden, for no reason she FREAKS OUT - screaming like someone is torturing her. She grabs and pulls on anything and everything. If you put her in her crib, she rocks herself violently. We've started praying for her because her behavior is a little worrisome because it's so not normal. Since we started praying, she has had some days that have been better and some that have not, but we'll just keep loving her and praying for her. The most recent addition to the big baby room is"gross" Ibrahim (which just means fat Ibrahim...he's not actually gross). He moved up from the tiny baby room. He loves to move. He crawls everywhere and loves to smile and loves to drool. He has two thumbs on one hand and it's one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. He also hasa HUGE belly button. Over here belly buttons are huge in general..no oneseems to know why. But his is extra extra huge. One of these days I'll have to take a picture and post it. When he crawls it drags on theground. It's pretty funny, but I feel bad for him too.
After the babies, it's time for lunch and sieste. The afternoons vary from play with the preschoolers again to reading books/hanging out with the school-agers who love and need one on one attention. Some afternoons I have French class. Night time is for hanging out with the older kids, or the school-agers, watching movies, playing games, praying with the school-agers before bed, and making sure they go to the bathroom and brush their teeth. That's a "normal" day...although every day is a little different.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Ambassador, Adi, and Monkeys
I was in
monkeys!!! wild monkeys running across the road. From afar it looked
like weird dogs running across the road but as we got closer we realized
that the "dogs" were actually monkeys. I'm not sure how many we actually
saw because the first few we thought were dogs but there were at least
three or four that we counted after we realized they were monkeys. its
the first actually "wild life" that I’ve seen here. We see an occasional
camel, but they aren't wild, they are ridden by touregs who travel
around and sell things.
On a sadder note, Adeline is going to be leaving the orphanage soon. She
has an aunt who is able to willing to care for her in Yako (why she
hasn't been living with this aunt up until now I'm not sure) and so in
the next few weeks she will be moving out. It's a sad and good thing.
She deserves to grow up in a family, in her family but its hard not
knowing these people and not knowing if they will really love her or not
or see how amazing she is. Because she will still be in Yako I will
still get to see her sometimes which is good...but still sad. And lots
of mixed emotions.
Tomorrow the
coming mostly to see the school, but she will stop by and visit us at
the orphanage too. everyone is excited and has spent most of the day
cleaning up. They've done an amazing job. I’ve never seen the courtyard
or the rooms look so good.
Good news about Jeannette. I know I stopped writing about her, mostly
because her situation kept getting more and more complicated and it was
too much to write. But Social Action has decided that her mother is the
one who should decide where she lives. This is an amazing un heard of
decision. Women are never given that right here. So Jeannette and her
mom have been reunited and its a beautiful thing to see. Also, her
broken leg is healed. i was a little skeptical at first because it
doesn't really look right...but a couple of doctors (one of whom is the
best orthopedic surgeon in Burkina and is from
it's fine. So I'm trusting them.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Scabies are gone; Rain is here!
(This is a pic of Jeanette, "my" girl)The scabies are gone!!
Well, at least we think so. Babies aren't scratching. No new little bumps are popping up and the old ones are fading away. The boy who had them the worst, Ibrahim, was a sad little boy; but due to Nichole holding and loving on him continually and not having scabies anymore, he's starting to come out of his funk. He's walking now (he could walk before and just refused to do so), and he will smile and laugh a little bit. We've discovered that he has a personality!
Now there is another baby girl who is worrying us a little bit. Her name is Alfonsine. She is the surviving sister in a brother-sister set of twins. Her brother died a few months after they arrived at the orphanage; they've been here for about nine months or so. Alfonsine is a beautiful girl. She's really gorgeous. But there is something not normal about her. When you pick her up she hangs on for dear life and will spontaneously freak out. She holds on even tighter and starts screaming. If you put her down she screams (and it's more than a pick-me-back-up cry...it sounds like you've just abandoned her or something); and if you put her in her crib, she cries and starts rocking herself rather violently. Sometimes she throws herself on the ground by your feet and holds on to your feet or the edge of your skirt and just screams and cries real tears. It's hard to watch, and it’s not normal. I don't know if I can really describe what she does, but we've decided to start praying over her and spending more one on one time with her. So on Thursday afternoon I brought her into the house with me for a little bit, and we just hung out. She didn't freak out for the entire thirty or so minutes that she was with me. So that's what I'm going to keep doing and see if we can't love and pray her out of whatever is going on with her.
The rainy season has brought amazing changes to the landscape of Burkina. It hardly looks like the same country. There is millet (which is kind of like corn), their staple food, to (pronounced "toe") is made of, growing everywhere. Right outside the courtyard wall there is some millet growing that we can see from inside the courtyard...it's that high! And it will just keep growing until its time to harvest sometime in October.
I've heard that it is ridiculously hot at home right now, and it’s strange to hear because it's not ridiculously hot here!! The rain comes and cools everything way down. Every night I'm able to sleep comfortably under a sheet and with my ceiling fan on a low setting. There have even been a few cold nights. One in which I had to sleep under a thin blanket, sheet, and in long pants!! It had rained for ten hours and I guess that much rain really cools things off quite a bit!
Well, at least we think so. Babies aren't scratching. No new little bumps are popping up and the old ones are fading away. The boy who had them the worst, Ibrahim, was a sad little boy; but due to Nichole holding and loving on him continually and not having scabies anymore, he's starting to come out of his funk. He's walking now (he could walk before and just refused to do so), and he will smile and laugh a little bit. We've discovered that he has a personality!
Now there is another baby girl who is worrying us a little bit. Her name is Alfonsine. She is the surviving sister in a brother-sister set of twins. Her brother died a few months after they arrived at the orphanage; they've been here for about nine months or so. Alfonsine is a beautiful girl. She's really gorgeous. But there is something not normal about her. When you pick her up she hangs on for dear life and will spontaneously freak out. She holds on even tighter and starts screaming. If you put her down she screams (and it's more than a pick-me-back-up cry...it sounds like you've just abandoned her or something); and if you put her in her crib, she cries and starts rocking herself rather violently. Sometimes she throws herself on the ground by your feet and holds on to your feet or the edge of your skirt and just screams and cries real tears. It's hard to watch, and it’s not normal. I don't know if I can really describe what she does, but we've decided to start praying over her and spending more one on one time with her. So on Thursday afternoon I brought her into the house with me for a little bit, and we just hung out. She didn't freak out for the entire thirty or so minutes that she was with me. So that's what I'm going to keep doing and see if we can't love and pray her out of whatever is going on with her.
The rainy season has brought amazing changes to the landscape of Burkina. It hardly looks like the same country. There is millet (which is kind of like corn), their staple food, to (pronounced "toe") is made of, growing everywhere. Right outside the courtyard wall there is some millet growing that we can see from inside the courtyard...it's that high! And it will just keep growing until its time to harvest sometime in October.I've heard that it is ridiculously hot at home right now, and it’s strange to hear because it's not ridiculously hot here!! The rain comes and cools everything way down. Every night I'm able to sleep comfortably under a sheet and with my ceiling fan on a low setting. There have even been a few cold nights. One in which I had to sleep under a thin blanket, sheet, and in long pants!! It had rained for ten hours and I guess that much rain really cools things off quite a bit!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Scabbies
So. I had an interesting experience yesterday afternoon.
Well...the experience started about a month ago with the arrival of a
ten month old named Ibrahim. When Ibrahim came he had all these weird
bumps all over him, and he scratched them all the time (when I say
everywhere.I mean EVERYWHERE. It was bizarre) Anyway at first we
thought it was just heat rash, like everyone gets here; but then it
wasn't going away, so we started putting calamine lotion on him.That
didn't help, so we took him to the doctor; and they prescribed an
antibiotic. We tried that for a week or so; it didn't help, and
then some of the other kids started getting bumps and scratching. We took him to the doctor again and they gave him a different antibiotic. Still nothing was better.
Finally, we took him to Dr. Zala (have I talked about him before? He's
an amazing man with a private pediatric clinic in a city about an hour
away). He knew right away that it was scabies!! Which is apparently very
contagious and must be treated very carefully. Scabies is a parasite
that lives in the skin. It lays eggs and then they hatch. Underneath the
skin. Its pretty gross, but not deadly. So we got the medicine, came home, and yesterday began boiling all of the babies' clothes and sheets to kill all the bugs. Then we had to bathe all the children really well and then we laid them down and smeared this medicine all over their little bodies. They SCREAMED and SCREAMED and SCREAMED. We think it might have stung them because Lynn accidentally got some on her hands and chin, and she said it was burning. Our poor babies!! We had to tape gloves on their hands because if they get it in their mouth, it would be poisonous. We have to leave the medicine on for 24 hours and then wash them and take the gloves off. So as I write this, they have been washed and the gloves are (happily) off.
Hopefully that’s the end of the scabies; but I won't lie. All last night whenever I had an itch I thought, "oh crap. I have scabies" but don't worry. I don't.
One baby, Lasane', always sucks his thumb with one hand and plays with
his ear or his belly button with the other when he's upset...and he couldn't do that
last night or today. The poor guy was miserable!! But he made it through ok. Thankfully!
Also, today we had some visitors from Missouri!! They are the youth
pastors of a small church in California, MO that my friend's grandmother
attends. So that's a little weird (it’s a small world kind of weird) it
was pleasant to have them here...they were sweet people and we had some
good conversations about missions and what they've seen since they've
been here (they are just doing a short ten day trip (they are actually
on their way home right now); but because we had out of town visitors we
got to go to the good restaurant in town and have some chicken and
fries!! Eating protein is a treat! It tastes so yummy. I never thought
I'd miss eating meat, but I guess I do.
Well...the experience started about a month ago with the arrival of a
ten month old named Ibrahim. When Ibrahim came he had all these weird
bumps all over him, and he scratched them all the time (when I say
everywhere.I mean EVERYWHERE. It was bizarre) Anyway at first we
thought it was just heat rash, like everyone gets here; but then it
wasn't going away, so we started putting calamine lotion on him.That
didn't help, so we took him to the doctor; and they prescribed an
antibiotic. We tried that for a week or so; it didn't help, and
then some of the other kids started getting bumps and scratching. We took him to the doctor again and they gave him a different antibiotic. Still nothing was better.
Finally, we took him to Dr. Zala (have I talked about him before? He's
an amazing man with a private pediatric clinic in a city about an hour
away). He knew right away that it was scabies!! Which is apparently very
contagious and must be treated very carefully. Scabies is a parasite
that lives in the skin. It lays eggs and then they hatch. Underneath the
skin. Its pretty gross, but not deadly. So we got the medicine, came home, and yesterday began boiling all of the babies' clothes and sheets to kill all the bugs. Then we had to bathe all the children really well and then we laid them down and smeared this medicine all over their little bodies. They SCREAMED and SCREAMED and SCREAMED. We think it might have stung them because Lynn accidentally got some on her hands and chin, and she said it was burning. Our poor babies!! We had to tape gloves on their hands because if they get it in their mouth, it would be poisonous. We have to leave the medicine on for 24 hours and then wash them and take the gloves off. So as I write this, they have been washed and the gloves are (happily) off.
Hopefully that’s the end of the scabies; but I won't lie. All last night whenever I had an itch I thought, "oh crap. I have scabies" but don't worry. I don't.
One baby, Lasane', always sucks his thumb with one hand and plays with
his ear or his belly button with the other when he's upset...and he couldn't do that
last night or today. The poor guy was miserable!! But he made it through ok. Thankfully!
Also, today we had some visitors from Missouri!! They are the youth
pastors of a small church in California, MO that my friend's grandmother
attends. So that's a little weird (it’s a small world kind of weird) it
was pleasant to have them here...they were sweet people and we had some
good conversations about missions and what they've seen since they've
been here (they are just doing a short ten day trip (they are actually
on their way home right now); but because we had out of town visitors we
got to go to the good restaurant in town and have some chicken and
fries!! Eating protein is a treat! It tastes so yummy. I never thought
I'd miss eating meat, but I guess I do.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Update on Jeanette
I just wanted to update everyone real quick. Jeanetter does NOT have AIDS. Which is wonderful news, but she does have a broken leg!! That’s why she was crying so much when anyone touched her leg/foot!! Apparently it was broken before she got here and they fixed it "traditionally"
whatever that means. Then something happened a few weeks after she
was here (we have no idea what) that re-broke it or something. We don't
really know. We took her to the hospital about an hour north of here and
had it x-rayed. It’s TOTALLY broken - all the way through. The doctor
reset it (that was horrible to hear!) and then put it in this splint
thing and said she should be fine in three weeks because babies’ bones
heal quickly.
That was Friday. Since then she hasn't really been in the best of moods
as you can imagine. She's terribly uncomfortable and it’s hard to hold
her with her leg sticking out like that. We are taking turns holding her
and getting her out of her crib; otherwise she will just lay in bed all
day and get bed sores which would obviously be no good at all.
On a different note, we had about ten hours of straight rain the night
before last (Saturday night) which is great for the crops but now it’s
really cold. I'm sure that you all think that it’s relative; but
honestly it was like 65 degrees in the house last night. That’s cold....
We went to a wedding on Saturday for one of our girls. She had lived in
the orphanage for a long time. She married well, into a family with a lot
of money, to an educated man and she’s educated (so we know she will be
well taken care of). It was a lot of fun to be apart of. Weddings here
aren't all that much different from weddings at home. And we got to eat
good food and drink soda at the reception!!! There were a couple hundred
people there and they all got soda...which is ridiculously expensive.
For here I mean
whatever that means. Then something happened a few weeks after she
was here (we have no idea what) that re-broke it or something. We don't
really know. We took her to the hospital about an hour north of here and
had it x-rayed. It’s TOTALLY broken - all the way through. The doctor
reset it (that was horrible to hear!) and then put it in this splint
thing and said she should be fine in three weeks because babies’ bones
heal quickly.
That was Friday. Since then she hasn't really been in the best of moods
as you can imagine. She's terribly uncomfortable and it’s hard to hold
her with her leg sticking out like that. We are taking turns holding her
and getting her out of her crib; otherwise she will just lay in bed all
day and get bed sores which would obviously be no good at all.
On a different note, we had about ten hours of straight rain the night
before last (Saturday night) which is great for the crops but now it’s
really cold. I'm sure that you all think that it’s relative; but
honestly it was like 65 degrees in the house last night. That’s cold....
We went to a wedding on Saturday for one of our girls. She had lived in
the orphanage for a long time. She married well, into a family with a lot
of money, to an educated man and she’s educated (so we know she will be
well taken care of). It was a lot of fun to be apart of. Weddings here
aren't all that much different from weddings at home. And we got to eat
good food and drink soda at the reception!!! There were a couple hundred
people there and they all got soda...which is ridiculously expensive.
For here I mean
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
AIDS
Well, I know that I mostly tell funny stories, because those are the fun ones to share, but I need to share these stories and they are not fun. In all my trips to Burkina I haven't had much exposure to AIDS until recently. Jeanette, my baby girl, is not getting better. She's not getting worse, but she's not getting fatter. so we took her to get an AIDS test on Monday. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever ever had to do. She has something wrong with her foot (you can't see anything) but she screams bloody murder when you touch it. So Jean, our day guard, was with me and he was holding her down, and holding her foot, because he had to and she was screaming and screaming and crying real tears. And when the woman tried to get her blood she had to try four times. It was awful to watch her get poked so much...and the woman would like dig around in her vein looking for the blood..oh it was awful and it made me want to vomit. I told Jean that when we got outside and he looked alittle scared like I might throw up on him...I didn't. But he did drive quickly home. Since I have become so attached to this little one, the thought of her having AIDS is devasting to me. I don't really think she does (We were supposed to find out today but didn't. Welcome to Africa) but if in fact she does have AIDS it will break my heart. Her family situation is not good and her having AIDS will complicate that alot. They don't have the means to take care of her, we aren't really sure they WANT to take care of her (given the fact that she is so malnourished) so if she has AIDS it will be a shame to the family and an extra burden because then they'll have to get her on medicines and they don't have money anyway. and if this is the case i'm sure that we will help out in some way...but its hard to know that we won't know how long she will live and that she won't ever get better and she will always be vulnerable to disease. it makes me want to keep her in the house with me where i can sleep with her and keep an eye on her at all times. So if you think about it...pray for jeanette and maybe for me too
The second story is that of a little girl who was being "taken care of" by her grandmother. i say "taking care of" because this woman did not know the child's name or the child's age. She was severely malnourished, was sick all the time and had Noma (a bacterial infection that is common here. it comes from bad oral hygiene and it eats away the flesh around the mouth. It's easy to stop if you get the right medicines, but once your flesh has been eaten it can't be regrown). we took her to the Dr. Zala and amazing amazing amazing man. He is a christian and has a heart for children and for quality medical care that is a rare find in burkina. He trust him with alot of our children and he never dissapoints. (well, unless he cna't do anything, but then thats not his fault) He became furious with the grandmother because this child was so sick, and then they did a blood test and found out she had AIDS (she was three...i forgot the mention that. the grandmother said she was two). She died this week. its so sad. this girls parents are out roaming around (not taking care of their child) and one or both of them has AIDS. So now Social Action (burkina's DFS) has to track them down and test them. and educate them on the disease. its really heart breaking. its heartbreaking that having AIDS still has a social stigma attached to it so people don't want to get tested. and if they suspec that they do have AIDS they don't want to know because they don't have to money to by the medicines and they're going to die anyway so why know how you are going to die?? its a sad sad sad thing.
On a more positive note, i was able to talk with my family on skype tonight! i got to see their faces as well as hear their voices and it was amazing. sometimes its just really really really wonderful to be able to talk with people who you know love you. adn seeing their faces was an extra bonus. So if you ever want to see my face you can get on skype and when i'm in ouaga and have access to wireless interenet that isn't soooooo expensive like it is in yako, maybe we could chat! it would be fun.
thank you to all of you who read my stories. It means alot that so many are interested in my adventures. I appreciate and crave all of your prayers. As much as I love it here, it's not an easy/comfortable place to be.
The second story is that of a little girl who was being "taken care of" by her grandmother. i say "taking care of" because this woman did not know the child's name or the child's age. She was severely malnourished, was sick all the time and had Noma (a bacterial infection that is common here. it comes from bad oral hygiene and it eats away the flesh around the mouth. It's easy to stop if you get the right medicines, but once your flesh has been eaten it can't be regrown). we took her to the Dr. Zala and amazing amazing amazing man. He is a christian and has a heart for children and for quality medical care that is a rare find in burkina. He trust him with alot of our children and he never dissapoints. (well, unless he cna't do anything, but then thats not his fault) He became furious with the grandmother because this child was so sick, and then they did a blood test and found out she had AIDS (she was three...i forgot the mention that. the grandmother said she was two). She died this week. its so sad. this girls parents are out roaming around (not taking care of their child) and one or both of them has AIDS. So now Social Action (burkina's DFS) has to track them down and test them. and educate them on the disease. its really heart breaking. its heartbreaking that having AIDS still has a social stigma attached to it so people don't want to get tested. and if they suspec that they do have AIDS they don't want to know because they don't have to money to by the medicines and they're going to die anyway so why know how you are going to die?? its a sad sad sad thing.
On a more positive note, i was able to talk with my family on skype tonight! i got to see their faces as well as hear their voices and it was amazing. sometimes its just really really really wonderful to be able to talk with people who you know love you. adn seeing their faces was an extra bonus. So if you ever want to see my face you can get on skype and when i'm in ouaga and have access to wireless interenet that isn't soooooo expensive like it is in yako, maybe we could chat! it would be fun.
thank you to all of you who read my stories. It means alot that so many are interested in my adventures. I appreciate and crave all of your prayers. As much as I love it here, it's not an easy/comfortable place to be.
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