Smiling Children :)

I am asked over and over “Are the kids really as happy as they appear?” Believe it or not, these children are very, very happy. They are also incredibly stoic and very rarely cry even when seriously hurt. The only children you ever hear cry are the toddlers who just arrived at the village in January and they are also 2 and 3 years old and tend to cry when someone takes a toy or if they fall down.

The other children really laugh and play a lot. I feel that they are so grateful to have such a wonderful life after coming from such traumatic backgrounds that everyday is a good day. We have a couple of 13 year olds who are starting to show teenage behavior, but even then if you say to them “Why are you pouting, come on give me a smile” they usually will crack up.

Most of the children are very tough and very resilient. The boys’ soccer team had a game in Oldeani a few weeks ago and they walked there which is a two hour walk, played the game which was about 2 hours then walked home. Most of them had forgotten to bring their water bottles and it was hot as all get out, but I didn’t hear one complaint, whine or protest from one child out of 40. It was amazing! I do not know of any children in the US who would have made the two hour walk without complaining, much less play a soccer game and then walk back another two hours in the dark.

So…the answer is YES, these kids actually do love to smile and they do smile a lot! I am so grateful to be part of an organization that nurtures and takes care of the children so well that they are happy most if not all of the time and even if they become upset it never lasts very long. I personally have laughed and smiled more in the last three months than I have in years, it is totally contagious and I love it!

So here are some pictures of the happy kids at the Rift Valley Children's Village...not posed, just having a great time!