Filling our last house!

All of the new kids plus Colletta.

In June we initiated the process of filling our last Children’s House—Rubondo House. Last week we welcomed 8 little ones to their new home and family. Like our other children when they first arrived at the Children’s Village, these kids looked terrified and shell shocked. Imagine landing in a world so unlike anyplace you have ever seen?? Where there are real houses, real beds, hot water coming from a tap and white people lurking in every direction! But within 24 hours their fears have been replaced by joy. The joy of having a full tummy, the joy of feeling clean, the joy of knowing that all those crazy white people don’t intend to eat you, but instead want to hug you. It’s magic to watch these children be transformed.

Last week we went to Mongola to pick up a little 6-year-old girl named Neema to bring her back to live with us. The area is hard to describe…it is a desolate and depressing area. Deforestation has lead to the loss of all topsoil so the dirt is like red baby powder. Scrubby trees are peppered around, sagging mud houses and skinny cows and goats search for water. This is our cold season where it can be in the 50's at the Children’s Village, however, it was in the low 90's in Mongola! I can't imagine what it is like there during the hot season. Many of our new kids come from this area. I only wish we could get more children out of such a hopeless environment! The area we live in is the complete opposite of Mongola. We are in the mountains and surrounded by rain forest and coffee plantations. As I sit at my desk I can see the peak of Mt Oldeani and the Ngorongoro Crater rim. In the early mornings it is so beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes. The people who live near us are just as poor and struggle daily to survive, but somehow with so much beauty in our natural environment, we don’t lose hope.

This week we will be picking up a one month old baby and 2 more little girls to bring home with us. We will have then filled the Children’s Village with all our children. I am already feeling sad, like a woman who has decided not to have more babies (again!). But, then with so many budding teenagers I realize that 69 children is probably enough!